The June 3, 1973 Otorohanga MCC Scramble at TeKuiti features one of the early appearances in New Zealand for Yamaha's first large-capacity motocross bike, the 'SC500', plus Honda's new 250cc 'Elsinore'.
Ross McLaren received the Yamaha SC through sponsorship from White's Waikato, which had provided a 'pre-production' version of the new 500cc to team-mate Hugh Anderson.
While Ross liked the bike - which, as the film shows, had plenty of horsepower - complaints (especially from the influential American market) over the handling of the SC meant it was soon replaced by the now familiar YZ model.
"The SC was the first 500cc production two-stroke you could buy in NZ. All the rival Suzukis, Husqvarnas, CZs and Bultacos were 400cc or smaller," Ross said.
"The SC was heavy but I just liked the power and, for me, the handling was as good as the CZ I'd raced before. And because of the wide powerband, I personally didn't mind the four-speed gearbox.
"Reliability was also close to the CZs for me. The only issues I had with the SC were a cracked piston and exhaust brackets."
But stung by widespread criticism of the SC, Yamaha's replacement YZ (which arrived in late 1973) was initially only available in smaller 250 and 360cc sizes.
While the big SC had a desert-racing feel about it, the lightweight (but more fragile) YZ was a close production copy of the World Motocross Championship bikes raced by the likes of Haken Andersson.
The 360cc YZ was virtually a 250 with a bigger piston and slightly shorter exhaust pipe.
After the SC was dropped by Yamaha, Ross McLaren received the YZ from White's Waikato (newspaper cutting at end of film).
"My first event on the YZ was at Gower's Farm on 30/09/1973. I won the half-hour race riding the 250, as the throttle kept jamming open on the 360 all day. We couldn't cure it!"
We don't have footage of the Gower event, but do have another of the first races for the YZ in NZ, the October 1973 MTT Championship at Wanganui: • 1973 NZ 500cc Miniatur...
When White's closed its doors in June 1974, Ross briefly returned to his old CZ machine (as raced in the Te Rapa film: • 1970s NZ Motocross, Te... ), before moving to the UK.
Honda's CR250M Elsinore machines, which would start the company's off-road rise, are competing in the 250cc class at the exciting TeKuiti circuit, in the hands of Alan Collison and Alan Franklin.
Featured in this film:
Ross McLaren, (500cc Yamaha SC, #58)
Dennis Pearce, (360cc Yamaha MX, #12)
Reg Davies, (360cc Yamaha MX, #109)
Barry McLaren, (250cc Yamaha MX, #31)
Alan Collison, (250cc Honda Elsinore, #1)
Alan Franklin, (250cc Honda Elsinore, #36
Dave Catherwood, (250cc CZ twin port, #77)
Film by Alan McLaren.
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25 авг 2024
