Yamaha RD48

The Yamaha RD48 was a two stroke 250cc Grand Prix racing motorcycle. It had two 56x50mm cylinders, disk valves, and an Oldham coupler
joining the crank shafts. Weight was 100 kg and power 35PS.
It was ridden by Tanahara Noguchi and Fumio Ito in Yamaha's first GP on Sunday, 21 May 1961, the French GP.
Along with the 125cc RA41, the RD48 contended at Yamaha's first official entry of the 1961 Isle of Man TT, with team riders Fumio Ito, Yoshikazu Sunako, Osamu Masuko, Taneharu Noguchi, Hideo Oishi, New Zealander Peter Pawson and Brit Tony Godfrey. Masuko crashed in practice and was replaced by Guatemalan Luis Giron.

Ito achieved 8th place and at the end of the 1961 season was 9th in the championship.
The engine was improved for the 1962 season generating a claimed 42 bhp at 10,000 rpm, however only the Singapore GP was entered.