I sell them!

I spoke to CMM’S good friend Gary Mitchell from Fastline Superbikes in Preston about the Zeal. I’d say that the Yamaha Zeal is one of those machines we don’t see many of at all and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are less than probably 20 on the road in the UK! So does this make spares a nightmare to source, Gary?

“No, not really. Service parts are no more of a problem than any other Japanese home market bikes and to be honest they’re pretty reliable anyway. The average owner coming to us for one of these is usually either gents over 50, the vertically challenged or lady riders. In fact, four of the last five we’ve sold have gone to lady owners. This is mainly due to the bike’s low seat height and weight, making them easy to handle and manoeuvre. While you may think that – due to their rarity value – they would be expensive, really they’re not and certainly not as expensive as two-stroke 250cc machines. Of course, to get one over from Japan, prepare it for sale and register it will make the showroom price around £3500 to £4000 minimum – but that’s not bad compared to (say) a 3XV TZR250 Yamaha, which would be £8000 plus!

"Yes, we know the TZR is a far superior and more capable bike, but it shows the difference in price. As mentioned, there’s not a lot to look for when buying one as they are pretty reliable.

"One thing you should look out for is that the twin-stack exhaust hasn’t started to rot from the underside. And check for corrosion in the fuel tank, too! Other than these two big things, issues with the Yamaha Zeal are pretty much like any bike: which is wear and tear and consumables like tyres, chains and sprockets, and brake pads. If that’s all covered, just fill the thing with fuel and enjoy it!”