Ienatsch Tuesday

Yamaha’s Two-Stroke Beast—The TZ750

A bike worthy of the name “legend.”

October 1, 2019

The golden glow surrounding Yamaha's TZ750 is part legend, part reality. Arguably, the largest racing two-stroke Yamaha is the most dominant roadracer in history for the same reasons a Colt AR-15 would have been the most dominant weapon in the American Civil War. The four-cylinder TZ arrived to a racing world filled with four-stroke machines of the same displacement and the contest was over before the bikes shifted to second gear. AMA Formula 1 nationals of the late '70s and early '80s often had only Yamaha TZ700s and 750s in the top 10.

Yamaha first built the TZ700, which lost a shock absorber and gained 49cc to become the legend, Godzilla, King Kong—the TZ750. Too dramatic? Yeah, sorry, I got carried away. But in defense of the hyperbole is the downright nastiness of four 175cc cylinders firing on every stroke in a staccato blast of sound that shakes your heart right through your breastbone in a pissed-off voice that has you instinctively stepping back like you’d retreat from an upset momma black bear who hasn’t eaten all winter. Fuel gets spit out the wrong side of the carburetors when the pistons close the ports, the pipes vibrate and thrum as the revs rise, and the revs do rise because whoever is at the twist grip is going to do just that. Twist it. The two-stroke sound and fury are addicting.

There are no pretty pieces bolted on; the bodywork is molded only by the wind and designed to hide the rider from it on the Daytona banking. And the rider! Name your hero: Ago, Roberts, Baker, Spencer, Sheene, Lawson, Schlachter, Carruthers, Lentz, Singleton, Mamola. All applied their talents to the pursuit of speed on this nastiest of racing motorcycles. Everyone who rode it, remembers it because there was nothing like it.

This week, Cycle World compiles a, um, pile of TZ750 stories for your edification and pleasure. Yamaha's biggest TZ is a legend for all the right reasons: It earned trophies on the racetracks of the world with the hardest men aboard. And don't worry, youngsters, the TZ750 is being recreated by companies intent on keeping Godzilla alive and available to the next generation of riders. Enjoy the stories, the bike is worth it.