Yamaha YDS1 racer
Remarkable survivor
Yamaha was the first Japanese motorcycle manufacturer to introduce an over-the-counter 250cc production road racer that was available to the masses. For fifty years the Yamaha 250cc road racer was the mainstay of privateer riders being the highest volume and the most successful production road racing motorcycle ever produced with the bloodline starting just four years after the Yamaha Motor Company was founded.
From their first motorcycle, the YA1 125cc, Yamaha always placed an immensely high priority on racing, so when they totally designed their own motorcycle, the 1959 YDS1 250cc twin cylinder two stroke, it was no surprise when three models were released, the 250s Sports road model, the Clubman Racer and the Scrambler. All were fully assembled at the Yamaha factory and all were the first Japanese motorcycles of their types to be marketed and exported. The 1959 Clubman Racer evolved into the TD1 and TD2 series air cooled production road racers and then the TZ water cooled production road racer series, ceasing manufacture in July 2009 achieving 50 years. History of the YDS1 Clubman Racer is surrounded by confusion starting in 1959 when Yamaha produced parts and workshop manuals that were for the early Japanese market model only and not the export and later Japanese models. As Yamaha was looking to the future they retained little of their history causing later historians to draw some incorrect conclusions. Yamaha and Milledge Bros terminology did not help. Yamaha referred to them as Road Race model, Clubman Racer, Asama Racer and Speed Racer. Milledge Bros documents refer to them as conversion bikes or kit motorcycles when in actual fact the Clubman Racer was completely assembled by the factory. Today the Clubman Racer is widely known as the YDS1R but this was a 1970/80s term as the bikes were never designated this code by Yamaha. It came about by various matrix used to show model differences with the road bike being S for standard, R for Road Racer and T for Scrambler. Except for one or two sold in Asia, the Clubman Racer was only sold in Australia, USA and of course Japan. None went to Europe or the UK.
Racing was different in 1959. Australia had sealed surface GP style road racing. Some USA motorcycle races were European style and others dirt or flat track style races. In Japan races were still held on the volcanic ash plains of Mt Asama and were virtually cross country style. To suit the different types of racing track surfaces, two variations of Clubman Racer were produced, one for sealed surface tracks and one for unsealed surface tracks, as well as the Scrambler model. Australia received the sealed track version with all bikes being the same specification except for the option of a fairing. From 1959 – 1962 ten Clubman Racers, over a number of deliveries, were imported into Australia by Milledge Bros and cost £289/10/0 cash only against the Sports price of £269/10/0 with easy terms and the Scrambler price of £279/10/0 which was by order only and cash. (1961 prices). In standard form many Sports components were used on the Clubman. The Sports frame was used but the centre stand, side stand and in some cases the footrest brackets were deleted. Suspension was standard and painted the same gold/brown colour as the Sports but some of the 1961 models may have been painted black. Chromed steel front and rear mudguards were from the Sports. Brakes were standard but the rims were not. Whilst many restorations of the Clubman Racer have alloy rims, these were not fitted by Yamaha as alloy rims were not manufactured in Japan then, and a narrow 36 spoke, 18 inch rim with a 2.75 tyre was used which were difficult and expensive to procure in Australia. Instead a Japanese steel racing rim was fitted; narrow with two rim locks on the rear rim and one on the front. Why the rim locks? Because the bikes had been developed to race on the volcanic ash of Mt Asama where tyre pressures would be lowered and rim locks were necessary. Also, Japanese tyres were very basic. The Japanese version came standard with knobbly tyres. A signature feature of the bike was the large 22 litre red oxide coloured tank as was the pink/brown seat, an item often discarded because of its weight, being constructed using a very sturdy steel frame with length wise springs and thick foam same as the touring seats. The tanks were steel of a gauge the same as the Sports tank. Although a large bracket that allowed the Sports speedo/tacho unit to be used is shown in the parts book and appears on some restored versions, all export and most Japanese Clubman Races were fitted with a small 30mm diameter Yazaki tacho mounted on a steel panel that was attached using the handlebar clamp mounting holes. The kill button was next to the tacho. Mechanicals enclosed within the crankcase and clutch cover were the same as the Sports model but the kick start shaft was deleted and alloy plugs fitted to the crankcase and side cover. The right hand crankcase casting was cut back by Yamaha around the front drive sprocket and a cut down side cover was used as the rule requiring sprockets to be covered was not in existence. Cylinders were cast iron and different to the Sports in that more metal was added to the top of the transfer ports to allow the ports to be enlarged. This was achieved by a foundry worker cleaning away part of the sand mould and the rough surface left behind verifies the cylinders as genuine Clubman Racer items. YDS2 cylinders had the increased metal added but are smoother castings. An oddity with YDS1 cylinders is that although all dimensions, both port and overall, are the same, the right hand cylinder has the transfer port casting going one fin higher regardless of model. All YDS1 Clubman Racers had cast iron cylinders as standard. Aluminium
Yamaha was an unknown make having only two years exposure in Australia and were manufactured in a country known at the time for cheap and nasty goods.
