The Yamaha V-twin family

The XV series first broke cover in 1981 in the guise of the XV750H which was supposed to supplant the XS650, parallel-twin based Special – it failed by the way. Scaling the motor up delivered both another Virago cruiser known as the XV920RH and a more traditionally styled ‘roadster’ badged as the TR1. The latter was supposed to be a modern take on the iconic Vincent theme but sales never matched Yamaha’s expectations. Despite this the firm persevered with the V-twin theme, developing a middleweight sports tourer – the liquid-cooled XZ550. Sophisticated with twin cams and four valve heads, the initial launch model was plagued with issues, leading to Yamaha carrying out a big overhaul. The resultant ‘Mk.2’ proved popular in the US, but not in Europe. The latter 1980s…

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Classic Motorcycle Mechanics (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2025

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