Steve Cooper has this guide on Yamaha’s Fizzy grandad.
Release your inner 16-year-old with this drop dead gorgeous grandfather of the later Fizzy!
This month we have a fairly rare bird to showcase, Yamaha’s FS1. It’s a machine inexorably linked to Yamaha’s earliest globally commercial days and the great-grandfather of the ubiquitous FS1-E moped. The FS1 was already an older model when the Fizzy was born but the lineage can be traced back as far as 1963 when Yamaha launched an apparently inconsequential bike in the guise of the 79cc YG1. With a disc-valve induction and sprightly performance the YG was exactly the right bike at the right time. Sold globally, the little single had the ability to be all things to all riders and, crucially, the platform from which Yamaha could launch a raft of hugely successful single-cylinder two-strokes. The YG was the proving ground for a series of analogues that would go on to run for decades. Yamaha swiftly became adept at producing multiple variants of similarly-engined machines with different apparent purposes. The original YF1 (F denoting 50cc capacity) appeared in 1964 just a year after the YG1 as a smaller capacity general purpose machine yet soon it would become a 60cc semi sports orientated machine before becoming a high piped, 70cc, miniature racer still in the 1964 model year and sold as the YP-1. Obscenely profligate in tweaking models for different markets, the YP’S high pipe was also used for quasi off-road models. And it was here in the 70cc model that the roots of the elegantly stylish FS1 can be found. Around late 1967 to early 1968 Yamaha had reached Number 5 of the F series model designations and the resultant bikes looked not unlike their
contemporary YL-1 100cc twin: i.e. a little on the staid and traditional side. However the F5’s greatest asset was the introduction of oil-injection known in Yamaha-world as Autolube, first fitted to some machines as early as 1963. Taking the labour saving oil-injection system and revising the F-series styling saw the company launch the FS1 in 1968. The new 50cc motorcycle was a breath of fresh air and a massive leap away from the traditionalist and conservative styling that had previously been a hallmark of the company’s bikes up to that point. Although a contemporary of machines such as the YDS5E, YR1, YCS2 etc. the bike had an altogether much lighter style to it and reflected the new revitalised Yamaha look as established with the ground breaking DT1. Chrome tank pieces and rubber knee pads were out, ditto bulbous panels and deeply valanced mudguards. Arguably the humble little FS1 was in the vanguard of the soon to be launched Europa range that would be showcased in 1971 for the 1972 model year. A low, elongated fuel tank sat over the pressed steel spine frame which would remain a constant of the F series strokers until the mid-1990s. Behind that was a faux racing seat that looked like it should accommodate two skinny teenagers but wouldn’t. Yamaha would use something suspiciously similar on the later RD60. The left-hand side of the bike showcased a new style, parallelogram, side-panel which in just four years would be a key feature of the Fizzy moped. All very nice but it was the opposite side of the little stroker that sold the FS1 to countless lads and lasses. The exhaust pipe came above the right-hand engine case and led to one of the sexiest silencer units ever fitted to a motorcycle. Ending in a parallel tube just inches from the licence plate it was an expansion chamber pure and simple but one that was muted just enough to satisfy the various authorities. Hanging off the right hand top shock absorber via a pressed metal strap as seen on numerous Yamaha street scramblers, the bulk of the chamber was shielded from the rider’s leg via a chromed cheese grater heat guard. It really didn’t matter that the exhaust system made access to the Autolube tank tricky; it just looked so damn good. The rest of the bike was typical standard Yamaha fare but it didn’t matter one iota. In countries where 16-year-olds could ride a 50cc motorcycle the bike proved to be hugely popular but sadly it never made it officially to these shores. Why would you want one now? Well assuming you’re into small bikes if the FS1 doesn’t get you going then you probably haven’t got a pulse. Little looks like an FS1 and in a world awash with Fizzies of every hue, model, power output and colour the bike always stands out in any display of small motorcycles. And for once it’s not form over function either as the bike can give a good account of itself. Its key advantage over the later mopeds is the fact that it runs a five-speed gearbox allied to 6.5 horsepower engine. The only other bike that looks anything like it is Suzuki’s AS50 but if the tuning fork brand is where your heart lies then you know which one you’d buy!