cylinders were an up-grade kit released after the YDS1 run had finished and the first of the TD1 series was about to be released which also used the same alloy cylinders. Cylinder heads had a higher compression ratio but appearance-wise were the same as the Sports. Expansion chamber exhausts were used and can be identified by an indentation where the centre stand bracket on the frame would have been and by the rear brackets having formed edges. Although expansion chambers are renowned for cracking, Yamaha chromed and solidly mounted them, a practice lasting until the 1966 TD1B. Long inlet tunnels from the Sports model were used but with a larger bore diameter to match the larger inlet port and 27mm Mikuni-made Amal 276 carburettors which were mated with Mikuni remote float bowls. Differences between the two Clubman Racers occurred in the air intake area. On the sealed circuit (Australian) model, bell shaped air intakes were fitted which allowed the remote float bowls to be mounted on a bracket attached to the rear engine lug. However the unsealed surface version had standard Sports air cleaners fitted with a support bracket mounted to the rear engine lug and were larger than the air intakes thus necessitating the float bowls to be precariously mounted on the frame rear down tubes. Because of this many Japanese versions retained standard 20mm carburettors which would have reduced the engine output considerably. Ignition was by a Hitachi MC-2RY magneto on the right hand end of the crankshaft. The standard fivespeed transmission was retained. To complete the bike, clip-on handlebars, rear-set footrests and controls were fitted although some Japanese models used standard foot pegs and foot controls because of the rough dirt race circuits. Milledge Bros quoted power as “around 28 BHP”. The optional fairing was of average weight and good quality and was a powder blue colour. Although 10 bikes were sold, only a couple had fairings due to cost with the bike featured here sporting the last remaining fairing. In fact the fairing was poorly designed requiring the front wheel to be removed to detach it, meaning a check of the point’s gap required an awkward 20 minute exercise to remove and refit the fairing. Fairings were only offered to export markets. Milledge Bros retained the first Clubman Racer in Australia and engaged Victorian rider Ken Rumble to race it. This bike was very successful in competition but so were other Clubman Racers such as that ridden by Mick Dillon. Yamaha was an unknown make having only two years exposure in Aust. and were manufactured in a country known at the time for cheap and nasty goods. Without racing success they would not have sold. The success of the Milledge-backed Clubman Racer convinced nine other riders to pay £289/10/0, which was a considerable amount of money at the time. In Australia there was not a YDS2 Clubman Racer (YDS2R) as Yamaha already had the replacement production racer under way, the TD1, and so they only released engine up-grade parts such as alloy cylinders. This was confirmed in a letter in 1962 from Milledge Bros, Manager-Motorcycle Department, Mr R. E. Brooks, saying that the Racer model was no longer available and that Milledge Bros were “racing a TD1 of our own owing to the many successes last year” referring to the Clubman Racer in 1961. This statement also shows the extremely high regard Yamaha had for Milledge Bros as the TD1 at that time was a pre production version and only allocated to selected and favoured agents. The production version released for public sale, the TD1A, was in showrooms for the 1963 season. One does wonder about the TD1 because in a 1963 letter from Yamaha promoting the TD1 features it states “Distinguished Features – Both accelerated speed and maximum speed are most excellent but life of the racer being rather short”. Today three of the Aust delivered YDS1 Clubman Races still exist in Australia with two being featured in this article. Unfortunately all known YDS1 Clubman Racers (worldwide) have been modified with no ex factory bikes existing. Yamaha’s lack of understanding of racing motorcycles in 1959 can be summed up using their own brochure and just how much technology they absorbed in a short number of years. We know that road racing motorcycles have long petrol tanks and seats with rear humps so the rider can crouch down and tuck in with chin on the tank for aerodynamics and extra speed. The YDS1 Racer sales brochure explained “The fuel tank is oversize and shaped for knee comfort. The tank’s extra length also makes it a body rest desirable for long distances. A shallow back to the seat permits safe reclining. And the seat’s width has been narrowed for added knee comfort.” Is this describing a tourer or a road racer?
