Yamaha BYZ 501. 1982

Before I got my first BMX bike in 1983, the kids in the neighborhood talked about a BMX bike called “Yamaha BYZ 501” and they said it was the best BMX in the whole world. It cost a fortune even back then so no one in the neighborhood could afford to buy it. My best friend Jörgen got the cheaper version “Yamaha BYZ 301” and I was very jealous of him. My dream was to own a “501”, but it never happened…

…until almost 30 years later when I got in contact with Hedda and Berry in Malmö. They had just bought an old bike shop who used to be a distributor for Yamaha bikes in the 80´s. They had many NOS (new old stock) parts for the Yamaha BMX bikes, but no frames. I really wanted to get an Yamaha, but it is almost impossible to find a Yamaha frame. But only a couple of weeks later, I found a complete Yamaha BYZ 501 bike at the French Ebay. The parts was in bad shape, but the frame looked good. It was not cheap, but I bought it anyway. Then I bought most of the NOS parts from Hedda & Berry.

The Shimano DX cranks, sprocket and seat post has been refurbished. The cranks and sprocket was re-anodized in red. The decals for the frame, seat and cranks are reproductions made by me.

I couldn’t find any information about what tires to use for the 501, but I remembered my friend Jörgen got Michelin tires on his Yamaha BYZ 301 back in the days. I found a NOS red Michelin skinwall tire in 2.125¨ to put in front and a red Knarler Knobby skinwall in 1.75¨ for the rear.

Yamaha BMX bikes was made by Motobecane in France.

A big thanks to Hedda & Berry for selling the Yamaha parts to me!

FRAME 1982 Yamaha BYZ 501. Made by Tange. Chrome.
FORK Tange TRX. Chrome. (NOS)
STEM SR MX-420. Silver/red. (NOS)
HANDLEBAR WIN aluminum V-bar. Red anodized. (NOS)
HEADSET Hatta MX-2. 1¨ threaded. Pearl cherry red.
GRIPS Yamaha/Motobecane. Red. (NOS)
CRANKS Shimano DX 3-piece. Variable lenght. Red anodized. Custom decals.
CHAINRING Shimano DX 44T. Red anodized.
SPIDER Shimano DX. Red anodized.
CHAINRING BOLTS Shimano. Chrome
PEDALS Shimano DX 1/2¨. Red anodized. (NOS)
CHAIN Sedis 1/8¨. Black. (NOS)
SEAT Selle Italia. Red with white Yamaha decals. (NOS)
SEAT POST Shimano DX 22.2mm. Polished with red decals.
SEAT POST CLAMP SR Japan. Red anodized. (NOS)
REAR BRAKE Lee Chi MX-1000 with Weinmann semi automatic adjuster. Red.
BRAKE LEVER Chang Star Tech-2. Red anodized. (NOS)
BRAKE CABLE Red. (NOS)
RIMS Weinmann 36H. Gold anodized. (NOS)
HUBS Maillard Helicomatic. Red anodized. (NOS)
SPOKES/NIPPLES Chrome 194mm spokes. Chrome brass nipples (NOS).
FREEWHEEL Maillard Helicomatic 16T. Chrome/black. (NOS)
FRONT TIRE Michelin skinwall 2.125¨. Red. (NOS)
REAR TIRE Knarler Knobby skinwall 1.75¨. Red.
DECALS Homemade decals for the frame.
PADS Yamaha BYZ vinyl pad set. White/red. (NOS)






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