1969 Yamaha R3 Play Racer - 5-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article

Description

1969 Yamaha R3 Play Racer - 5-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article
Original, vintage magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
The motorcycle scene is an ever-
changing one, and if the truth be known,
the American motorcyclist is probably
one of the most fickle individuals around.
Whatever is brand new and completely
different is what he wants, or what he
thinks he wants anyway.
A couple of years ago, Yamaha had the
audacity to enter four 350 cc two-stroke
twins against the field of 7 50 and 500 cc
adversaries. Everybody (except Yamaha)
sat back and smiled. Most of them, and
this included a number of so-called ex-
perts, felt this would be an interesting
exercise but nothing that would really
concern them, and at the end of the 200-
mile event, three of the 350s were still
running, and running strong. As a matter
of fact, Mike Duff qualified at over 147
miles an hour and shook up a lot of
individuals, more than a little.
Those of you who havd" never been to
Daytona have no idea of the devastating
effect this racetrack has on all machinery,
regardless of the size or displacement.
The bankings are as rough as a plowed
cornfield (or so they feel anyway) and of
course the faster you go, the worse it
feels. Two hundred miles of riding flat out
on this type of pavement has destructive
qualities that would be difficult to simu-
late anywhere else. So what happens?
Immediately after Daytona, Yamaha 350
gets a big play in the press and at the
dealers. Then slowly they started to fade
out. The 350 popularity waned. In fair-
ness to all concerned, we must state that
the earlier model 350s were a long cry
from the machine you can buy today.
The earlier model, YR-1 vibrated more
than a bit and did some strange things
when trying to corner hard. Yamaha's
forte had always been the 250 and
under displacement motorcycles.
The earlier model 350 Yamahas did
have their problems, and about that time,
several other manufacturers released
models of equal displacement, and mo-
torcyclists, fickle as they are, strayed
away from the Yamaha 350 camp to try
something a little newer and perhaps a
little different. The new Yamaha YR-3 is
about as far removed from its early
predecessor as one can get. It has a
much wider power range, handles much
better, and vibrates far less, but this is
only just part of the story.
The styling is vastly improved also.
The earlier machines, although they were
attractive, were not exactly what you
would call breathtaking. Appearance is a
matter of personal taste, and frankly, we
like the 350 Yamaha far better than we
have some of the other offerings by a
number of other manufacturers. The
lines are crisp, clean, with very little...
16153 RL- 12185-6908-09