Speed demon!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics|August 2020
The YDS3 was arguably the quickest 250cc two-stroke out on the street back in the mid-1960s, which is precisely why Steve ‘Stavros’ Parrish wanted one!
Speed demon!

Imay is going over old ground from part one(blame the knocks on the head), but I guess you are wondering why I wanted a 1966 Yamaha YDS3 250cc ‘stink wheel’? Let me enlighten you. I’ve been looking for one for about five years now, with a heap of nostalgia setting in, as it was my first proper road-legal bike.

On numerous occasions when I was a youth I had been caught by the local ‘bobby’ for riding my normal £5 turds on Her Majesty’s highways. These were motorcycles that I bought or acquired as wrecks and fixed them up before illegally riding them on the roads. These ranged from 50cc to 250cc, but PC Plod wasn’t too happy when he caught me, aged 14, riding a 500cc Twin Matchless to the youth club. At 15 I was legally allowed to drive a tractor so for a year until my 16th birthday the tractor was my mode of transport!

On that day (February 24, 1969) I bustled off to Hallens of Cambridge accompanied by my mother (dad had sadly left this mortal coil by then) and paid the salesman £160 for a used YDS3. I’d saved hard for nearly a year. Having been expelled from school at 15, I worked and with a small loan from my mother the motorcycle was mine. I was well chuffed. However, within the first three weeks of my ownership it had a considerable amount of seizures; I don’t think the Autolube was working correctly or maybe it didn’t like being ridden flat out everywhere! It did its job though, just long enough for me to pass my motorcycle test in Stevenage, not that the test was that difficult in 1969…

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 2020 من Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 2020 من Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS مشاهدة الكل
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Honda VFR750R - RC30

If there’s a more worshipped V4 out there, we’ve yet to see it: welcome to our reboot of the awesome VFR750R RC30…

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2021
Mountain tension!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Mountain tension!

Award-winning motorcycle engineer!

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2021
Fazer set to STUN!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Fazer set to STUN!

What do you get when you mix CRK’s lovely café racer kit to Yamaha’s budget middleweight and the recently-retired Martin Fox? Well, one helluva foxy Fazer!

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2021
Project Suzuki 1984 RG250 part 4 BRUNO BARES ALL!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Project Suzuki 1984 RG250 part 4 BRUNO BARES ALL!

This month, while we wait for backorder engine parts, we strip the chassis back to the bare frame, assess what is needed and plan the reassembly…

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2021
Project Kawasaki Z900 Stocker part 2 Ralph has a blast!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Project Kawasaki Z900 Stocker part 2 Ralph has a blast!

For the best finish on his Z900’s motor Ralph wants the best, so he visits Stephen Smethurst Casting Renovation to find out how it’s done properly.

time-read
10 mins  |
September 2021
Project Suzuki TS400 Part 8 Loom with a view!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Project Suzuki TS400 Part 8 Loom with a view!

We’re getting down into the nitty-gritty this time with component testing and loom building. What could go wrong?

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2021
Project Yamaha TX750 Part 12 A question of balance…
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Project Yamaha TX750 Part 12 A question of balance…

Only The Beach Boys had good vibrations… so what’s Mark been up to, to sort out the bad ones coming from his TX750?

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2021
Splitting links
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Splitting links

Ralph Ferrand works with tools all day long – he sells them too at bikerstoolbox.co.uk so he knows what works.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 2021
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

STAVROS: PRINCE OF PRANKSTERS!

It’s probably fair to say that Stephen JamesParrish’s persona and overall levity throughout his life have muddied the waters as to just how good a bike racer he was back in the day.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2021
Metal magic!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Metal magic!

Ralph Ferrand works with tools all day long – he sells them too at bikerstoolbox co uk so he knows what works.. .

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2021