Yamaha's R1-Z Was a Deliberate Rebellion Against Overly Refined Two-Strokes

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A retrospective on the Yamaha R1-Z, sold from 1990 to 1999, traces it back to a reaction against two-stroke engines growing too refined after the RZ250 craze. Built as a TZR250-based naked sport, it made 33.1kW (45.0PS) and weighed just 133kg dry, deliberately tuned with a rough, spartan character rather than chasing outright performance.