Yokouchi
I felt that if we could do a 400 cc bike that was 18 percent lighter, we should be able to do the same with a 750", recalls Mr. Yokouchi.[1] Using a current model GS750 as a starting point, Yokouchi’s team went through every part, reducing weight wherever possible. A new aluminum frame, was engineered in a distinctive shape with square tubes stretching back over and around the top of the engine, then turning sharply downwards just past the carburetors to beneath the engine where the met the lower tubes. This design, unheard of at the time, would soon become familiar to a generation of motorcyclists and is often referred to as the “humpback” frame.
I felt that if we could do a 400 cc bike that was 18 percent lighter, we should be able to do the same with a 750", recalls Mr. Yokouchi.[1] Using a current model GS750 as a starting point, Yokouchi’s team went through every part, reducing weight wherever possible. A new aluminum frame, was engineered in a distinctive shape with square tubes stretching back over and around the top of the engine, then turning sharply downwards just past the carburetors to beneath the engine where the met the lower tubes. This design, unheard of at the time, would soon become familiar to a generation of motorcyclists and is often referred to as the “humpback” frame.
