![]() A two-year run was all she wrote: fueling flat spots, leaking starter motor seals, smoked stators, starter clutch bolts that wriggle free and wreak havoc, an engine that overheats at every red light - even with the thermostat deleted - and a "start" button that does anything but. There’s also the American Motorcyclist cover of one being hauled off by a tow truck, but I digress. Motorcyclist said the '83 iteration was a "sophisticated piece of engineering" that suffered from some "ride-ability problems" the year before. It could sport, tour, and race with the rest of 'em and plenty still are today.Ĭycle magazine said at the time it had "the best V-twin street bike engine we've tried" and that makes sense, given Cosworth and Porsche's reported involvement. This mixed bag of a bike wore two brake discs up front, a drum brake out back, shaft drive propulsion, liquid cooling, dual overhead cams, twin downdraft Mikuni carburetors, and an optional fairing as a last ditch to drum up sales. Some of those bells and whistles just weren't ready for production, which also didn't help. It was brimming with innovative ideas and priced accordingly at around $3,000, which didn't help. The 70-degree V-twin motor, V-shaped gas tank, and angular bodywork practically leapt off the sketch board to put the "V" in Vision. Yamaha XZ550 Vision: quirky and short-lived. The tuning fork company really split the difference this time, but I wouldn't have it any other way. That knowledge, worth its weight in stator windings, offers up the benefit of hindsight - invaluable amongst Visionaries and all other long-suffering cultists who keep their rarities running. But above all, it's an heirloom that forced logic and humility upon a complete know-nothing. It has been pushed home, torn down, built up, been in print, and even collected an award. ![]() This particular Vision, in all its apparitions, has gone from mothballs and mystery to miracle then museum piece. It's been four decades since the 1982 XZ550 was unveiled and about 15 years since one of them properly introduced me to motorcycling. ![]() When it comes to the Yamaha Vision, let's just say my radiator runneth over. The thing about "cult bikes" is that it's hard to leave 'em once you've drunk the proverbial Kool-Aid. ![]()
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