Yankee 500 Z

When I first glanced at this bike, I thought it was a Yamaha. But no, it’s an obscure brand called ‘Yankee’. It came out of Schenectady, New York in the early 1970s, although this particular unrestored machine now lives at the Museu de la Moto in Spain. Which is something of a homecoming, because the engine is essentially a pair of OSSA two-stroke thumpers singles joined together. The Yankee brand was inspired by Dick Mann’s success on OSSAs in quarter-mile racing, and was set up by the OSSA importer. The chromoly frame and bodywork were built in New York, and...