1975 Yamaha RD200B - 5-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article

Description

1975 Yamaha RD200B - 5-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article
Original, vintage magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
Competition, that great mainspring
which energizes the marketplace, snaps
out motorcycles for every real and imag-
ined buyer as manufacturers look for new
openings and hope for more sales. So
some motorcycles, like the RD200B Ya-
maha, emerge with specifications tightly
drawn to the riding profile of a certain
set of motorcyclists. Price and perfor-
mance make the RD200B a very special-
ized kind of machine, and riding the little
twin is something like trying on a suit
customed-tailored to another person. If
it fits, it’s perfect; but if it's wrong, it's
entirely wrong.
A small motorcycle, the RD200B is built
on the same scale as Yamaha's RD125B.
While six-footers won't feel uncom-
fortable, smaller riders will prefer the
RD200's size to larger motorcycles. For
example, the RD200 weighs 290 pounds;
that's 35 pounds more than the RD125B,
but it's considerably under the mass of
250cc street twins which weigh 340
pounds or more. The RD200’s saddle
height is only 29.5 inches (laden); some
250s measure 31-plus inches from the
pavement to the saddle. And anyone with
short legs can tell you there's a big dif-
ference between 29.5 inches and 31
inches. Furthermore, the vertical distance
between the 200's footpegs and saddle
tallies 17.5 inches (Yamaha's RD250 has
19 inches), thus making the 200 twin more
comfortable for most smaller riders.
The RD200B has electric starting—a
feature found neither on the RD125B nor
the RD250/350 series. No muscle-work
is necessary at the clutch and brake
levers either; the soft-draw clutch will
never abuse your left-hand muscles, and
the twin-cam front brake needs only light
pressure to get results.
Imagine someone five-nine and one-
fifty or less; picture someone who dislikes
the bulk of “large" 250 motorcycles and
the moderate horsepower of 125cc ma-
chines; think of someone who wants a
bike with "full features" (such as ta-
chometer and electric starting), good
straight-up highway performance, ade-
quate left-right-left capabilities on back-
roads, and a frag-proof engine. Get the
picture? That's an RD200B customer.
For the sporting rider, the engine is the
redeeming part of the RD200B. The power
characteristics suit the motorcycle to
commuter-type freeway floating. The en-
gine can easily cope with four-lane duties
with the tachometer needle hovering at
6000 rpm at 55 mph. But real fun begins
above 6500 rpm where the horsepower
curve bulges. Across a 1500-rpm band
(6500-8000 rpm), the output leaps from
12.1 horsepower to 17.6—and that’s a 45
per cent increase which can be clearly
felt in the saddle. At 7500 rpm the twin
hits its torque peak, and maximum horse-
power occurs at 9000 rpm. Beyond nine...
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