Yamaha TZ750 Production Race Bike(s)

[wwarner]

As a semi-retired road-racer (still do Track Days, mostly car), I wanted to take this opportunity to both post the impending sale of one of my TZ's, and offer any help or parts to anyone else interested in or restoring one of these amazing bikes.

The 1974 TZ750 I'm selling is the ultimate in collectables being complete, stock, out-of-the-crate original, and untouched for the last 50 years; this is the template to which all others are modeled. Basically all these bikes were ridden into the ground because there were so successful, then salvaged for parts ... if you didn't have one in the 1970's, you only saw the podium if there were no TZ750's in your race!

1974 Yamaha TZ750 at Las Vegas Motorcycles 2024 as R369 - Mecum Auctions

As an aside, I have to mention that considering the total lack of any information on many old machines/clubs/events/riders, the real skinny lies within the minds of those of us approaching the end of our journey on this planet. I have witnessed the loss of thousands of pages of real-world knowledge and experience with every old racer and mechanic I have had the honor of knowing that have passed; How many historical stories and ways of doing things have you amassed that are not written down during the last xx-years? If only we could do Vulcan Mind-Melds on those 20th Century experts - they forgot much more than future generations will ever know.



Warren

[JoJo357]

Beautiful '74 TZ Warren. I remember seeing almost a whole field of them at the Daytona 200 in 1974. Boy, they sounded wild & then kicked butt for 9 consecutive years at the Daytona 200. Also had a promising future on American flat tracks if they would have figured out a tire compound for that tire shredding explosive 2~stroker. "They don't pay me enough to ride that thing".
*Good Luck at Mecum, but i'm guessing you'll eventually regret selling no matter what you might haul down for her.

https://amcn.com.au/editorial/15482/

*M.A.D.*

[marksg]

My limited memory of the TZ750 was going to the track about 76' - 77' with my high school motorcycle mechanics teacher who used to amateur race a H2 Kawasaki.
The TZ750 had come out and the only comment was that they were so fast you could chew up a rear tire if not careful.

[wwarner]

Thanks for the kind words! The condition is one of the main deciding factors for selling the bike - it's way too original to even touch with anything but a polishing cloth. As far as the 750A's go, this is the most original one in existence. There is one other "ridden once" TZ750B twin-shock out there (from Canada, and initially misrepresented as an A), but in many years as a dedicated TZ racer and restorer, no other 'near-NOS' A/B/C's have been identified worldwide; there may be a similar D/E/F out there, but all these things (total production was 600) were in such high demand back in the '70's, every one racers could get their hands on hit the track (and the podium) immediately.
.
Back-up plan has been in place for a while now though - I am keeping the other 1974 TZ750A. This one is also a first shipment, matching numbers bike that has seen the common period-correct mods, and has been fully restored just as it was last raced by owner/rider Mike Ninci, excluding the paint scheme; I went for stock because I had the perfect bike to copy!.


Here is a picture of Mike racing the above bike in the 1975 Daytona 200 (number 15). He was #93 in the 1974 race, finishing 23th in the inaugural event. Hi earned the #15 AMA National Numberplate for 1975:


Tires were a BIG problem for all the manufacturers in the 1970's open class (2-stroke) world. Dunlop had the lion's share of the race-tire market, and the best was still considered woefully inadequate; even with only 100 Daytona miles, the original bike managed to destroy the rear, a failure many of the TZ riders experienced in the race.

The other issue is the high-speed wobble - twin shockers would go into a wobble North of 100mph which could be ridden through ... eventually the wobble would stop once racers got used to defying logic and just stay on the gas and ride through it. Most twin shocks were cured with frame reinforcements and changing the angle on the shocks to make the suspension more progressive than the up-and-down shocks. In 1975, C&J made the first aftermarket mono shock frames (for Erv Kanemoto's race team), and privateers took the task upon themselves, making their own mono shock bikes - soon other frame builders like Spondon started doing conversions and building frames.

Early frames were very light, but weak - it was said that if you have no frame cracks or repairs, you are not riding hard enough!
Even today, the Yamaha 2-stroke 4's are very competitive, and many are still being raced worldwide. There are even a few small companies that recast engine cases, crankshafts, and most every engine internal; a brand new TZ750 motor can now be build using aftermarket parts only. These things are indescribable blasts to ride!

Cheers,
Warren