David Yetman was born in 1938, and he fell in love with motorcycles as a military serviceman stationed in Japan. He specifically appreciated the “high level of performance” that Japanese manufacturers were able to extract from small bikes. Years later, he crashed his Honda CB77 and ruined the frame. He couldn’t afford to replace the frame, but instead of totaling the bike out he just designed his own!
To be fair, by that point Yetman was also a mechanic at a shop that built Formula Vee race cars, so he used the spaceframe principles he learned with the race cars and created an impressively light frame that was suitable for racing. A stock frame weighs nearly 30 pounds. Yetman’s design weighed…8. This racer was built around a Honda 305cc motor that’s been stuffed into a Yetman frame and complemented with a real Yetman tank, replica Yetman seat, CB550 forks, magnesium CB92 front hub, stock CB77 rear hub, and 19″ Borrani wheels.
The motor has a Harmon Collins cam/alloy roller rockers and has been given a mild port. It’s fed by Amal 928 carbs and the exhaust is custom. The sale includes a magnesium CB92 rear hub (but that will need some work) and some spare parts. The seller calls it a “good runner” that’s offered in “as last raced condition.”
Find this Yetman-framed racer for sale in Greenfield, Massachusetts for $6,500 here on Facebook Marketplace.