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Yamaha RD 56 GP

Yamaha made its first official appearance in European Grand Prix racing in 1961. The Japanese company had two models in the field, a 125 and a 250, both of them two-stroke. These two vehicles, clearly derived from the MZ, were guinea pigs that were being tried out before Yamaha made a full-scale attack on the world championships, the most ambitious goal it could undertake.
In 1963 Yamaha had a racing 250, the RD 56, that united all the achievements of its research both in the plant and on the track.

The two-stroke, two-cylinder RD 56, with rotating-disk distribution, was raced by Fumio Ito. He won Yamaha its first Grand Prix, the 1963 Belgian Grand Prix, after taking second place at the Tourist Trophy and in the Netherlands.
In the 1964 season Yamaha took on the British racer Phil Read and the Canadian Mike Duff. The better of the two men, Read won five races and Duff won one, and the championship went to Yamaha that year.

The same two racers with the same vehicle repeated their performances the following year. Read won four first places and one second for the championship, while Duff had one first and three seconds. The Yamaha RD 56 was again world champion.

Motorcycle: Yamaha RD 56 Manufacturer: Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd.,
Iwata Type: Racing Year: 1965
Engine: Yamaha two-cylinder, two-stroke, with rotating-disk distribution. Displacement 249.7 cc. (56 mm. x 50.7 mm.)
Cooling: Air
Transmission: Seven-speed block
Power: 47 h.p. at 13,000 r.p.m.
Maximum speed: Over 140 m.p.h.
Chassis: Double cradle, continuous, tubular. Front and rear, telescopic suspension
Brakes: Front, central drum, four shoes; rear, central drum

The machine that made Yamaha famous as "the 2-stroke maker"

This model was a further development of the RD48. Its 2-stroke, rotary disc valve, 2-cyclinder engine was powered up to 45PS and it was mounted on a featherbed type double cradle frame. The front and rear suspensions were also strengthened along with other improvements that made it a new machine all in all. Its debut race was the 1st All Japan Road Race of 1962. The following year it performed very competitively overseas, with Fumio Ito riding it to victory in the Belgian GP. Further maturation in 1964 and 1965 brought the RD56 to the level where P. Read was able to win the World GP250 Rider title on it and help bring Yamaha the Manufacturer's title as well. At a time when the GP was predominately competed with 4-stroke machines, the RD56 gave Yamaha the reputation as the leader in 2-stroke racers.