Lot details
Registration No: N/A
Frame No: 383994141
Engine No: Not Visible

During the 1972 season the Yamaha's works riders campaigned machines in the 250 and 350cc classes that utilised liquid cooling and which acted as prototypes for the following seasons production racers. The liquid cooling employed on the new TZ's sought to address the achilles heel of the TR3/TD3 air cooled racers - their propensity to "nip-up" and established a line of racing machinery whose success is unparallelled in motorcycle road racing history. The "A" series models newly developed engine was housed in a set of cycle parts that were essentially the same as those employed by the previous aircooled racers with drum brakes and twin rear shock absorbers. The subsequent years "B" series machines continued in much the same way, however a major revision occurred 1976 with the introduction of the "C" series. The new models employed a monoshock rear end and front and rear disk brakes. The engine had benefited from the ongoing development of the works supported bikes resulting in the 250cc producing 52bhp whilst the 350cc machine had gained 4bhp. Subsequent development was limited to detail changes until the much needed introduction of the F in 1979, a consequence of Yamaha's R&D resources being committed to the development of new road models. The F adopted a revised frame with an alloy cantilever swinging arm and revised front forks. The most significant change to the engine was the adoption of six port cylinders for the 350cc model, which with other changes resulted in an eight horsepower increase in comparison to the previous E variant. This combined with the better handling delivered by the new chassis and the reduction of weight that had been achieved kept the TZ at the head of the field. Throughout the TZ's production life a number of specialist frame builders offered alternative chassis for the machine with Spondon and Nicco Bakker arguably being the best known.
The beautifully restored example offered is equipped with a special Nico Bakker frame finished in gold and the owner informs us that Gianfranco Bonera rode and owned the bike. The restoration was carried out by Hiller and the machine, has according to the vendor, been described as one of the fastest TZ350's extant.