97 Yamaha Fzr 600r on 2040-motos

Moto blog

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?

AMA Supercross: 2012 Anaheim II Results

The 2012 AMA Supercross season is shaping up to be a tight one, with four racers and former champions healthy and jockeying for position on top of the points standings. Ryan Villopoto, Chad Reed, Ryan Dungey and James Stewart have all claimed wins in the first four rounds. After the second Anaheim round, the four contenders, representing four different manufacturers, are separated by just 13 points.

Yamaha FZ-07 Available Stateside In July

Hot on the heels of the stellar FZ-09 comes its smaller displacement counterpart, the FZ-07. Priced at $6990, the new twin-cylinder FZ is set to hit dealer showroom floors this July as a 2015 model. Already available in foreign markets (our Canadian correspondent, Costa Mouzouris, reviewed the FZ-07 here) we’ve been awaiting word from Yamaha of US-bound FZ-07s with bated breath.