The Exactweld was produced from 1984 to 1987 by Guy Pearson and John Baldwin at East Grinstead, Sussex.
Pearson and Baldwin wanted a good machine for the grand prix circuit and so produced this highly innovative motorcycle.
It had a 250cc water-cooled, tandem-twin, two-stroke engine with the cylinders inclined forward at 45 degrees. The compact unit had disc valves, on one or both sides of the crankcase, electronic ignition and a six-speed gearbox.
The novel chassis used the engine assembly to connect the front and rear suspension systems and had telescopic, pivoted forks in a sheet-alloy fabrication that bolted to the cylinder heads and carried the radiator. At the rear, the fork pivoted in a casting bolted to the back of the gearbox and was controlled by a single horizontal unit.
Gary Noel won the 1984 European 250cc championship riding a Yamaha TZ250cc-engined Exactweld. The hollow stainless steel spine of the machine weighed just 4 kgs - the motorcycle was so light it became the first 250cc GP racer requiring ballast to meet the 90kg minimum weight requirement.
Although the bike was powerful and ran well, it took considerable time and effort to produce and development was arduous. They were eventually overwhelmed by the Japanese factories.
Sources: Graces Guide; Graham Clayton.
If you have further information or a query related to this page, please contact us
