YSR50 - Pre-Grom-Pocket

Since the iconic Honda Gorilla morphed into the Monkey Bike (and now the Grom), diminutive two-wheelers have been popular. You would think they were more or less kids bikes, but nothing could be further from the truth with generations of adults obsessing over so-called "pocket bikes".

One of the most famous is the Yamaha YSR50. Looking like a factory 500 racer shrunk in the wash, the YSR was actually a fully functioning road motorcycle with lights, indicators and even a hydraulic front disc brake.

Kick starting the 49cc two-stroke engine brought the tiny bike to life whereupon the rider had a mighty 7 horses to tame and no less than five gears… Something that made it hard to register in some territories that dictated it was a moped and should have an variable speed auto box.
Nevertheless, demand for the YSR50 remained high during its product life of just over five years with many machines being sold to racers with a culture of pocket bike racing emerging in countries from Japan to Canada.

Of course, the top speed was not stellar nudging 38mph (61 km/h) but that felt like 100mph when you were so close to the ground running on 12 inch wheels. Beginning its life in factory race colours of White and Red, the reduced racer was also available in Sunauto replica colours of Blue and Yellow plus the wonderful Yamaha Black and Yellow scheme.
Many machines were tuned for better performance and some even had engine swaps, but most remained as silhouette track bikes. That said a few well-crafted alternatives broke cover including a YSR50 Police bike which would be good to look at but not so convincing in a chase situation!

Speaking of which, our friends at Iconic Motorbikes will have a Police YSR50 with working sirens, lights and megaphone up for auction soon! Make sure to check out their website and socials for some amazing bikes.

If you want to sample the compact world of YSR50 ownership, take a peek at the CMSNL website. They might be small bikes, but we have a huge inventory of spare parts including many new OE items. Reach into your pocket and order some fresh parts for your YSR pocket bike today.