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Where did they go?
But, what happened to the 1982 machines? It was estimated a minimum production run would have been 2,000 units, but none were shipped to North America. To help unravel this mystery, I talked Jon Bertolino, a well-
known Yamaha enthusiast and ’82 SRX 500 expert. Jon tells me discussions with Gordy Meutz and other Yamaha R&D and Race Department folks shed some light on the questions surrounding the fate of those sleds.
Jon was informed approximately 50 of the ’82s were shipped to Alaska for R&D and racing, and another 50 or so went to selected racers like Tim Bender and key dealers for their own race and research. But, if Yamaha did build 2,000 of them, it appears most never left Japan.
It also seems that the ’82s were not updated to 1983s either. Jon is quite adamant that the chassis are different from ’82 to ’83. In fact, few parts would have carried directly over aside from the hood, and possibly the rear suspension. Even the seat, side panels and many details are unique to the ’82s.
Bertolino has been able to track down 13 1982 SRX 500s between North America and Europe. He has also owned several of them through the years. Apparently most of the 100 or so sleds Yamaha let out were also returned to be destroyed. But as can be the case, a few snuck out or lingered in scrap yards. Of the 13 Jon has tracked down, about 2/3 have the correct “RT499 8R” motor, “8R9” coded carburetors and pipes, while less than half have their original serial number matching engine and frame. Several were updated to the ’83 540cc twin, and some had VIN numbers cut out.
So what about the remainder of the production run? Are they stashed in a remote warehouse in Japan? Are the crates of SRX 500s at the bottom of the Pacific? Were they shredded for scrap? Only Yamaha knows for sure, and they’ve kept a very tight lip for the past 33 years.