Davey's Yamaha TR2 350 PROJECT

The passion for Yamahas has remained with Davey, who still runs a TD2 today, and explains his decision to purchase a friend's basket case TR2 350 proddie racer almost 15 years ago. Proving he's a true enthusiast - or glutton for punishment! - Davey bought another TR2 at the same time. However, that decision proved to be fortuitous.

"The day I bought this TR2 was the same day I also bought Neville and Jim Landrebe's TR2 which Kiwi Neville raced in America," Davey explained. Landrebe was a star of the New Zealand racing scene, who also competed in Europe, before he was killed in a race at Pukekohe in 1970.

"This TR2 - the one I restored - was a matching engine and frame numbers bike, but came, as they do, as a basket case. All there, but in a mess!"

On closer inspection, that 'mess' proved to be hiding a few nasty surprises, but nothing insurmountable. Davey estimated the bike had been sitting idle for at less 30 years, as he bought it almost 15 years ago and knew the friend he bought it off had it sitting around for another 15 years.

Being such a pivotal machine in post war racing history, and also in Yamaha's own race history, the restoration of the TR2 was worth the effort that lesser bikes may not have warranted. When new, the R3-based 2-stroke machine was a big hit with privateer racers in the 350 class, and could apparently be bored out to be competitive with 500cc machines, too.

It's probably just as well Davey's a true Yamaha enthusiast, persevering where others may have given up, but the Queenslander says it wasn't just enthusiasm that got this restoration over the line.
"I was luckily to have a computer as this has saved a lot of work finding the right parts," Davey joked.

An initial inventory of the basket case of parts as purchased revealed that the front forks weren't proper TR2 items, so a genuine pair were sourced and purchased from Michigan in the US. The frame, while thankfully original, had been heavily modified, as Davey explained.

"Someone had welded in engine mounts that weren't for a TR2 motor, so I had to put my welding skills to work and rebuild them. Luckily, I could take all my measurements off the other TR2. For all the building I had ahead of me, having two TR2s was a bonus!

"The rear shocks also had to be remounted in their proper place as they had been laid forward and mounted to the rear downtube from the seat."

The featherbed-style frame (Yamaha was still 'borrowing' from the British and European marques at this stage) took some time put back to normal, but when the engine lugs were welded back in their correct place, and after it was sanded and repainted, it looked great.

Both crankcase halves of the engine needed to have some aluminium welding done as, over the years, it suffered damage which Davey guessed had come from a broken chain. With this done, the engine was treated to a bunch of brand new parts - crank, cylinders (hard chrome bore type), heads, as well as conrods, connecting pins, pistons and rings. The pistons in particular on the TR2 had a reputation for cracking around the rear 'windows'. The gearbox got the same treatment, with new gears, cam, clutch plates, springs and shifter.

It's here where the more user-friendly design of the TR2 engine came into its own. Compared to the 250cc TD1 and TD2 motor, the 350cc TR2 was much easier to work on, as the crankcase could be split and crankshaft removed without the need for special tools. Thus, it was easier to put back together, too. "All this went together so easily," Davey confirmed.

With the motor back together, it was sanded and repainted zinc silver and a near-new Krober ignition, bought from the UK, added. This was a common addition with racers at the time, as it was generally better than the Yamaha factory points. "The seller said it [the Krober ignition] had hardly had time to get warm it was so new, and he was right."

The ignition timing was slightly altered as part of the finishing touches applied to the engine, with the original Mikuni 34mm carbs re-jetted to racer-spec, too. Suprisingly, the original exhaust expansion chambers were good enough to re-use. "By my standards, it's a top motor!"

"With the motor finished, I turned to the front forks and that big 4-leading shoe 300 mm front brake."

The four leading shoe type front brakes on the TR2 looked great, and for their time, were amongst the best available, despite their additional weight. Notorious for being difficult to set up, Davey got the front stopper back to original spec. Both front and rear wheels and hubs (single shoe, cable-operated on the rear wheel) were then rebuilt and trued with new spokes, followed by a polish to factory original brightness - a time consuming job, but one that Davey said is worth the effort.

Finding a fairing was next, as none came with the parts bundle purchased. One of these was duly tracked down, and along with the original seat, tank and front guard, repaired where necessary then sanded down and repainted in what Davey described as 'those beautiful Yamaha colours.' Finishing touches included the signature colour flash on the fairing and all new cables.

"With all this put together and no breaks, it took me about six months work," Davey said. "Once I got started there was no stopping!"

"To me, it's still brand new," Davey said, adding that he hasn't even started the motor since completing the project.

All up, Davey estimates he spent over $5,000 on new parts, using only the best suppliers in USA and UK, to bring this TR2 back to original. You can see for yourself the standard of Davey's work, his 'no compromise' attitude on finishing, and his attention to detail.

With the challenge met to bring a genuine basket case back to life, Davey's looking for a new project, so is putting this TR2 on the market, but is hanging on to the ex-Landrebe racer for now. In our opinion, there are few bikes that would match this TR2 as a no-expense-required entry into P4 racing.

Our thanks to Davey for info and images submitted for this article.

FOR SALE

Davey has reluctantly decided to sell the Yamaha to focus on future projects. With some justification, Davey believes this bike to be one of the best TR2s in Australia.

Being a 1969 model, this bike slots into Period 4 (aka Post Classic) competition and is ready to race.

Call Davey on (07) 3245 1862 for pricing and further details.