YAMAHA FS1-E
for looking good and getting the perfect slipstream. These days, braking on modern bikes is mostly an effortless one or two-fingered affair with the front brake, but that’s certainly not the case on this bike. It is incredible how much things have improved as even at 30mph my front drum brake does very little for the slowing down process. For sure the DX model would have been better but I soon remembered rear brakes played a much bigger role back then, and quite often (like my Fizzy) the rear anchor was better than the front. When it comes to comfort and handling my aftermarket seat and shocks did a great job on our test. I did, however, have a metal-to-metal, front fork bottoming out experience on more than one occasion over potholes on the leafy lanes surrounding Ashby. I’m not the heaviest 55-year-old in the pub so I thought this was a bit strange. On closer inspection back in my shed, a found a leaking right hand fork seal was probably the cause. I’ve had a few of my bikes develop leaking fork seals for no apparent reason other than they’re simply stood around for months not being used. The ‘all-down’ four-speed gearbox has nicely spaced ratios and on the speedo at least, I was seeing 50mph with any decent stretch of straight road. Tales of 60mph plus from sixteener-specials then and now are just that: tales from people who probably had more Mcewan’s or Woodpecker than was good for them when it comes to telling stories. That said, there might only be five-bhp on tap but being a two-stroke, there is lots of fun to be had timing gear changes for maximum acceleration and speed. Anyone who has ridden Honda’s competition from back in the day, the four-stroke SS50 which is stunningly retro-rebooted on page 60 of this very issue will remember it as a depressing experience. Sorry, but the Fizzy had it beat. So, it wouldn’t have been a proper Fizzy test without a chip shop stop, especially as I was insisting on Bertie the boss paying, so after having fun buzzing through the local villages of Donisthorpe, Moira and Shellbrook it was on to Nick’s Fish Bar. I’m not sure why but chippies were the social nucleus for the youth of the Seventies. Where I grew up, on any night of the week teenagers, mostly with machines up to 250cc, gathered at the Pines Chippy to eat, drink, mess around and sometimes even grab a girlfriend. Grab? Okay, maybe that was just me. We certainly didn’t need a youth club, which was lucky as we didn’t have one. Our local Yamaha dealer Jim Allan sold loads of Fizzies, so nearly every model would show up at some point. And it was only sitting at Nick’s I recalled another of the FS1-E’S great assets: a centrestand and a flat seat, perfect for al fresco dining with a sausage supper and can of Irn-bru. Each bike I own brings back special memories for different reasons and the Fizzy was the start of a very special journey for me. Nearly 40 years on, this little bike is a hoot to ride and still brings a huge grin to my face. At the end of our test we threw the chip wrappers in the bin and said our farewells. As it turned out I was only a mile from home but I couldn’t stop myself from making a substantial detour, I challenge anyone to go home early when they can spend more time on their Fizzy.