2006 Yamaha Yzf-r6, New Tires, M4 Exhaust (danbury, Ct) 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?

2012 Yamaha YZ450F Announced

Yamaha gave its YZ450F a major update for 2010 with its reversed engine layout so it should be no surprised the motocrosser received just a few updates for 2012. Besides the usual graphical updates, the 2012 Yamaha YZ450F receives a new exhaust system to meet 94dB competition requirements. Fuel injection settings have also been tweaked for smoother response at low to mid revs.

1974: Onboard an MV racer with Phil Read

ANOTHER CRACKING BIT of vintage racing footage, this time featuring multiple motorcycle world champion Phil Read on the awesome-sounding MV Agusta 500-4.The footage is from the 1974 movie 'The Iron Horse' made by Frenchman Pierre-William Glenn.Read’s 1974 500cc World Championship victory was the last year a four-stroke won the world title before the advent of the MotoGP class in 2002. Giacomo Agostini won the crown from Yamaha in 1975, followed by Suzuki-mounted Barry Sheene in '76 and '77. The footage is bloody good, considering the camera technology of the day.