Hey guys, picked up another Yam tonight, well not here yet but bought it from Alan Shires, so a couple of parts will go on my R3 and the rest will be made into a cafe racer. I think it is a YR2 but possibly a YR1.









cheers.chris

Well this looks like a bitsa to me... (wasn't that a British bike?).

The engine number should tell you which model it is, but many of the parts do look R2, although the rear blinkers are something altogether different.

The tank, as is, looks like an R3, the R2, although the same shape, usually had white side-panels. The R1 had a different shaped tank altogether, more square.

I'd say the red parts are original and the blue and black ones are second-hand R3 replacements. I think the seat is from an R3 too - the R2 was trimmed differently.

The gearshift is odd, it doesn't look the right shape. Mufflers are R2.

Anyway, my money is on it being an R2 - the engine number should be R2nnnnn - I think.

Hi Ian, here is what Alan said about the bike.

quote---I believe this is the end of a production run and the start of the R3.

It is an R3 motor and frame. Engine Number R3-05606. The seat is also R3.

The headlight nacelle and exhausts are R2.

The R2  1968 was an interim machine with the R3 style tank, 5 port barrels, blinkers and different seat. Headlight and exhaust was the same as the YR1.

The YR2 had a different style seat to the YR3.

This is most likely a machine that Yamaha used up old R2 production stock to make up a bike. --end quote
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For mine I will be using a couple of parts for my black R3 then either made the remainder into a cafe racer or a TD2 look a like, or just sell the remains so I am no concerned if it is a original bike or not. Hey if it is as Alan says there would be that many doubters at any shows you entered it into anyway.

chris

How interesting... a factory bitsa!!! And they didn't even worry about the colours not matching.

It seems almost priceless.

Fascinating.

I think you're going to be using it to it's best advantage.

you know, my R3 has the same slash cut mufflers and it had sat on a farm undisturbed since the early 70's. Maybe some came here with them fitted from Factory, I like them better than the cone end ones anyway.

If, and I mean IF, I take this other one on as a project I will be fitting chambers to it. Probably best if I just let it sit here for spare parts.

chris

Hi Guys.
Its always good to have an extra bike for spares etc.
My green R3 number is R301964 and my understanding is when Suzuki and Kawasaki brought out their 250/350's with seperate rev counter and speedo Yamaha changed the R2.This is why the R2 had such a short production run.The clocks ,seat, exhaust and polished (instead of painted )crank cases were the only external differences. I read a road test that said the 5 ports on the R3 were changed to give a broader and earlier power band.
For a little while in 1969 it was Yamaha's biggest road bike (just before their first 650 came out.
Are you still after parts for the R3? 'cos I noticed someone has put a whole lot on e-bay.There is also an interesting R2 and 400cc bike project on American e-bay,He's made a very good looking seat for the r2 - Very handsome bike.
Good to be chatting again Cheers Chris

Hi Chris, thanks for the tip on the parts, but **** he wants a heap for them, most are more expensive than NOS. I've book marked him in case I get REAL desperate:)

cheers.chris

what do you do when you find a po has filled the crank case with oil, for storage purposes I presume, you drain it out, how does one do that, you turn the bike up side down of course:)

That's funny. I don't know anything better to say...

Hey guys, here is the latest offering on the R3 #2, as you know last night I drained the oil from the crank case so today I prepared it for a through clean, by that I mean I plugged up everything so I could water blast it, that done I put new plugs in, wired up a battery to see if I could get it started, it started on about the second kick and the motor sounds good, I am yet to fit the mufflers back on and fine tune it but I am pretty sure it is going to be good to go. Afther that I will do stuff like fork seals, sort the brakes, make sure all the electrics are in good working order etc and then consider paint.
Here is a youtube link of it running.

http://youtu.be/y0x3_HaXgCU

Well two running now,thats good.Its amazing it started with all that stuff in it I'm looking forward to seeing the other one finished.
There are two on Uk e-bay at the moment an R2 and an R3 they are becoming common]

yes the bloody thing will probably run better than my restored one I'll let it sit now till the black one is done but when I get back to it I think I will pull it down so i can paint the frame, I would have left it but it has been painted brown and it looks ****e.

chris

hey guys I have started a new page on the rebuild of this bike.
http://auction.netbikes.com.au/vjmw.php?dir=yr3_red&page=r3_red

check out the sexy new paint work

Looking good. I do like the slash cut mufflers - and the sound they make. A YDS3 was what got me interested in bikes, way back when.....