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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!

Yamaha Files Patents for Leaning Three-Wheeled Electric Scooter

Yamaha has filed a number of patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the European Patent Office for an electric three-wheeled scooter. Unlike the Yamaha Tricity which has two wheels at the front and a third wheel at the rear, the patents are for a scooter with two rear wheels, each driven by an electric hub motor.

Rossi Signs Extension with Yamaha Through 2016 MotoGP Season

Yamaha announced the signing of Valentino Rossi to a two-year contract extension that will see the nine-time World Champion with the factory MotoGP team through the 2016 season. “It’s great because this was my target; I wanted to continue, I am feeling good and I’m motivated to keep giving my best,” says Rossi. “I am very happy that I can keep riding my YZR-M1, that has been my love for so many years and will still be my love this year and the following two seasons.