Built chiefly with the European market in mind these bikes were commissioned by Yamaha Amsterdam. Lessons learnt in racing transferred to street bikes with a water jacket round the cylinders and better rear suspension. In 1983 the engine was tuned to behave well at low traffic speeds and also to react to high revs. Right from the beginning the LC250 won races and launched many racing careers. Competition from Kawasaki and Suzuki, and a rise in price, brought an end to production in 1996. This is a book of contemporary road and comparison tests, specification and technical data, new model introductions, long term tests, racing, buyer's guide, history.