1967 Yamtaco 250cc Racing Motorcycle

Frame no. B600690 Engine no. D6-427

• Rare 1960s racing hybrid
• Bultaco TSS frame, Yamaha TD1B/1C engine
• Beautifully restored in 2020-2021

The name 'Yamtaco' is a derivation of Yamaha and Bultaco. In 1962 Yamaha produced the TD1 production racer with a very quick 250cc two-stroke engine that was let down by its chassis. During the years to 1968 the engine was refined in the form of the TD1A, TD1B and TD1C, still using the same frame. Privateer racers soon found the obvious solution and slipped the Yamaha engine into a more capable frame. The frame used to create this hybrid was sourced from one of Yamaha's competitors at the time, the Spanish Bultaco TSS 250, which was powered by a single-cylinder 250cc two-stroke engine.

The most famous Yamtaco was raced by Rod Gould in the 1968 season when he came 4th in the 250cc World Championship behind Phil Read (1st), Bill Ivy (2nd), both on factory Yamahas. In 5th place behind Rod was Ginger Molloy on the factory Bultaco TSS. Rod's £200 giant-killer was written off coming out of Devil's Elbow at Mallory Park in October 1968. Fortunately, Rod was not badly injured. The following year Yamaha released the TD2 production racer with a redesigned and a much improved frame, which made the Yamtaco concept redundant. Rod went on to race for the Yamaha works team on TD2s and TR2s.

The origin of this Yamtaco is unknown; however, the frame number 'B600690' indicates it was originally in a Bultaco TSS250 Agua (water-cooled) Model 41 manufactured on 14th November 1967. Unfortunately, the records are not clear enough to show who purchased the machine. The engine (number 'D6-427') is a Yamaha TD1B unit that has been converted to TD1C specification, it is believed by Fahron Engineering. The TD1B clutch was mounted on the end of the crankshaft, which had a tendency to snap, while the TD1C clutch is mounted conventionally at the gearbox. The forks are Bultaco and were supplied from the factory painted silver and not polished because of the rough sand-cast finish. The running gear is probably Yamaha TD2

The vendor has rebuilt the bike in Bultaco style and appreciates that the purist would probably expect to see it in white and red, more like a Yamaha TD. When the vendor first acquired the machine it had a Yamaha TD fairing which did not fit the frame (the TSS fairing is narrower as the original Bultaco engine had a single cyclinder). His research into period photographs of Rod Gould's Yamtaco suggests it looked more like a Bultaco, although not in the silver and red livery. Offered with restoration bills and a extensive documentation of yamtaco history.
Offered without key