Frame, Body and Chrome

Which One Is It ?

Once I had the YA6 home, the detective work began to figure out exactly what I had bought. It had a valid New Jersey registration showing it as being a 1966 model, which matched the tank, oil tank, battery cover and frame, but front forks, head lamp bucket, ears and rear swing-arm were in the 1967 colours. At some point in its life, some mixing and matching appears to have happened which is not uncommon. A 1966 YA6 looks something like the one to the right with the dowdy front fender of the period, solid colours used for the contrasting painted bits and a round Yamaha logo on the tank. This specific photo also shows the elusive turn signals I'll talk about in a moment.

The 1967 model, also called the Santa Barbara was a gussied up version with a chrome front fender, a metallic paint job and 'Yamaha' spelled out on the tank badge like this one. The Santa Barbara also (I think) did not have an enclosed chain like the earlier versions, but otherwise was mechanically the same.

One thing I was missing were the correct turn signals which I remembered well from my own bike as they were notable by being almost invisible during the daytime. It has taken me several years, but I have finally managed to track down enough parts to be able to put a complete set of turn signals together.

I like the look of the Santa Barbara colour, and so will most probably rebuild it in the 1967 style - perhaps it was a late 1966 build and so could very well have had 1967 paint. No way to find out really and at the end of the day I don't suppose anyone other than myself will care. I have the correct tank to accept the spelled out Yamaha logo, and so only need a few more small bits and pieces so I can get started.