Yamaha Serows are rare in the UK but can be picked up from the grey importers for £1500 to £2000. It's a 225cc OHC single in mild trail bike clothes. My bike was one year old, had done 6700 miles and was bought for two thousand notes. The dealer told me at that price there was no guarantee and that I was lucky it was December when all the punters went into hibernation. I always tried to buy my bike in the winter as that's when all the bargains are picked up.
I didn't buy the little Yamaha to go trail riding. Its dimensions seemed to me perfect for the cross London commute. The long travel suspension soaked up the worst of the potholes. The 240lbs of mass, coupled with high, wide bars made weaving between cars very easy. The 20 horses was more than sufficient for shooting through town. The rudimentary single front disc proved adequate when someone tried to cut me up. And, consumables promised to last for a long time.
Perfection? Well, I thought so but then it rained. The bike came shod with Japanese off-road tyres. In the dry they tried to follow the contours of the road markings but didn't do anything too crazed. In the wet they seemed to have more iron than rubber. The front tyre tried to whip away from the bike at the slightest hint of lean. The back tyre went into controllable slides until it hit the white-lines when it tried to throw the bike off the road.
Feet down or reverse lock were solutions of a sort. The real killer, though, was whacking into a foot deep pot-hole at 40mph. Aarrgh! The whole front end wobbled and slid, as controllable as a Gold Wing with a flat front tyre (another life, that I don't want to own up to here.....). Hit the front brake and get my feet down fast.
This had me worried. Had I bought a dog that was totally unsuited to UK roads (perhaps the reason Yamaha didn't import it)? The large front wheel precluded fitment of proper road tyres. A set of Avon Gripsters were persuaded on. In the dry a touch slower steering and a little bit remote until they were scrubbed in. In the wet? Brilliant, it was like I was riding a completely different bike. Only the most violent action on the throttle in the more extreme corners would cause the back tyre to step out. I'd guess that was caused by the forward weight bias of the trial bike riding position.
The Serow ran well in the wet with no signs of misfires or engine stalling despite some quite dreadful storms. The only worry was the front brake which suffered from a slight lag. I checked the pads but they seemed hardly worn. It didn't take me long to get into the habit of giving the lever a frequent caress to clear off the water. One of the advantages of the big front wheel was that it never reacted so violently, as per the sixteen inchers, that the bike became uncontrollable under excessive braking.
It was possible to bounce the forks on their stops under really aggressive braking but a bit more air helped controllability and still kept the plot compliant over rougher going. I found it best to turn the rear shock up to its highest springing and damping settings. It gave the bike plausible tautness and a nice together feel.
Not so clever was the seat design. In fact, I don't see how they could have made it any worse. It allowed me to slide around, had about as much comfort as a plank of wood and was six inches too short to comfortably carry a large pillion, an act that put a huge dent in the little thumper's performance although stability was okay. Seat height's a reasonable 32 inches and the bike is so narrow that even shorties will have a very good chance of getting a foot to touch down.
Solo, performance is more than sufficient for cross London work. Even the M25 was so packed that the lack of ultimate top speed was no great loss. The 20 horses are developed at 8000 revs and 14ftlb of torque comes in 1000 revs lower. In modern terms this isn't a high revving engine but it is a well thought out one. It runs cleanly from tickover right up to 9000 revs, able to hold 25mph in top gear with a maximum speed of just over 80mph.
The best performance is found by keeping the engine within the 6500 to 8000rpm band, where it feels really strong. But, its thumper inheritance is also seen in its ability to plod along like an old Tiger Cub but without any of the dreadful vibration or cycle part destruction. I tended to ride on the throttle going into work, doing a bit of hit and run on the brakes and throttle (the gearbox and clutch were brilliant) whilst ducking and diving through the most unlikely gaps. I have commuted on a C70, but the Serow was even better, having vastly superior acceleration and braking whilst being just as narrow.
Coming home I usually took it a bit easier as I wasn't running against the clock. I always get the adrenalin going by leaving home ten minutes late! As I tended to use the same route every day I soon learnt where the more desperate potholes were located. Just the gentlest twitch on the bars would pull the front wheel an inch or two off the ground. Sufficient to ensure a smooth ride, the rising rate rear end more than able to cope with nasty holes.
I'd expected the Yamaha to weave and wobble a bit when thrashed flat out but the only thing to really throw it was a strong side-wind catching the front mudguard. It was mounted under the bottom yoke rather than on the forks, projecting so far forward that it looked like it would pick up any passing sea-gulls. Instead it rattled around in the wind, setting up a slow 70mph weave and trying to send the forks into a frenzy between 75 and 80mph. Removing the guard, which provided minimal protection during the rain, stopped all the weaves, revealing the Serow as a stable 70mph cruiser - if you could take the hard seat and weren't worried about the rather frenzied sounding motor. However, as there weren't any mudguard lugs on the forks, I put a cut-down version of the guard back on. This eliminated the problem, cost nothing and made no difference to wet weather protection.
The frame's a basic tubular affair, at once minimal and strong. The frame rails don't run under the engine so it looks an easy job to drop the motor, although that hopefully won't be necessary for a long time. I changed the oil every 1000 miles, there's sod all lubricant - it's ridiculously cheap even when using the best oil. The only other thing that needs doing is the valves every 5000 miles. A dead easy mill to keep in good shape.
Nice touches include a stainless steel exhaust (that has a jolly nice bark), eccentric chain adjusters and an adequate rear drum brake (I've cursed too many seized, cracked rear discs to miss them). Oh, almost forgot, the Serow has an electric start that brings the motor to life without the slightest hassle.
Along with low consumable wear (it's too early to tell yet but nothing's worn out with 12000 miles on the clock) the Yam's quite frugal, which is just as well as the petrol tank holds less than two gallons. Fuel ranges from 60 to 80mpg, with an overall average of 73mpg. I'd guess that most people will average 70mpg without really trying. Getting 60mpg requires flat out motorway riding when the trial bike's lack of aerodynamics, more than any lack of engine efficiency, comes into play. I did find that a 100 miles of such abuse would lower the level of the oil to a dangerous degree whereas town riding had no effect.
After six months of abuse in the kind of weather that'd would make any sensible person want to emigrate, the Serow's still running fine and has repaid weekly clean-ups by looking as good as new. Keeping the spokes shining was by far the hardest task. I wouldn't even think about taking any motorcycle of mine off-road but if you're that mad the bike has the torque, suspension and agility to survive. It seems a smart buy for anyone who want to hustle in the capital; just a pity there are so few around - no, you can't buy mine!
J.Grave