2011 Yamaha V Star Custom on 2040-motos

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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!

Canadian Speeder’s Yamaha R1 Seen in Now-Famous YouTube Video Sold in Auction

The Vancouver Sun is reporting on its website today that the Yamaha R1 made famous in a YouTube video featuring the rider speeding along the Trans-Canada Highway was sold recently for $4,651 in an online auction. According to the Sun the auction was conducted by B.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Office, which can seize property believed to have been used for unlawful activity. The winning bidder, 4x4albert, beat more than 70 bids to claim the 2006 R1.

The Making of Yamaha VMax Hyper Modified by Roland Sands, Marcus Walz and Ludovic Lazareth [Video]

Yamaha Motor Europe asked three of the world’s top builders to work their magic on the company’s flagship power cruiser, the VMax. America’s Roland Sands, Germany’s Marcus Walz and Ludovic Lazareth of France each set to work and create three different interpretations on the Yamaha VMax. These “Hyper Modified” custom Yamaha VMax models were unveiled at Yamaha’s stand at the EICMA show earlier this month, and we placed them at #4 on our Top 10 EICMA Show Bikes You May Have Missed list.