Back in 1980 the world of motorcycling had never had it so good. Or so it seemed on the surface. We saw power levels soaring, performance becoming increasingly ballistic and, finally, signs that handling and braking were starting to enter the design briefs of those inscrutable Japanese. The race to produce the fastest, biggest and maddest superbike had just been pretty much won by Suzuki with their GSX1100, which made use of a half-decent chassis and a 16-valve powerhouse motor to become the fastest, and probably most useable UJM ever seen. The game didn't really move on again until the new wave of sports bikes with watercooling, beam frames and rising-rate suspension arrived.
Until then, though, we had the UJM. Universal Japanese Motorcycle. Across the frame four cylinder engine, twin shocks, increasing complexity and mass, less home serviceability and fuel consumption that was getting more and more like that of a car. There was a sizeable faction, growing every day, of bikers who wanted something simpler and lighter, something they could service themselves, something that would return a few more miles to the ever-more-expensive gallon, a bike with some of the old values - a long production life and plenty of low-down torque with less emphasis on top-end power. 'We don't need all this top speed, outright performance malarkey with all the extra weight and complexity, that's the American market you're pandering to', we said. 'Give us a nice simple bike!'
'Be careful what you wish for', the old saying goes. Mitsui, the European Yamaha importers, were listening to the feedback they were getting. In 1981, they gave us what we'd asked for. Enter the TR1 and its smaller cousin, the XV750. They both sported a 75 degree V-twin, mounted longitudinally and a stressed member of the almost non-existant frame, a la Vincent.
The TR1 was the European style 'sports tourer', with a slightly lean-forward riding position, whereas its smaller sibling was in the 'US Custom' mould, with high 'pull-back' handlebars and a stepped seat. The 750 was expected to do well in the states, whilst the litre bike was the one intended for European consumption. Logically, the TR1 should have sold like hot cakes: it was just what we'd been asking for - loads of low-down torque, a comfy riding position and masses of day-to-day practicality, with reasonable weight and a low centre of gravity to make it easy and undemanding to handle. There was also a fully enclosed chain drive as opposed to the XV750's shaft.
It was quite cheap, too. Unfortunately the TR1 was also initially burdened with rather dodgy styling. It looked like the designers got as far back as the middle of the dualseat and said 'Oh, that'll do, let's leave the rest to the production line....' There was no tailpiece - just an alloy grabrail with a strange little built-in rack - far too small to actually carry anything.
Yamaha made much of their brand-new cantilever rear suspension - never mind that Vincent HRD had used a very similar design way back in the thirties. In fact, the TR1 could be said to be quite close in layout to the classic Stevenage twins. It shared a few characteristics, in that it was loosely based on the barrel design of the SR500 single, 'doubled up', in a similar way to the popular legend of Phil Irving, Philip Vincent's friend and chief designer, accidentally overlaying two drawings of the 500cc single cylinder Comet engine to come up with the V-twin. It's debatable whether it actually happened that way, but it's a good story! The TR1 also, unusually for a Japanese machine, had a vertically split crankcase, just like the old British bikes. There was virtually no frame in the conventional sense, relying on a pressed steel spine, which bolted onto the engine to support the headstock, shock and swinging arm.
They also unfortunately saddled it with another 'first' - the first 'hugger' rear mudguard. The overall result was a bike that looked ungainly at the rear, which was never going to help sales. Early road tests were favourable: for once, a Japanese manufacturer had listened to what we non-yanks wanted... So it was natural that nobody bought one. Yamaha did improve the rear end styling immeasurably with a tailpiece and conventional mudguard from, I think, 1982, but the damage was done. We talked a lot about not needing bikes that could top 150mph, but the lure of the numbers proved too much, and the poor old TR1 was left behind in the renewed rush for starship levels of performance.
Which brings us to my ownership. I'm on my third TR1. My impressions have always been of a friendly all-rounder. Smooth, effortless, roomy; I've found that a good TR1 will cruise on the motorway at around the ton, blast the A-roads like a thoroughbred (of its day - you wouldn't expect it to compete with a modern sportsbike), then potter down little single-track lanes like an old Brit single.
The perfect bike for me, then. High-ish speeds on the motorway aren't the problem you'd expect with no fairing, as the seat places the rider quite low and you sit 'in' the bike, with the clocks fairly high in front of you, so there's less windblast than you might think. Being a V-twin, it feels relaxed. A four always feels busy to me; like there should be another gear, but a V-twin feels like it's turning over at half the revs it's actually spinning at, which I like. The handling is helped by the low centre of gravity (Ok, physics students, 'mass', then, if it makes you feel better...) and it turns in well for such a long bike and feels 'chuckable' and confidence-inspiring. I'm a pretty big bloke - 6'1, and broad with it, and I've found the comfort to be second to none.
Ok, so it's not going to break any lap records at Donington or Cadwell park, but that's not what this big softy's about. I have embarrassed riders of much sportier stuff just by riding on the torque, pulling away while they're tap-dancing on their gear levers, but mostly this is a bike for folks who don't need to scream from the rooftops about how fast they are - it's quick enough to be fun, sharp enough not to be scary when you are having fun, and cheap and easy to maintain. It's all the bike I need. I also like that so many bikers and ex-bikers keep coming up to me and saying 'Nice bike - what is it?' Or 'I don't remember that model!' You can do a lot of shows, toy runs and egg runs without ever seeing another one, so if you're an individual who'd rather not have to look at number plates in a bike park in order to identify your machine, buy a TR1!
If you want one, the only trouble is finding one - If you're looking, be careful - you don't want to step in the rocking horse manure you'll probably find first! As I said at the beginning, no-one bought 'em, so that long production life didn't materialise - or did it? Well, the 981cc V-twin did go on. It lost a handful of horses, gained a shaft drive (shame, that enclosed chain really is good) and a whole lot of glitzy gold bits and became the basis for the XV1000 and 1100 Virago cruisers and the basic engine design reappeared more recently in the BT1100 Bulldog, so Yamaha did eventually get their money's worth! (By the way, the BT1100 has more weight and less power than the original TR1, as well as a less efficient shaft drive - better not tell anyone who's paid out a few thousand quid for one, eh?) Yamaha have even recycled the name on another, slightly more sporty, litre bike in recent years too - they've simply dropped the 'T'... Their little joke, perhaps?
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