1997 Yamaha Xvz1300atj Royal Star Tour Deluxe on 2040-motos

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Moto blog

John Reynolds: Riding Masterclass

When I first started racing about a thousand years ago, my local stomping ground was a place called Three Sisters near Wigan.  It wasn’t glamorous but it was brilliant. An hour from home and with about a million corners crammed into just a km of tarmac. The Three Sisters was a reference to the three coal slag heaps that had once occupied the site before.

Filling a void with an RD350LC

Last winter I managed to fill a void in my life when I stumbled on a very reasonably priced Yamaha RD350LC.  It was a tad scruffy, had the wrong exhausts but most importantly it was blue and white with all numbers matching.  I had the usual euphoria when the deal was done but I underestimated how much pleasure this particular purchase would continue to deliver another eight months down the line. The difference with this old bike is, instead of just taking it for the occasional ride I was talked into doing a full nut and bolt restoration.  Having never taking a bike apart completely before, initially it was quite daunting but I soon found the RD is easy to work on so it turned into a truly satisfying experience.  I’ve had some help from LC enthusiasts with the rebuild, however, the stripping, sourcing and organising was a total labour of love.  And call me sad but it has made me bond with this bike like no other which only adds to the feel good factor.  The bike cost £1800 and I’ve spent around £1000 but I reckon my mint Elsie is now worth a fair bit more.   I fancy rejuvenating a Fizzy  next time but there’s lots of other cheap 70’s and 80’s winter projects  out there so why not have a go yourself?

Yamaha Champions Riding School August Update

Our friends at the Yamaha Champions Riding School have been busy lately. Since moving to New Jersey Motorsports park in April, traffic has steadily risen, with June being sold out and July not far behind. August is very promising with some new ideas (one-day clinics to bring a more economical program to a larger group of riders) being inserted into the mix as well as a normal two-day school at the end of the month, which is already 80% full thanks to the yearly visit from the engineering department of Harley Davidson. Following August YCRS will have two schools the week directly after the AMA Pro races at NJMP.