Fizzer & chips!
Few machines have had such an impact on a generation of fledgling motorcyclists as the humble, yet mighty, Yamaha FS1-E. For many the moped was as big a part of the 1970s and that decade’s culture as flares, glam rock, daft hair, power cuts and Pan’s People. The moped gave a whole generation of kids a new-found freedom, a way of not only getting from A to B, but a means of expression and access to a whole, new social life: many of us would never forget our first moped and the king of them all was the Yamaha FS1-E. Today the Fizzy is more than just a minimotorcycle, it’s become a symbol of a carefree, more fun-loving time and the prices have begun to reflect that. In the UK at least, the sport moped phenomenon came about as a result of Government policy. On December 15, 1971, Conservative Transport Minister John Peyton brought into existence the ‘sixteener law’ which could have been the death knell for young, wannabe motorcyclists in this country. In the good old days you could saddle up anything and go ride. Then over successive generations a proficiency test was introduced and later a 250cc limit. Then, those in power felt something should be done to get novice riders off of 250s and onto 50cc machines equipped with pedals, commonly called a ‘moped’. It was hoped that the number of accident statistics for new bike riders would be cut. Initially all seemed well and casualties fell, but then the manufacturers began to notice that there would be an advantage if they could give youngsters what they wanted, rather than the elderly, pedestrian 50cc slopeds beloved of shopping grannies and district nurses. They could see that if they ditched the bicycle seat and wire basket up front the ‘sports moped’ could well be a success. The Japanese weren’t too au fait with the ‘moped’ so it took the Europeans to be the driving force behind it – because that was what they needed. Yamaha luckily already had something that almost fitted the bill. The pressed-steel chassised F5 was an amazingly reliable and cost-effective machine
and had the performance it needed from its little two-stroke, disc-valve motor, but meanwhile back in Japan, Yamaha was developing its own new FS1. Depending on where you get your info from it was either a Dutch dealer called Henk Dullens or Ludy Beumer who made the pedal system, and fitted it to a reed-valved F5B. Pictures of the converted machine went back to Japan along with Dullens’ design for the pedal system and so the hybrid FS1 was born. The FS1 was eventually sold in The Netherlands in 1970, restricted down to 25mph for their domestic market. The machine used the cylinder of the F5B, but the FS1’S original high-level exhaust was replaced by one similar to that seen on the F5B, in a more traditional low-level position. The timing of the motor was altered and a 10mm carb replaced the normal 16mm unit. Available in Candy Blue or Candy Orange, these machines were an enormous success with 13,500 sold during 1970-71. Legend has it that UK dealer Fowlers of Bristol first saw the FS1 in a Dutch brochure and wanted a part of the action. Eventually pressure led to the production of the British-spec FS1-E (England) and with months of its introduction at the end of 1972 it became Yamaha’s biggest seller in the UK. So what was the Fizzy’s secret? Its beauty was probably its simplicity: a humble pressed-steel frame, a basic 49cc disc-valve motor producing just under 5bhp at 7000rpm. The bike’s 17in wheels gave it an assured ride and the motor was pokey enough for a 16-year-old. Okay, so eventually another bit of legislation saw the sports moped wings clipped a bit. From August 1, 1977, any moped sold was restricted to 30mph (give or take 5mph) which led to many canny dealers pre-registering the older, de-restricted models before the August deadline. My own relationship with the Fizzy was when, in 1977, I had managed to get a provisional licence and I bought – for £80 – a very tired 1975 DX that a mate had from new. Sadly it was pretty knackered. The gear lever rounded the splines on the selector shaft so I had to use
mole grips to change gear. Later the left-hand side of the main stand fell off so I heated and bent the remaining part of it to make a side-stand. I considered that a performance part! Thankfully today such nonsense is not needed as there are a host of people ready to help with any Fizzy part. As said before, nostalgia comes at a price these days and even original ‘394 model’ projects come in at around a grand, with the later 3F6 model a few hundred quid cheaper. You’ll even see some machines made to look like a Fizzy, such is the allure. Mint early models can now go for up to five grand, with differing year models of varying quality sitting in between. Me? Well, I had to have one, so I stumped up £1100 to get back into the Fizzy club at the end of 2013 and then spent a fair few quid restoring this one you see in these pages. In fact, when boss man Bertie called from CMM Towers requesting a full road test on my 1977 FS1-E, I’ll admit to being more than just a tad nervous. You see, my last Fizzy run out was the 2015 Donington Park Classic festival where I hammered round the circuit for two days. Well, nearly. All had gone really well until the last session on the Sunday when the motor went tight while I was fully tucked in along the back straight. Fortunately my old two-stroke racing skills hadn’t left me, so I instantly pulled in the clutch and free wheeled to the side of the track. A Fizzy club member in attendance feared the worst as he said a lock up at 50mph would normally result in a wrecked piston and barrel. It was a great weekend but I was still gutted to be wheeling my broken pride and joy into the van that night. I’d not had a worse feeling since dropping the thing off the side of the ramp when I was trying to ride it into my van… After a top-end strip down (which takes about five minutes) I was amazed to find the barrel intact with the only damage being a heavily scuffed piston front and rear. The rings had survived too, so after a
“Pretty soon you’ll see 50mph with any decent stretch of road. Tales of 60mph plus from sixteener-specials then and now are just that. Tales courtesy of too much Mcewan’s or Woodpecker.”