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Yamaha RA 97 1966
Yamaha debuted in the 125 class in 1961 with a two-cylinder,
air-cooled, rotating-disk-fed engine. In 1964, after a two-year absence from
125-class racing, Yamaha came back with a vehicle that had the same type of
engine, built on the basis of tests with the 250-cc. version. But results with
the 125 were disappointing, and Yamaha soon replaced the air-cooled version with
a water-cooled engine that also had two cylinders.
Phil Read introduced the redesigned Yamaha at the 1965 Tourist
Trophy and won the race. This new 1/8 -liter motorcycle was known as the RA 97.
Subsequently Mike Duff rode it to win the Dutch Grand Prix. In 1966 the Yamaha
RA 97 won four world championship races, but Luigi Taveri's five-cylinder Honda
still managed to win the world title.
Meanwhile the Yamaha people, hoping for more favorable
results, had developed a splendid four-cylinder 250, and they decided to stop
trying to make the small two-cylinder engine more powerful. Following the
current trend in technology, which called for superfractionated displacement,
they totally abandoned this engine, although it was still far from the peak it
might have reached with more effort on their part.
Motorcycle: Yamaha RA 97 Manufacturer: Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd.,
Iwata Type: Racing fear: 1966
Engine: Yamaha two-cylinder, two-stroke, with rotating-disk distribution.
Displacement 125 cc.
Cooling: Water
Transmission: Nine-speed block
Power: 30 h.p. at 14,000 r.p.m.
Maximum speed: Over 130 m.p.h.
Chassis: Double cradle, continuous, tubular. Front and rear, telescopic
suspension
Brakes: Front, central drum, four shoes; rear, central drum
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