2001 Yamaha Warrior 350 on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Back in the day, the All Japan 500cc Championship at Tsukuba

This ‘you tube’ gem sent to me recently brought back some funny memories from the scary but incredibly exciting days of 500cc two stroke racing. This particular race was the final round of the All Japan 500cc Championship at Tsukuba Circuit where I enjoyed a head to head battle with national hero Tadahiko Taira. Yamaha’s favourite son at the time, ‘tie wrap’ as we liked to call him, was taller and better looking than most Japanese riders (maybe a war baby?) and went on to win nearly everything in Japan during his career.

The short but sweet life of the Yamaha R7

I was reunited with an old friend recently, my 1999 Virgin Yamaha R7 Superbike. By the end of 1998 I had won three straight BSB titles with the Yamaha YZF750, when main sponsor Cadbury’s pulled out leaving zero funds for a title defence. Wanting desperately to ride the new R7 and thinking a replacement backer would instantly get on board I turned down quite a few offers including a juicy contract from Crescent Suzuki (Paul Denning always enjoys reminding me).

2015 Yamaha FZ-07 Certified by California Air Resources Board

Although Yamaha has yet to announce the FZ-07 for American consumption, new documents from the California Air Resources Board lead us to believe it’s on its way to U.S. dealers. The FZ-07 was first revealed last fall at EICMA as the MT-07, which is the name it is being sold under in Europe, Japan and other markets.