1973 Yamaha TZ350. Daytona 200 podium finisher. Historic privateer machine.

Up for auction is a piece of Yamaha. Daytona. and AMA racing history! This 1973 Yamaha TZ350A was ridden by rookie expert Jim Evans to third place in the 1973 Daytona 200 for sponsor/owner/tuner/dealer Mel Dinesen. (Don Emde had won the 200 outright for Dinesen the year prior aboard a Yamaha TR3. ) This privateer TZ350 finished the 1973 200 behind World Champions Jarno Saarinen and Kel Carruthers on Yamaha factory team TZ350s in what was the first major race for Yamaha's new water cooled TZ family of GP series production racing bikes. The new TZ350s outpaced and/or outlasted both four and two-stroke machines of up to 750cc in that year's contest. Of course. privateer and factory TZs would go on to dominate the Daytona 200 for the next decade. Making 60hp at 9. 00rpm and weighing about 250 pounds dry. TZ350s were giant-killers as soon as they landed in 1973 and continued Yamaha's Daytona podium domination from the prior year. The massive 260mm 4LS front brake was necessary to offset the high speeds and minimal engine braking delivered by the 347cc. liquid-cooled. two-stroke engine. but I digress. Any TZ350 is a special bike. but outside of a Yamaha works/team TZ350. the one on offer here must surely be among the most collectible in existence. taking into account the Stephen Wright restoration and Daytona 200 podium finish.  The late Stephen Wright found and restored this bike in the early-90s. before selling it into two successive private collections. Wright is well known as having been curator/chief restorer for Steve McQueen's motorcycle collection. starting with work for McQueen's Solar Productions in the 1960s. as well as for his excellent books on motorcycles and motorcycle racing in the United States. His restorations are extremely well-regarded.   Condition:This TZ350A has been in two private (climate controlled) collections since being found and restored by Stephen Wright in the early 1990s. In the interest of full disclosure. there is some minor shelf wear (a few paint chips and a scrape along the primary side of the fairing from a tie down buckle during shipping). the rubber band mount for the oil temp gauge is split. and the Goodyear racing slicks show some dry cracking on the sidewalls. as you would expect from age. That said. the bike remains very clean. The paint finish is excellent and the colors are sharp. Take a look at the photos to see for yourself. The nice thing about the bike is that the 20+ years since the restoration have given the bike just the right amount of patina. Overall. this bike is stunning and beautiful; people gravitate to it.  The bike was mechanically and cosmetically restored to full working order and correct appearance. then prepared for collector ownership (i. e. all fluids were drained and the engine was fogged). Any attempt to run the machine should follow a full recommissioning. The brakes. clutch. and throttle all operate as they should.   Also included in the auction to the high bidder are a period Cycle News issue covering the 1973 Daytona 200. other period articles about Jim Evans. numerous correspondence with Jim Evans regarding his racing career for Mel Dinesen and others. and an original large format "Yamaha Beach" poster. highlighting Yamaha's racing success at Daytona and featuring the 1973 Daytona podium photo. The racing stand shown in the photos is also included.  Terms:This bike is sold on a bill of sale. This a Grand Prix-caliber racing motorcycle meant for off road use only; it is not and cannot be registered or titled for street use. The thorough Stephen Wright restoration was more than 20 years ago and the bike has been in climate controlled collections (and not run) since then. so no warranty is expressed or implied. Your bid is a commitment to buy. not an option to buy. so please ask any questions prior to bidding. Please take a good look at the pictures of the bike. which I have tried to take from every angle possible. The bike is available for inspection. by appointment in the NYC area. I am unable to crate the bike. but I am happy to make myself available to meet with the shipper of your choosing. I reserve the right to end the auction at any time and for any reason. Additional information about Jim Evans and Mel Dinesen:Jim Evans was a rookie expert in 1973 and found success almost immediately with a podium finish in the Daytona 200 for Dinesen. Evans and this TZ350 contested only the AMA's nine road race events in 1973. out of 24 points paying events. which included dirt track. Still. Evans's strong showing in the road races was good enough for 15th in AMA overall national points in what was truly a stacked year in terms of rider talent and factory support. including the likes of Roberts. Scott. Nixon. Lawwill. Castro. Romero. Aldana. Brelsford. Mann. Rice. Carruthers. Duhamel. Baker. Fisher. etc. Evans's results aboard this TZ350 were also good enough to finish second in Rookie of the Year to factory H-D rider Scott Brelsford. Evans and Dinesen parted ways after the 1973 season. but Evans. now aboard a privateer Yamaha TZ750/700. remained competitive enough with factory riders to earn a place on the Kawasaki factory team for 1975. alongside Yvon Duhamel. As a tuner/sponsor. Mel Dinesen had already won the 200 the year before with Don Emde aboard one of his air-cooled TR3 Yamahas; Evans's 1973 result showed Dinesen's 1972 success as a privateer effort was no fluke. For more on Mel Dinesen. click here for an article by Don Emde. Check my feedback and bid with confidence. Good luck!

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