Yamaha TZ 350

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yamaha 350 TZ side.JPG
Yamaha TZ 350 D (1977)
Manufacturer Yamaha engine
Production period 1973 to 1981
class motorcycle
Motor data
Two-stroke engine , water-cooled two-cylinder engine, inlet through piston edge control
Displacement  (cm³) 347
Power  (kW / PS ) 60-72 hp at 9,500-11,000 rpm
Top speed (  km / h) over 250
drive Chain
Wheelbase  (mm) 1316-1331
Empty weight  (kg) 108-118

The Yamaha TZ 350 was a commercially available racing motorcycle from the Japanese manufacturer Yamaha , which was used by private riders in the motorcycle world championship from 1973 to 1982 . The basis of the production racer was the factory machine.

Because of its reliability and lower consumption, the Yamaha TZ 350 was even used in the Formula 750 . In 1973 the Finn Jarno Saarinen won the Daytona 200 and the 200 miles of Imola with the 350 factory machine against racing motorcycles with 750 cc. The private rider Jon Ekerold won the motorcycle world championship in 1980 in the class up to 350 cm³ on a Yamaha Production Racer with Bimota chassis.

History and technology

The water-cooled TZ series of commercially available racing machines with a small displacement (250 and 350 cm³) was presented at the end of 1972 and replaced the air-cooled versions Yamaha TD and Yamaha TR , which were basically powered by tuned series engines. The bore / stroke ratio of 64 × 54 mm was adopted from the TR 3. The first model series (TZ 350 A) of the water-cooled twin with contactless thyristor magneto had a power output of 60 HP, the last variant (TZ 350 F / H) 72 HP. While the diaphragm control was taken over into series production, Yamaha decided to use the piston edge control for the Production Racer. The fresh oil automatic was also easily converted to mixed lubrication (1:20) by some private drivers. This engine base formed the template for the 1974 Yamaha TZ 750 , with a smaller bore the almost identical Yamaha TZ 250 was offered.

The power was transmitted via a chain to the rear wheel via a six-speed gearbox. The chassis consisted of a double-loop tubular frame with a telescopic fork and until 1975 (TZ 350 B) with two spring struts on the rear swing arm , after that it was a cantilever swing arm with a central spring strut . The tire size changed in the course of development from 2.75–18 to 3.00–18 at the front and from 3.00–18 to 3.50–18 at the rear. Until 1975 the racing motorcycle had a duo-duplex brake on the front wheel and a duplex brake on the rear wheel. The disc brake (right) was introduced with the TZ 350 C (1976). The petrol tank held 23 liters, the oil supply was 1.6 liters.

Technical specifications

TZ 350 TZ 350 B TZ 350 C TZ 350 D-E TZ 350 F-H
Construction year 1973-74 1975 1976 1977-78 1979-81
Performance / at 60 PS
9,500 min -1 		60 PS
9,500 min -1 		62 PS
10,000 min -1 		64 PS
10,500 min -1 		72 PS
11,000 min -1
wheelbase 1331 mm 1331 mm 1316 mm 1316 mm 1321 mm
Steering head angle in degrees
 62.5 62.5 62.5 62.5
Trail in mm
 90 90 75 75
Empty weight in kg 115 115 118 118 108

Suspension kit

Various motorcycle parts manufacturers and tuners offered complete motorcycle frames or suspension kits for the TZ 350 to improve driving stability : including Bimota , JJ Cobas , Egli , Tony Foale, Norman Hossack, Bakker and Jamathi .

Yamaha OW16 by Giacomo Agostini (1974)
in contrast to Teuvo Länsivuori's OW16 with a brake disc

Yamaha OW16

The factory machine OW16, which was developed in 1973 for Teuvo Länsivuori, was a light version of the commercially available TZ 350. The machine used by Länsivuori in Assen weighed 96 kg and was specified with an output of 68 hp at 11,000 rpm. Giacomo Agostini , who switched from MV Agusta to Yamaha as a works rider in 1974 , won the motorcycle world championship in the class up to 350 cc that year with five victories . The reduced weight was achieved through the use of magnesium on the crankcase, carburetors and rims, aluminum on the shock absorber and brake pedal and a shorter chrome-molybdenum steel frame . This advantage made the OW16 much more manageable and better in acceleration than the Production TZ 350; In terms of top speed, the OW16 was not significantly superior to the production racer.

literature

  • Collin MacKellar: Yamaha. All Factory and Production Road-Racing Two-Strokes from 1955 to 1993 . The Crowood Press, 1st edition 1995, ISBN 978-18522-3920-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Axel Koenigsbeck, Hans J. Schneider, Peter Abelmann: Yamaha. Schneider Text Editions LTD., 1st edition 2004, ISBN 0-9541746-0-7 , p. 370.
  2. ↑ The purchase price was (1979) DM 13,500 . Well-preserved copies can now (2015) produce this sum in euros.
  3. ↑ a b c Collin MacKellar: Yamaha ., P. 187.
  4. ↑ Siegfried Rauch: Famous Racing Motorcycles - 150 old and new racing machines for Grand Prix use . 2nd Edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-87943-590-1 , p. 257.
  5. ↑ Collin MacKellar: Yamaha ., P. 69.