A Japanese parallel twin that “worked”, looked great, and was reliable. Too bad the early Brit bikes couldn’t figure this out. (Yeah I said it…. as I cower away to duck and hide) Juuuust saying.. 
-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Motorcycle Photo Of The Day 
Don’t feel embarassed.. cowering etc.
What you say is the truth.. the Yamaha is a great looking bike.. I particularly like the yellow one.
By the time these came to market the Brit’ twins etc were knackered.. worn out, built on worn out factory machinery. NO investment in more modern machine tools, processes etc. No bloody wonder it all collapsed
The Japanese flood brought new, exciting and MODERN products.. as much as I venerate Brit’ classics.. as an Anglo, I also have to recognise the facts. WW2 crippled the UK bike industry and it never got back on its feet.. even tho’ Triumph had a great 50’s/60’s.. they were teetering on the edge.
CRASH !! All gone. And the world moves on..
Regards
WF
Fair enough, but……Having owned one of these Japanese 650 twins and also a 71 Triumph 650 twin, I would take the Triumph hands down. Handles great, very reliable and has taken me MANY trouble free miles. The cool factor also far exceeds the Yamaha in my opinion anyway. Not to say the XS aren’t cool (in their own way) but…. Triumph for me.
With the Yamaha the performance and speed were there but the handling and soul were missing.
I think that’s reflected in the current prices for both bikes on the restored market. Are the restored Triumphs overpriced ?
Now on the other hand I dream of building a lightweight triumph 750 for adventure touring. But why spend all that money and time when I can just twist on my Suzuki DL650 ,KLR or DR etc.
With manufacturers bringing back classic vehicles in larger numbers, I would hope Yamaha has the smarts to revive this classic. I would buy one in a New York minute.
Compliments of Legacy Cycles Melborne Fl
Norton Muzzone