THE 1981 LAUNCH

The Yzwhich Jim Shand rebuilt into his ideal race bike was part of Yamaha's five bike range, which the company introduced to the public with an all-action launch at a Mxtrack in Belgiumat the beginning of October in 1980.

They invited the press and Motorcycle's Geoffa spel went along, taking former British mx champion Vic allan as his' plus one' to do the actual test riding. Yamaha's range for 1981 included a few intriguing changes and tastes of things to come.

The five bikes went from the Pws 0 auto for the really young riders and on up to the top of the range Yz465 for the aspiring Gpriders, a nd included a Yz80, water cooled 125 and the YZ250. IT was an interesting test which we won't go into here, as it willmake a nice feature in upcoming issues.