Cycle News Archives
COLUMN
Given a Second Chance
By Kent Taylor
While it is true that you only get one chance to make a good first impression, it is also accurate that nearly everyone in this world deserves a second one. In 1972, Cycle News’ staffer Ron Schneiders was asked to road test Yamaha’s XS 650 street bike, just over a year after he had written a harsh review of the 1971 version of the machine. To say the Yamaha had left a bitter taste in his mouth would be an understatement, and now, the distributor was asking him to give it another shot. Could one trip around the sun be enough time for Schneiders to let go of a grudge against both the bike and the Yamaha Motor Corporation?
“The machine preparation was poor,” Schneiders wrote of the ’71 Yamaha, “and several trips back to the distributor were necessary to get things straightened out. The machine had some serious design flaws, and finally, it scattered and almost scrambled me in the process.” Schneiders wrote a “scathingly critical” report, but 12 months later, he signed up for another day on the torture rack and agreed to test the 1972 version of the Yamaha.
The Yamaha XS 650 was first introduced in 1970. Many motorcycle historians might label it as a British parallel-twin made in Japan, but Schneiders disputes this, saying that the Yamaha is no more a copy of a British bike “…than Sophia Loren is a copy of Elizabeth Taylor. Dimensionally, they might be similar, but in terms of personality, they’re miles apart.” For its time, this 650cc motorcycle was near the high end of the cubic-centimeter range and was considered a “medium-range tourer.” It could push its speedometer needle past the 100-mph mark, while a new single disc brake for ’72 helped slow down its 450-pound weight.
Cycle News’ crew liked to give their test bikes a good workout, often putting several thousand miles on the clock before penning one word. That wasn’t going to be possible with this test, with Yamaha giving Schneiders just one full day with the new 650. It was a cold day, with temperatures in the high 40s. That’s tee shirt weather for folks in Fargo, but the Yamaha acted just like a whiny Californian and was a slow starter in the chilly morning. Schneiders found “it best to turn the engine about 10 times with the starter motor and then kick it once or twice.” An odd ritual, but one that apparently worked, as he was soon on his way up the Angeles Crest Highway.
What a difference a year makes! “The bike runs beautifully,” he wrote. “Altitude doesn’t affect it in any discernible fashion.” The one big, beautiful disc brake worked well. “There’s virtually no fade, and, more importantly, there’s no tendency to twist and dive right. This was one of the big problems with the first bike I tested, and it’s apparently been well cured.” Schneiders’ aggressive brake testing ended when he came across “a few patches of ice and sand.” This was 1972, of course, so ABS was not available, even as an option, for the Yamaha 650 or any other motorcycle, for that matter.
No traction control, either. Schneiders wrote that “the smallest jerk or surge of power will break the delicate bond between the rear wheel and the iced pavement.” But the Yamaha held steady, and its “fine carburetion” was credited with helping to control rebellious wheelspin.
Schneiders took the Yamaha into the mountains on a “curvy road leading toward the desert.” That such a variety of geography can be found in one state, let alone on one day’s adventure, doesn’t seem fair. It sounds more like some kind of Disneyland ride. Whatever, Schneiders played road racer on the 650, pushing it to the point where both the centerstand and footpegs were sparking up the road, forcing him to back off. Grinding metal and flexing frames were commonly mentioned in 1970s road tests, and the Yamaha 650 offered a little of each.
With just one day in the saddle, this tester was determined to run the Yamaha through the gauntlet. Dirt roads, stream crossings, roads with rocks and slabs of broken concrete. Even a trip to Bakersfield, home of country music star Buck Owens.
The Yamaha 650 had a good, long run, both on the street and on the track, where modified versions powered Kenny Roberts, Gene Romero, Don Castro and others to numerous Mile, Half Mile and TT race wins in the 1970s. Schneiders was glad he gave the revised 650 another shot. “It was hard to believe it was the same bike I tested a year ago,” he said. “Somebody’s been working pretty hard.” CN
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