1986 Yamaha Maxim 700 Xj700 on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Round 1 Of GEICO Superbike Shootout Is This Weekend

Round One of the GEICO Superbike Shootout kicks off with the Yamaha SoCal Nationals this weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The event is the first of a three-race series that will crown overall champions in two individual race classes: Pro Superbike and Dynojet Pro Sportbike. The Superbike Shootout is a three-race series meant to fill the long void in the AMA Pro Roadracing schedule between round one at Daytona and the second round at Road America.

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!

2013 Yamaha YZF-R6 Color and Graphic Options Announced

Those of you hoping for an updated Yamaha YZF-R6 will have to wait for at least another year, as Yamaha announced the 599cc sportbike is returning for 2013 unchanged except for new colors and graphics. Yamaha last updated the R6 in 2008, equipping it with the company’s Yamaha Chip Controlled Intake (YCC-T) variable-length intake system. The lack of any significant updates to the 2013 R6 must be disappointing to Yamaha fans, especially as the color updates were announced the same day Kawasaki is expected to reveal a new 636cc ZX-6R.