The Soulful V-twin
Thirty years ago, “retro” wasn’t a commonly used term for motorcycles. The design trend that is now so prevalent was then more likely to be applied to fashion apparel or interior décor.
Yamaha saw a niche market here, given the swell of interest in the ‘sixties style Café Racers. However rather than opt for a big single a la BSA Gold Star or Velocette Thruxton, or a twin of the parallel variety (think Triumph Bonneville or Norton Atlas) or even a big V-twin (Vincent, naturally), they chose the lower end of the displacement scale – a 250. In their range, Yamaha already had a donor motor that could be plucked straight from the rather naff but undeniably popular XV250 Virago – a sort of mini Harley cruiser. The XV250 was in a fairly mild state of tune, so this is the first aspect that was addressed back in Iwata. More power was called for, so the XV engine underwent some tweaking. With a very undersquare configuration of 49mm bore and 66mm
stroke, the XV mill wasn’t really designed as a revver – more a plodder with plenty of torque in keeping with its Learner target market. The SRV however, while still learner-legal in Australia, was pitched at a more discerning market, and the engineers in Japan managed to extract an extra six horsepower without destroying the pleasant character of the engine. In fact, the SRV was possessed of a surprising turn of speed. In place of the XV’s single BDS26 Mikuni carb, there were two such carbs, a sportier camshaft, different ignition timing and slightly lower final gearing. For some reason, the compression ratio dropped from 10.0:1 to 9.5:1. In real terms, the SRV developed almost 30% more power than the XV, with 20% more torque. By necessity, the SRV tipped the scales a few kilos (4.8) heavier than the XV – a larger fuel tank, twin instruments and so on contributing to the weight gain.
But what set the SRV apart was not the performance per se, but the package, beginning with the styling. In the eyes of many a motorcyclist, nothing looks worse than a clumsy attempt at imitation, and in the Café Racer clique, there had been many disasters. Not so the SRV. Here, Yamaha’s designers had got it spot-on; it looked right from every angle. ‚
The frame had a distinctly Norton Featherbed look about it, wrapped tightly around the little twin which had an exhaust pipe and muffler on each side, rather than a Siamesed system. The finely sculptured fuel tank could have come from Varese or Mandello, hugging the top frame rails and tapering to a neat droopy section at the intersection with the seat. That seat was a conventional dual person job, but was just screaming out for a racy single spot with a hump back, and that very quickly became available from several after-market suppliers. It was interesting that nowhere on the motorcycle did ‘250’ appear; it’s as though Yamaha wanted people to make up their own minds. The sidecover stickers differed in various markets. Japanese market models carried the wording “Soulful V-twin”, while Australian models were “Sports V-twin”.
Suspension, while hardly state-of-the-art, was nonetheless light years in advance of that on the XV250, as were the brakes – a dual piston stopper on a 280mm disc at the front and a drum rear, both laced to anodised alloy rims and shod with quite reasonable tyres. Despite a relatively short 1390mm wheelbase, the SRV’s handling captivated every road tester who straddled it, all praising the precise steering and the stability. Corners could be attacked as if they were not there, lines changed in the blink of an eye.
A late starter
The XV250 had been such a success (and a runaway leader in the Learner category) in the Australian market that Yamaha Australia was initially unconvinced of the need, or the viability, of the SRV250. Indeed, the model went on sale in Japan and some other markets as early as 1992, but it was early 1995 before the Australian distributors decided to go ahead with importation of the SRV250G model. There had been an SRV250 on display at the Sydney company’s headquarters for some time and eventually, the model was added to the line up. In fact, the XV250 had done a considerable job in convincing the buying public that a 250 was no longer a wheezy little side-valve from the British Midlands, but a machine that could be ridden almost anywhere. True, there were shortcomings, but the SRV250 went a very long way in addressing those. Although the standard of finish was well up to what was expected from Yamaha, one thing that did polarise opinion was the colourmatching of the frame to the cycle parts. The model was available in either red or green (a dark blue version was also sold in Japan), and many opined that the frame would ‚