SCOOPERMAN!

The subject of classic motorcycle

authenticity is an emotive one, and it’s a recurring theme that can prove extremely divisive. Back in January’s issue, our very own Andy Bolas mentioned that a decal on his Urban Tiger Honda Fireblade was proving to be a bone of contention within an on-line community. It might seem like a storm in a teacup to most of us, but for a dedicated few, such details can be all-consuming. In last month’s column we met a mythical obscurantist by the name of Peter Pedant, and purely via happenstance I’ve stumbled across something that would send ‘our Pete’ into thermonuclear meltdown. On the web I met fellow classic Yamaha enthusiast Honorio, who lives in Uruguay. Honorio has been motorcycle mad for decades and was fortunate enough to live close to a man who became Uruguay’s first official Yamaha importer. My new-found South American friend began his riding career on a YB50 and has owned numerous machines from Yamaha over the ensuing decades. His current project is one of Yamaha’s seminal 125 twins, the AS3, and the precursor to the RD125. It looks pretty much the same as the ones we got here in Blighty, but was painted orange and white, a colour scheme that was never available in the UK. The bike appeared normal, yet was slightly at odds with the way I remembered them looking. When Yamaha was first looking to export to Uruguay in the 1960s, the Government was concerned that too many foreign imports would be likely to have an adverse effect upon the economy. There was a need for commuter motorcycles within the country, yet Uruguay didn’t have the skills base to build them, so a deal was struck. Yamaha would supply motorcycles in crates with elements missing, such as tyres, exhausts, panels, tanks (replaced with fibreglass tanks which looked similar to the OEMS.) Those Yamahas sold into Uruguay are as genuine as any other sold around the world, but produced to take specific market needs into account. Such machines may not please Peter Pedant, but that doesn’t make them ‘wrong’ does it? It’s always best to keep an open mind, that way you get to learn stuff!

The sunny side of the classic world, with the VJMC’S Steve Cooper

www.vjmc.com ❙ 01324 410519