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Yamaha TA 125 TD3 & 250 & TR3 350

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

Yamaha TR2 250 1972

TR 2 350 came in fourth, fifth, and sixth in its class.

The 1971 season was even better, with Gould riding officially for Yamaha in the 250 and 350 classes. The company indirectly looked after Charles Mortimer's 125 and the Finn Jarno Saarinen's 250 and 350. Gould did not win the 250-class championship again. Read, with a private TD 2, beat him out of the championship by only a few points.

Yamaha failed to win the 350-class championship that year. But after Giacomo Agostini's first place with MV Agusta, nine of the first ten were Yamaha TR 2s.
Although there were higher hopes than before for the Yamaha 125, the season was something of a disappointment. But Mortimer's win at the Tourist Trophy and his second place at the Spanish Grand Prix showed that the vehicle was catching up with the competition.

The last successful season for the two-cylinder air-cooled Yamahas was 1972. In the winter of 1971 Yamaha put on sale new models, the TD 3 and the TR 3. Their most important innovation was the six-speed transmission. Private Yamahas chalked up several wins in 1972, but again they had a hard time keeping up with the new official water-cooled motorcycles.

Motorcycle: Yamaha TR 3 350 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 347.4 cc. (64 mm. x 54 mm.)
Cooling: Air
Transmission: Six-speed block
Power: 54 h.p. at 9,500 r.p.m.
Maximum speed: Over 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

Yamaha TR3 350 1972

TR 2 350 came in fourth, fifth, and sixth in its class.