2008 Yamaha R1 Fiat on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Dakar 2014: Cyril Despres’ Yamaha YZ450F Rally Revealed

Yamaha revealed the livery for its YZ450F Rally racer, the machine Cyril Despres will ride in his quest for his sixth Dakar Rally victory. Despres will lead a factory team which includes Michael Metge, Olivier Pain and Frans Verhoeven to South America for the 2014 Dakar Rally which kicks off Jan. 5.

Isle of Man TT 2012: Sidecar TT Race 1 Results

Dave Molyneux won his 15th career Isle of Man TT race with a victory in the first Sure Sidecar TT race of the 2012 festival. The win comes in Molyneux’s return to the Isle of Man TT after sitting out last year’s competition. By far the most successful Sidecar racer in TT history Molyneux is third overall among riders in any class, behind Joey Dunlop (26) and John McGuinness (18).

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?