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"David Emde was among the best roadracers in the late 1970s – a time when the strength of the field was unmatched, filled with the likes of Kenny Roberts, Steve Baker, Gary Nixon and Yvon Duhamel. His speed and skill helped him win the 1977 AMA 250cc National Roadracing Championship and become a force at the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hour Endurance race." - AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

Although Formula 750 had been intended as a class for modified production motorcycles, Yamaha managed to get its four-cylinder TZ750 racer homologated provided that at least 200 were built. Like the smaller TZ twins, the TZ750 was an enormous success, providing privateers the world over with the means to compete against the factory teams in Formula 750. Packed grids of near-identical bikes made for close racing, and no-one who witnessed these demanding machines being wrestled around European short circuits, the Isle of Man TT course or Daytona's bumpy banking will ever forget the sight. Recent research suggests that Yamaha eventually made almost 800 of these spectacular motorcycles, which today are highly sought after by collectors and classic racers alike.

Long-distance endurance racing should have been well outside the comfort zone of such a highly stressed two-stroke but - against the odds and defying all expectations - the TZ750 we offer, is purported by the vendor to have finished 2nd in the inaugural Suzuka 8 Hours race in 1978. Suzuka had hosted endurance races of various durations as far back as the mid-1960s before settling on 8 hours for '78. Alongside the country's MotoGP round, the Suzuka 8 Hours is the most prestigious motorcycle race held in Japan, and victory there brings with it enormous prestige. Entered by the Mac Western Team, the TZ750 was ridden by Japan's Isoyo Sugimoto and the American star, David Emde. Lights were fitted front and rear but it is not known what, if any, other measures were taken in the interests of prolonging the Yamaha's longevity (jetting up and reducing maximum revs perhaps?).

Pitted against the much heavier four-stroke superbikes, the TZ750 qualified in pole position, which may not have been so surprising, but its performance in the race certainly was. Fielding their proven RCB superbike racer - winner of the European Endurance Championship in 1976 and 1977 - Honda were the overwhelming favourites, with the American Yoshimura Suzuki and Moriwaki Kawasaki teams expected to provide the stiffest opposition. In the event, one of the Honda RCBs crashed on the opening lap while the other went out with a mechanical failure. The race was won by the Yoshimura Suzuki GS1000 of Wes Cooley/Mike Baldwin (194 laps) with the Sugimoto/Emde TZ750 2nd (190 laps) and the Moriwaki Kawasaki Z1 of Graeme Crosby/Mike Hatton 3rd (188 laps).

The Sugimoto/Emde Yamaha is presented today in believed-restored condition, complete with a full complement of sponsors' stickers from Suzuka in 1978 (the engine turns over).

Following a period of inactivity, this motorcycle will require recommissioning and/or restoration to a greater or lesser extent before returning to the road and thus is sold strictly as viewed. Prospective purchasers should satisfy themselves with regard to this motorcycle's completeness, history, authenticity, originality and mechanical condition prior to bidding.
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