Used 2000 Yamaha Yzf600r on 2040-motos

Moto blog

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!

The short but sweet life of the Yamaha R7

I was reunited with an old friend recently, my 1999 Virgin Yamaha R7 Superbike. By the end of 1998 I had won three straight BSB titles with the Yamaha YZF750, when main sponsor Cadbury’s pulled out leaving zero funds for a title defence. Wanting desperately to ride the new R7 and thinking a replacement backer would instantly get on board I turned down quite a few offers including a juicy contract from Crescent Suzuki (Paul Denning always enjoys reminding me).

Mystic Mac's 2014 MotoGP predictions

There is no real off season in Moto GP.  Although we complain about being starved of racing, for those at the sharp end, in little more than two months they have new bikes to assemble, team staff to put in place and sponsors to nail down that will pay for it all.  This time frame is also tight for riders, as it seems more every year go straight under the surgeon’s knife after the last round and spend the short winter recuperating for the season ahead. The 2014 Moto GP championship looks like a cracker as apart from the ten full factory riders we now have at least eight non factory riders with properly competitive machinery.  We also have five Brits on the grid, two with podium potential.  Whatever happens though (providing you have BT Sport) you can just sit back and enjoy watching the incredible Marc Marquez do things that shouldn’t be possible. Speaking of whom, I didn’t believe a Rossi replacement would come this soon.  And when I say replacement, I mean a rider that is the full package.  Although in some ways quite different to Vale, he’s an equally phenomenal talent plus a very likeable character that appeals to the masses and although respectful to his rivals off track, deadly competitive in the heat of battle.  Being young and good looking he’s obviously a dream for sponsors and the sport in general.  Marquez has evolved in his own way but thankfully into a perfect replacement for our sport when the VR steps down.