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A quick look at Yamaha's touring 250 for 1974.
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►At the time of this writing Yamaha is about
to introduce their full line-up for 1974. We were able, however to pick up a few
samples for special road testing prior to the official unveiling and one of
those bikes was the 1974 RD-250 which will be road tested thoroughly in the next
issue of MCW. As we wrap up this issue we thought you'd like a preview.
Yamaha has been getting most attention for their new line of four-strokes
introduced in 1973, including the TX-750 and the TX-500 (tested in this issue),
but their standard two-stroke line has been getting much better along the way
and deserves its share of the limelight. Yamaha is constantly developing and
bettering their product regardless of how successful it already is. On the
two-stroke side this included the recent adoption of reed valves, first in their
competition dirt bikes and then in two of their street twins as well. Further
development of the road valve principle possibly has in store even greater
advantages.
As far as saleable new models
go, everyone of course is waiting to see who is going to be the first out with a
full production Wankel. Yamaha has one in the works and it should hit the
dealer's floors sooner than anyone expects. Many of us, however, are maintaining
a wait-and-see attitude after the water-cooled 750 Four never really made the
scene. But rumor has it that water-cooled multis for Yamaha are definitely still
in the works.
Yamaha's new 500cc
four-cylinder road racers are keeping that speculation very healthy. Possibly
we'll see a 500 street Four even before the 750.
The biggest changes for the 250
and 350 RD's came last year when Yamaha incorporated the reed valving along with
six-speed transmissions.► |
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| ◄The 1974 models retain those advancements with further
refinement. One step up we'd like to see is a disc brake up front. The RD 250 is
a very fast 250 and it's heavy. With two-up the added control
of a disc brake would be worth the extra price. The price factor is probably the
major reason for Yamaha withholding the disc.
Some
short riding seasons revealed the same fine handling we've come to
expect from Yamaha with the benefit of smoother power delivery at low
rpm than we remembered with last year's RD 250. Inquiries about this
yielded the explanation that there have been some carburetion changes in
conjunction with the reeds, although no one was too sure exactly what
had been done.
The ' 74
RD 250 gets a very mellow chocolate brown paint job accented by white
pinstriping on the sides of the tank and across the length of the side
panels to let you know it's the latest 250 to be had.■ |
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