Beschreibung:

c.1970 Yamaha 347cc TR2 Frame no. TR2-900414 Engine no. R3-900414 • Matching numbers example • Believed family ownership from new • TT history • See original spares package (Lot 41) Yamaha's initial business was the manufacture of musical instruments - pianos, harmoniums and the like. After World War II, with the benefit of American investment, they decided to branch out into motorcycle production and, like BSA and others, used the design of the DKW RT125 for their first engine fitted to the machine which became the YA1 of 1954. Other machines followed, most notably their first 250cc machine, the YD1 in 1957. Having experienced racing success with their very earliest model, which translated satisfactorily into improved sales, Yamaha retained their interest in competition and continued to take part in racing. Entering 250cc races in 1957, they made a special bike for the job. Further racing followed, and Yamaha factory machines had to compete with the all-conquering Honda multi-cylinder racers of the day, but developments led to the TD1, TD2 and TR2 air-cooled over-the-counter racers which came to form the backbone of club racing the world over. These machines were eventually superseded in 1973 by the TZ models which featured water cooling – deemed necessary to prolong the racers' longevity. This TR2 was previously the property of Raymond Ashcroft, a Manx Grand Prix and TT competitor from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. Beginning on a Norton in the MGP of 1959, Ashcroft continued to race in the Isle of Man from 1964 throughout the 1960s on a 250cc Yamaha, achieving positions as high as 5th in the MGP, although his TT results in the later 60s were less illustrious, with several DNFs. In 1970, whilst having another DNF in the lightweight TT on his Yamaha, he scored his best TT result of 6th in the 250cc Production race on a Honda. By 1972, possibly dismayed by the reliability of his previous 250, he had acquired this 350cc TR2, which is believed to be the machine on which he finished 22nd in the Senior TT of that year. 1972 was his final year of racing on the Island, and he also gained a 10th place that year in the 500cc Production race on a Honda. The TR2 bears a scrutineer's sticker from August 1972, and it is thought that this was its last year of competition. Kept in dry storage ever since, it forms an ideal project for a new owner to recommission 'as is' or easily restore. There is no documentation with this machine, which has a new Perspex screen included with it. Fußnoten As with all Lots in the Sale, this Lot is sold 'as is/where is' and Bidders must satisfy themselves as to the provenance, condition, age, completeness and originality prior to bidding.