The featured bike
Production racers are a basis on which to build a winning bike and not necessarily a winner from the show-room floor. Owners continually modify racing motorcycles in a quest to obtain the competitive edge and the longer a bike competes the more it is modified. This leaves the restorer with a dilemma whether to restore it to how it left the factory and lose its history or to restore it to a verifiable point in time and retain some of its history. The second option was chosen in this case as although the bike has the longest racing history of any of the Australian models, it was still able to be restored with the parts fitted
when purchased by the second owner in 1964. Victorian racer Ken Dobson was the original rider/purchaser of the featured motorcycle and was one of the first to do so with this bike being built early to mid 1960. Not a lot is known about its race history although it was entered in the 1963 Bathurst meeting in the 250cc race, finishing fifth and also entered in the 1964 250cc Bathurst race. A note that came with the bike said it attained a speed at Bathurst of 107 mph (172 km/h). Ken was a toolmaker and tinkerer who previously raced British bikes. To suit his style, he made and fitted the cross over linkages to change the sides of the gear lever and foot brake to the British orientation. For weight reduction, the mudguards, suspension covers, and the unique pink/brown seat were discarded as was common practice at the time. Brake hubs were very professionally vented by Ken, and he painted many parts flat black. YDS1 levers had a barb rather than a ball end and when the “ball end rule” was implemented around 1961 Ken fitted alloy Doherty levers as the standard levers did not comply. For reasons unknown, Ken modified the attaching of the exhaust system to cylinder, deleting the castellated nut and attaching it via flanges. The meaning behind the Japanese symbols following “Ecurie” or team is not known but the symbols appear on a plate on the frame on early Yamaha motorcycles and it is believed to mean Yamaha or similar. As a reflection of Ken’s toolmaking trade he replaced many of the Phillips head screws with socket head screws. At the 1964 Bathurst meeting it was listed as an EC Yamaha and as the ports have been modified the EC probably referred to the modifier. Ken’s racing number was 35. At the 1964 meeting Ken had the “For Sale” sign on the bike and a young Wangaratta racer, Bill Barfield purchased the Yamaha taking it home after the meeting. Bill paid £180 which he quickly points out was a lot of money in 1964. Fortunately Bill detested the gold colour on the swinging arm and rear suspension and especially the brown tank so he painted them white. Why the word fortunately is used is because Bill was proud of both his purchase and painting and using a very good quality camera took photos of the bike from a number of different
angles with these photos existing today and still in Bill’s collection. Bill and his photos were used as the verifiable reference point for the restoration. As for racing the YDS1 Clubman Racer, Bill was not impressed and only kept it for about 18 months then sold it. With the exception of the small 30mm diameter tacho, Bill modified little. According to Bill the tacho was an inaccurate instrument and although the engine was only doing about 8000 rpm the tacho would often indicate 13,000. Bill replaced it with a TD1A tacho which is still fitted to the bike and was accurate. There was a large difference between first and second gear so somebody in Melbourne had six close ratio fifth gear sets made to replace the standard gear. When Bill purchased the bike, Ken also gave him one of these sets of gears which Bill fitted at a later date. According to Bill the standard fifth gear was so tall it was useless for racing but the close ratio replacements improved the situation.
Little is known once Bill sold the bike but it is suspected that at least three unknown owners raced it with a couple of crashes occurring, one causing quite a bit of damage. Early model racing Yamahas with the clutch on the end of the crank often had them break off or disintegrate with some force and this had also occurred at some stage with the current owner having to have the clutch cover welded in a number of places. It is believed that in 1972 the YDS1 was retired and put in a garage under a cover. Around 1978 regular OBA contributor Derek Pickard found the Yamaha and thought it would be a good candidate for historic racing as it would be the first Yamaha in Period 3 Pre 1962. However the early Yamahas had not been homologated and the Historic Racing Association appeared to not want two-stroke Yamahas involved. Although there was ample evidence that the bike was 1959-1961 Derek was required to obtain a letter from Yamaha stating the year of the model. Yamaha’s reply on 7/12/79 confirmed the dates of the YDS1 1959, YDS2 1961 and TD1A 1963 and the featured bike became the first Yamaha to race in Period 3. Derek retained the entire cross over linkages but the fairing and Amal carburettors were removed. To comply with rules, mufflers were also fitted to the exhaust pipes. The engine was reconditioned with Milledge Bros having to obtain many parts from Japan. Fortunately to add to the bike’s provenance Derek wrote an article about the Clubman Racer and his experiences with it which was published in the 1981 May edition of Two Wheels magazine. On 20 March 1982 Derek sold the Yamaha to the current owner including the fairing. Only the carburettors were missing. In 1983 the current owner had ridden to Melbourne to purchase a Kawasaki A1R production racer from bike enthusiast Bernard Andrivon and after doing the deal was recuperating before the ride back to Adelaide and said he had Derek’s old Yamaha. Bernard responded quickly saying he had the carburettors and float bowls from it and kindly donated them to complete the bike. One of the crashes severely dented the petrol tank and the repairs “modernised” it. In 1984 the current owner spotted a brand new petrol tank in an Adelaide bike wrecker and enquired about it. The response was “If you can tell me what it is off you can have it for $50 otherwise no deal.” So the tank was purchased and is on the featured bike still in original condition even down to the spare part number written under the tank in crayon by the factory. The Asama wheel rims are still on the bike complete with the rim lock holes and both Ken and Bill raced with one rim lock to secure the rear tyre. Because the featured bike has so much history and verifiable provenance most original parts and finishes have been retained although many parts have “patina” which allows us to understand the 50 years of Yamaha 250cc production racers, where it all started and the contribution of tinkerers such as Ken Dobson. The featured motorcycle is owned by The Motorcyclists Institute and the other YDS1 Clubman Racer photographed was originally purchased and raced by Graeme Laing who sold it to Doug Beak in 1981. Doug has also compiled a list of the first riders/owners being Ken Rumble, Mick Dillon, Ken Dobson, Graeme Laing, John Maher, Terry Leonard, Peter Highland, Fred Thwaites, Mick Mansell and Steve Stivano.