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Yamaha TA 125 Yamaha TD 3 250 Yamaha TR 3
350 1972
The new FIM regulations that went into effect in 1969 limited
125-class and 250-class motorcycles to no more than two cylinders and no more
than six-gear transmission.
In view of the new rules, Yamaha, like several other manufacturers, stood aside
for a moment to take stock of the situation. Then the company decided to repeat
in grand style what NSU had done thirteen years before to win a world
championship— namely, to develop racing motorcycles from normal production
models.
In 1969 the world's best private racers bought some of the new
racing models that had been put on sale in large quantity by Yamaha. Among the
purchasers was Phil Read, the 125-class and 250-class champion who had ridden
the Yamaha four-cylinder. There were three Grand Prix versions of production
models—a 125, a 250, and a 350. They all had the same basic technical features,
including a two-stroke, two-cylinder engine with the classic distribution system
(a step backward from the rotating disk) and five-speed transmission.
The Yamaha people decided to retain the chassis that had
equipped the old RD 56. There were large central drum brakes, which had been
used for some time on the four-cylinder but only for the TD 2 250 and the TR 2
350.
Read, Rodney Gould, and Kent Andersson were the three racers who got the most
out of the new Yamahas. In 1969 Andersson won two Grand Prix races in the 250
class, while Read won one in the 250 class and one in the 350 class. There were
fewer satisfactions with the 125. Andersson managed only a few honorable
placings with the Yamaha 125, coming in behind private Kawasakis and Suzukis.
Aureal's win in France was sheer luck and had no follow-up.
In 1970 the Yamaha TD 2 began to monopolize the scene. The
displacement of the four-cylinder Benelli world champion in the 250 class was
increased under the new regulations, leaving only Santiago Herrero's
single-cylinder Ossa to compete with Yamaha. Herrero came in second in France
and won in Yugoslavia, but he was killed at the Tourist Trophy. From that moment
on, the fight for the world championship was one between the best private TD 2
racers and the semiofficial racers who had updated versions with six-speed
transmission.
In the 1970 250-class world championship, Yamaha took the first seven places and
Gould came in
Motorcycle: Yamaha TD 3 250 Manufacturer: Yamaha Motor Co.
Ltd., Iwata
Type: Racing, replica Year: 1972
Engine: Yamaha two-cylinder, two-stroke, with cross-port distribution (five
transfer ports). Displacement 247.3 cc. (54 mm. x 54 mm.)
Cooling: Air
Transmission: Six-speed block
Power: 47 h.p. at 11,000 r.p.m.
Maximum speed: About 140 m.p.h.
Chassis: Double cradle, continuous, tubular. Front and rear, telescopic
suspension
Brakes: Front, central drum, four shoes, four-cam; rear, central drum
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