2004 Yamaha Yzf R6 (31123) on 2040-motos

Moto blog

A crater looking for a grid reference?

THIS IS the 'Black Devil' - the latest traffic jam-busting, kamikaze two-wheel nutcase who seems to have little respect for not only his own life but eveyone else on the road, too. The rider in question has filmed himself tearing up Moscow's roads in a suicidal fashion, diving between lines of traffic in a bid to impress viewers of his hi-speed antics aboard a Yamaha R1. If he keeps this kind of activity up expect a report on his untimely demise sometime in the near future.

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!

Lorenzo Signs Two-Year Extension with Yamaha

Two-time MotoGP Champion Jorge Lorenzo has signed a contract extension with Yamaha to see him race on the company’s factory team through the 2016 season. The signing comes as no real surprise, following similar two-year contract extensions for teammate Valentino Rossi and Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa. Ducati also confirmed it would field Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone next season, so unless Lorenzo wanted to spend a season or two developing Suzuki‘s or Aprilia‘s new prototypes, Lorenzo’s only option for a factory ride was to re-sign with Yamaha.