Long story short, the handsome TX-750 quickly joined the ranks of automotive failures pretty quickly, along with the first two oil-in-frame Triumphs, it was a fucking disaster from the moment they went on sale, shame really because they were a bloody schmooth lookin jigger for the day, sadly though, the engineering and design team at Tuning Fork Central hadn't done their homework properly . . . . the new fangled anti vibration balancer set-up in the bottom end was shit on a stick hopeless, chains stretched, bearings and shells failed, cam lobes grauched dry up top, motors lunched themselves through oil starvation and overheating and much gnashing of teeth and dashing of brand image was the result, they got it together in time for the 1974 model by adding a monster sump and oil cooler among other mods to the balancer thingy, but the damage had been done, its reputation for catastrophic failure was established and it was dropped.
I noticed this old tart sitting opposite the place we get brekky from in Brunswick Heads this morning and went over and started drooling over just how unmolested it was, it might be different in the States and the U.K but over here in Aussie, they are like rocking horse doo-doo, you just don't see em around anymore . . . . got chatting to the owner, it was a '74 version and he'd ridden it the 700 miles from Sydney to the Byron Blues Festival and it hadn't missed a proverbial beat, he's getting the motor rebuilt soon and has another one ready to get back on the road . . . . I hadn't clapped eyes on one for at least twenty years and was totally stoked to see one in original shape getting some real miles under its wheels, I've still got the Two Wheels mags from the day when they were released, as a young bike nutter I thought they were utterly gorgeous . . . . nothing's changed . . . . and sadly, neither has history.
Heard of them over here but have never seen one. We were flooded by the XS750 tripples with shaft drive that everyone steals the tank off of for their cafe sportster hacks.
ReplyDeleteYeah, you don't see many of those around in the states either. I remember in the chopper magazines one of the bigger chopper outfits was offering leftover motors bought up from Yamaha devoid of any Yamaha markings. They were ridiculously cheap, but some how i doubt they sold too many. That leads me to wonder if they are rat-holed away in a warehouse somewhere, or ended up as scrap? I might have an old mag somewhere with those ads...
ReplyDeleteWell guys, that sorta confirms that they universally bombed I guess, the disastrous first two models killed the market perception, I suppose also that coinciding with Meriden finally sorting out the height issues that the '71 and '72 oil in frame models were plagued with and the cosmetic side of things didn't help either . . . not to mention the 750/4, Z1a and the XS 650, which had returned to it's previous designation after being shifted to TX as well. A shame really as they are supposed to be super smooth by comparison to all other parallel twins.
ReplyDeleteThis bike is a great old machine, I've done many k's on it on our Annual TXDU Rally which is coming up in September, we should have at least 6 TX 750's and 2 Yamonda TX's ( Tx 750 with a SOHC Honda motor) this year, we should have even more next year.
ReplyDeleteGo here if you want to see more of these rare and now highly collectable TX750 Yamahas.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Yamaha-tx750/577360362288325
Hi there, These are great old bikes...with all the flaws appearent ;o) I have 1 one of these running, and 3 "on stock" for rebuilding. Haven't been running for years, but plan is, I will have one out this year ;o) Also my brother has one, which he has been running since 1976, with the sam engine, with deep sump and oil cooler. It has done more than 250.000km without being opened.
ReplyDeleteWe have had a trip from Copenhagen, Denmark to North cape of Norwey. Did 6500km in 10 days with a 4 day stop in Finlad, to visit a girlfriend. Nice trip, but cold in the Norwegien roads at the coast.
Fingers crossed for having TX750 out this season ;o)
Tonny
Denmark