File:Norman & Vi Petty Rock & Roll Museum, Clovis, NM (31661218044) (2017-01-17 by Greg Gjerdingen).jpg

1964 Yamaha YDS-3 Sport
Norman and Vi Petty purchased a pair of Yamaha YDS-3 motorcycles in 1964. The
motorcycles were primarily used for tooling around Clovis. Their one big outing with the
bikes was a trip along the Canadian River just north of Amarillo, Texas. Today, the
thought of Norman and Vi riding motorcycles around Clovis may seem strange buth the
fact that they did shows what free spirits they were and how uniquely individual the
Pettys were as people.

The Yamaha Corporation was established in 1887 and was primarily a piano and reed
orgam manufacturer. During World War II, the company switched its focus to
machinery. When the war ended the company used its war-time machinery and
knownhow to start manufacturing motorcycles.

The Yamaha YDS-3 was often referred to as the 'Big Bear', a name it received for its
regular high placing in the famous off-road race in California called 'Big Bear
Run'. By the mid-'60s, Yamaha was hitting its stride as a manufacturer of race bikes,
and street bikes, like the ones Norman and Vi purchased. Unliki other motorcycle
manufacturers of the time, Yamaha put a focus on fashion and thus the motorcycles
sold very well and were considered sporty for their time.

The YDS-3 was powered by one of the very first two-stroke engines with 'auto-lube' -
meaning the owner did not have to mix oil into the gas; the oil was poured into a
separate tank. This revolution in small engine design helped simplify the process of
maintaining the bike andin turn made them more accessible to everyday people. The
model designation YDS3 is broken down with the "Y" for Yamaha motorcyclel the "D"
indicates the 250cc engine range; and the "S" indicates a "Sports" model. The "3"
indicates the third model in the 250cc lineage. There were 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 models in
the range. Yamaha never used the numeral 4 in its model designations because the
number four, pronounced "shi", is the same pronunciation as the word death. This
superstition is akin to the American aversion to the number 13.

Today, the Yamaha Corporation is the world's largist manufacturer of musical
instruments as well as being a leading manufacturer of semiconductors, audio/visual
components, comuputer related products, sporting goods and home appliances. Even
with so much diversification, Yamaha has not forgotten its roots and still uses as its
emblem, three interlocking tuning forks. Notice this emblem on the gas tank of
Norman's motorcycle.

It is fitting that Norman and Vi would choose a motorcycle from a company that had its
heritage as a musical instrument manufacturer. The choice of the YDS-3 with its
revolutionary 'auto-lube' system shows that Norman was not only intrigued by leading
edge recording technology but also by leading edge motorcycle technology.