Classic Bike  |  August 2016
XS OF STYLE
The debate still rages. Was Yamaha’s first four-stroke just a copy of the existing British parallel twins – albeit with a few engineering tweaks? Or was it an original machine in its own right? Paul Harris, the owner of this lovely 1972 XS2 is sitting on the fence. “When I was a kid, I thought the Bonneville was beautiful,” he explains. “It was the bike I aspired to. But my first bike was a Yamaha FS1-E and after that I had a 125cc AS3 and I got into Japanese bikes. I liked the reliability and performance. So, when I started to look for another bike not too long ago, it was always going to be a Japanese machine. I saw an XS2 at Goodwood a couple of years ago and that was it, I knew that was what I wanted. Is it a copy of a Brit twin? I don’t think so, but I loved the
traditional look of the parallel twin.
read more
read less
As a subscriber you'll receive the following benefits:
• A discount off the RRP of your magazine
• Your magazine delivered to your device each month
• You'll never miss an issue
• You’re protected from price rises that may happen later in the year
You'll receive 12 issues during a 1 year Classic Bike magazine subscription.
Note: Digital editions do not include the covermount items or supplements you would find with printed copies.
Articles in this issue
Below is a selection of articles in Classic Bike August 2016.