Cyber Monday 1999 Yamaha Zuma on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Day 4 Dakar 2014: Juan Pedrero Wins Stage Aboard Sherco

Stage 4 of the 2014 Dakar saw Juan Pedrero take his maiden victory aboard a Sherco SR 450 Rally. Although not in contention for the overall, Pedrero showed he has outgrown his previous role as Marc Coma’s lieutenant at KTM by bringing his Sherco across the finish line 3:10 faster than third place Coma and 29 seconds faster than second place finisher Francisco Lopez. Coma’s performance in today’s stage moved him to only 3:10 behind overall leader Joan Barreda.

2013 Yamaha XT250 Receives Fuel Injection

The Yamaha XT250 dual sport is getting a fuel injection system for the 2013 model year, replacing the previous model’s 33mm Teikei carburetor. Apart from fuel injection and new graphics, the only other changes are a new TCI ignition system in place of the 2012 model’s CDI ignition, and a slightly larger gas tank (2.6 gallons versus 2.4 gallons on last year’s model). The 249cc air-cooled SOHC engine and five-speed transmission remains unchanged.

I can die happy!

As an eighteen year old Kenny Roberts was my bike racing God.  I loved Barry Sheene but as a Yamaha FS1E rider I always wanted the little American to win simply because his bike resembled mine.  The coverage of Grand Prix in the late seventies was sketchy but I clearly remember watching the epic Sheene/Roberts battle unfold at the Silverstone GP on my council estate telly.  The Dutchman, Wil Hartog was hanging in there for a while but as the laps unfolded it became a two way battle with Sheene looking favourite to win.  Sheene lost the most time as the pair lapped a certain George Fogarty so my hero Roberts eventually won by just three hundredths of a second.  I’m not sure what happened next but being a Sunday we would no doubt be skidding around later in the day at the Pines chippie pretending to be Roberts and Sheene.  Fast forward thirty four years and a boyhood fantasy came true as I headed out on Chris Wilson’s 1980 Roberts machine for the Barry Sheene tribute laps at last weekend’s Moto GP.  It crackled into life instantly and felt as sharp as any of the more modern 500s I used to race.  The temperature gauge had a maximum marker on 60 degrees so to begin with I was nervous as it didn’t move but being a hot day (although still keeping my hand on the clutch) I convinced myself it wasn’t working.    The bike felt tiny, not helped by the fact I only just squeezed into my 1989 Marlboro Yamaha leathers.  It still felt rapid though as I played out the 1979 classic in my head while getting tucked in down the Hanger straight.  Steve Parrish was also out there on one of Barry’s 500cc Heron Suzukis so we did our best to copy the famous last lap at Woodcote Corner where Sheene came so close to winning his home GP. As a lad I would have said the chances of me riding round Silverstone on a GP winning Kenny Roberts machine were zero, but in the words of Gabrielle, dreams can come true!