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aboets egtad,,desptebe gteo yoeo
the peer group to run an open-bottomedframe,
handleswell. ThefrontTLS (t winleadingshoe) front
brake isaseriously strong piece of kit,whic his
arguablyover-powerful for any serious off-road
shenanigans andlikely todump the unwary rider on
their ear if appliedtoo hard. On tarmac it’safine
anchor,strongandpredicable and with lots of feel
via aSLS, rod-operated rear drum. Thebike’ sgoodWhat to buy and how much to pay
TheCS 1 CsharesmuchwiththeCS 1 - CS 5 rangeof 180 sand 200 s.Thismeansit’stherefore
potentiallypronetobeingbastardised,thankstounscrupulouspick-and-mixmerchants.Engineand
chassisnumbersshouldmatchunlessthemotorhasgonebangbigtimeorbeenreplaced.It’salso
perfectlypossibletofitanearlyCS 1 top-endontothecases.Thesearebestavoidedasthey’rea
littleasthmatic.Eitherlifttheheadorpokeaborescopedowntheplugholeandlookforthefive
portsthemotorshouldhaveandnotthethreefromtheearliestroadsters.Theoreticallyand
accordingtothepartsbooks,youshouldonlyfindHitachistarter/generatorsonanyCS 1 ,butsome
havebeenknowntofeatureMitsubishiunits...bewarehereasnoneofthecomponentsswapover!
Ifthevendorcanprovethemotorhasa 200 top-endonitthisisnobadthingasitwilladdatouch
morepeptotheride.AcosmeticallyandfunctionallycompleteCS 1 Cisabiketogoforasstufflike
pipes,bars,etc.,willbeUSAonly.There’slittlepointinattemptingtoupgradethecooking,CS 1 ,
versiontoCS 1 Cstatusasit’slikelytocosttoo
much.Totalhoundsorcomplete(ish)bikesin
boxesstartaslowas£ 750 withadecent
projectforrebuildoranoil-ragriderataround
£ 1500 .Agoodoriginalorearlierrestoexample
isnowcomingoutat£ 2500 ,withatop-ender
between£ 3000 - 3500.Doesn't miss much compared toa250.So very 1960sYamaha.IT’S MY BIKE:
Rob Pemberton
“Asmypartner Eira
hadalow-pipeCS1
it seemedlogical to
have theother half
of thepair: orso I
told myself! I
acquired thebikein
Yamaha’s 50th
anniversaryyear
(2011) from a
long-timeresto rer
of smallerYams.It
wasalittletired
looking, even
though it hadbeen
fullysorted many
yearsbefore.First
time IrodeitI
nearlywent over
thebars; thebrake
shoeshad lost
almost alloft heir
chamferand were
bitingreally fi ercely.
It’s agreat little
machinetorideand,
with the five-port
motor,definitely has
more go than our
threeport CS1. That
said,it’snot as fast
as the200cc CS3s,
whichare
notice ably livelier.
However, theCS1C
is seriouslycute and
likely to remaina
keeper .”
power-to-weight ratio and moderate wheelbase
ensure it flies through bends atasurprisingly fast
rate of knots andagainst period 250s thesmaller
180 twin doesn’t really lag behind,if at all.
As apracticalsmaller capacityclassic theCS1Cis
up there with the best beingappreciably faster than
similarly sized 125s,but nowhere nearas bulk yas
many contemporary 250s.It’salsoarather classy
piece of kit and comesfrom aperiod whereYamaha
was still building bikes with grease pointsonbrake
pivots and speedo drives.These CSseries machines,
along withthe similarASrange, were thesmaller
capacity brand ambassadorsforYamaha andbuilt
up toaquality,not down toaprice.
Although we always caution against buyinga
wreck if theunique, CS1C, parts arepresent, then
such projects aren’t automaticallyafinancial sinkhole.
Yamaha offer stilladecent range of engine
components and the pattern parts out there are
actually rather good. eBay is almost awash with
reasonably priced used parts so you’re unlikely to be
stuck without spares for long. Inaworld where
Japanese strokers are only escalating in costaYamaha
CS1C isacost-effective entry-level classic with
cracking good looks and decent turn of speed.60 /classic motorcyclemechanics