Yamaha RS200
This month, Steve Cooper champions the little twin that Yamaha built for the budget-conscious market.
Some bikes begin with auspicious starts while others seem to belly-flop at the point of launch. This month’s offering falls into the latter category, but not from any fault of its own. Happenstance and circumstances played against it disproportionally and subsequently jaundiced its reputation to this day.
The bike stems from Yamaha seeking to supply capable machines to developing markets at prices that fitted in with local economies. This meant that there was never going to be a massive return on any investments made in developing a totally new machine. Therefore it was both logical and obvious that the firm was going to take an existing model and modify it to suit the target markets. Yamaha was also savvy enough to appreciate that the main thrust of its export drive was likely to be Africa and thus a 50cc twist-and-go wasn’t likely to fit the bill. Servicing was never going to be a major priority for any prospective owners either, so something essentially as maintenance-free as possible would be crucial.
The final criteria were mass and ease of use. No one riding across the bush wanted to be piloting a detuned XS650 or trying to start a warm commuterised XT500! It was almost a given that the bike would be a twostroke which, fortunately, was something at which Yamaha was rather good.
The end result was the RS200 which borrowed its motor from the previous RD200 and CS series, along with a frame owing much to the RD125 and AS1/2/3 models. Softer suspension was used along with smaller wheels, a retuned motor and a single carburettor for ease of use. The bike sold remarkably well given its origins and found favour with bush couriers, medics, doctors and a whole host of small businesses who appreciated the bike’s innate ruggedness and simplicity.
Quite why Mitsui Machinery thought the bike would be viable in Blighty is anyone’s guess but import it the company did and rolled the ‘Mk 1’ versions to dealers in
1979 – just before the 125cc learner law came into effect. Even if spotty 17-yearolds wouldn’t have seen the RS200 as a first bike of choice, many an anxious parent might have steered their offspring in that direction and suddenly part of a potential target market had been fenced off!
This left the commuting ‘Uncle Berts’ of this world as the only potential buyers but they had a beef with the bike straight away. There was no pillion seat, just a single perch and a chrome rack which ‘Mrs Bert’ was definitely not going to sit on! In some haste, vocal owners and potential buyers were offered a retro-fit dual seat. One issue allayed, then.
The next problem was the bike’s almost perpetual desire to oil spark plugs. Lots of angry riders pushed their RS200s to dealers in a hot and sweaty lather, demanding satisfaction or their money back. Service updates recommended adjustment of the oil pump which only partially addressed the malady. The next recommendation was to fit gold/palladium spark plugs which were less prone to fouling – a free pair from the dealer was fine but the next set were, in comparison to the ordinary NGKs, ferociously expensive. Ultimately the issue was one of use and throttle openings. Someone found out that standard plugs were fine as long as the bike was given the beans occasionally; this cleared the engine out and allowed it to breathe oh so much better. The legions of Uncle Berts, however, were old school and rarely exceeded 45, 50mph at the most, so were essentially never clearing the crankcases out properly. Meanwhile, over in Africa, riders were hacking about at silly speeds and not suffering plug fouling.
The ‘Mk 2’ version was available for the 1980 model year and came complete with a dual seat as standard (whoopee!), but minus the tachometer in a bid to make the bike a little cheaper. It wasn’t a big seller either and some dealers still had the odd ‘new’ RS200 sitting at the back of their shops as late as 1986!
All of which is really rather a shame because the RS200 is actually a surprisingly capable motorcycle. Yes, okay, the suspension is soft, but it’s also a very comfortable ride and, if hustled within the limits of what’s on offer, it can get a serious wiggle on.
And yet, if the running gear is budget conscious, the motor is anything but. It might look like an RD200 that’s been attacked with paint stripper but it’s what’s inside that really counts and it’s something of a class act. Apparently the cylinders, which are devoid of the then seemingly obligatory reed valves, were based around various Yamaha motocross motors. This, allied to a softer compression ratio and some cunningly designed cylinder heads, served up a deliciously torquey twin that was more than happy to skip along with almost indecent haste. Compared with its donor the RD200, its peak power was only down by 2.3bhp with virtually the same level of torque being offered a grand lower down the rev range.
Yamaha had very clearly demonstrated that it was eminently capable of making small twins with a big heart and, in essence, in a similar vein to Suzuki’s T/GT500. Not all stinkwheels twins are hair-triggered missiles with tissue-thin power bands – clearly proving rather succinctly that, on occasion, less really is more!