The Thunderace only got one model year here in the States, 1997, before Yamaha dropped the R1 and rewrote what a liter bike was supposed to be. That makes it easy to write off as a footnote. It shouldn’t be. This was the bike Yamaha built to hold the fort between the FZR1000 and the R1, and it did it with the FZR’s EXUP motor, a forward-canted five-valve head, hung in a Deltabox frame with the blue-spot calipers everybody wanted at the time. It was Bike of the Year for a reason.
Motorcycle Online tested one back in ’96 when it was brand new, and the review still holds up: “The engine spins freely and quickly, producing usable power from as low as 2000 rpm… by 5000 the big Yamaha launches you into orbit, pulling cleanly with seamless, linear power all the way up to its 11,500 rpm redline.” They also called the brakes “phenomenally powerful,” better than the YZF750’s or the ZX-7R’s binders, and summed the whole bike up as “remarkably relaxed for a 145 bhp sport machine.” That’s not the language you use for a bike that’s trying to be a razor. It’s the language you use for a bike that wants to eat highway miles and still embarrass a 600 on a back road when you ask it to.
1997 Yamaha YZF1000R
Miles: 46,000 on the chassis, ~4,000 on the rebuilt motor
VIN: JYA4YWE04VA000649
Clean Title
Located: Yaphank, NY
Can help arrange shipping if necessary.
Bidding ends on Sept 9
SELLER
1997 Yamaha YZF1000R Thunderace — fully rebuilt, big-bore, one-year-only US model.
Frame-off rebuild by me with only ~4,000 miles on the fresh motor. Chassis shows 46,000, but the engine is essentially new.
The Thunderace was only sold in the US for the 1997 model year: FZR1000 EXUP engine in a YZF frame, “bike of the year” in ’97, and the last of the old-school big-bore Yamahas before the R1. Rare here in the US, but most parts are easy to source since it shares them with common Yamahas.
The rebuild: I bought it in 2010 and stripped it to the frame before even riding it. While the engine was apart I installed a Wiseco 1040cc big-bore kit and replaced all the valve stem seals (the weak point on these YZFs/FZRs — this one has zero leaks after the work). The rebuild was done to curb any potential oil consumption, a common complaint with these bikes, not due to any internal engine damage. Fork seals and stainless braided clutch and brake lines done at the same time.
It sat in storage after an unrelated 2014 accident on a different bike of mine — this Thunderace was parked and untouched, never involved. I pulled it out last year and got it fully sorted. Fires right up and runs strong. New tires last year with almost no miles on them (they still have the nubs).
Mods: YZF750R swingarm · Delkevic downpipes (retains EXUP valve) · Yoshimura slip-on · Sprocket Specialists rear sprocket · dual HID headlights · Pyramid Plastics seat cowl.
Included extras: two rear seats, Renntec grab bar and luggage rack, spare carbs, original cylinders, and misc. gaskets.
Flaws: The windscreen has a chip as can be seen in one of the photos (I’m pointing to it).
Clean title in hand. Not interested in trades. Located in Yaphank, NY and can help arrange shipping if necessary. Inspections are welcome and encouraged.
A reader on this site put it well a few years back on another Thunderace we posted: it’s “a seriously under-rated bike, probably because it was followed by the R1. Kind of like the before picture in a weight loss advert.” Harsh, but not wrong. The R1 stole all the headlines and left the Thunderace looking heavy by comparison, even though at 435 pounds dry it was actually the lightest literbike of its day.
What makes this particular one different isn’t the bike, it’s what’s been done to it. Most Thunderaces you find today are either tired originals or someone’s half-finished project. This one’s neither. The seller pulled it down to the frame before he ever rode it, went into the motor with a Wiseco 1040cc big-bore kit, and knocked out the valve stem seals while he was in there, which is the thing that actually kills these engines over time. That’s not a bike that’s been fixed. That’s a bike that’s been rebuilt ahead of the problem.
So yes, the odometer reads 46,000. Look past it. The motor underneath has roughly 4,000 miles on it, built by someone who clearly wasn’t trying to flip it fast. It sat for a few years after a separate accident on a different bike, not this one, and got sorted out and put back on the road last year. Fresh tires, fresh fluids in all the important places, and it runs the way a rebuilt motor should.
The mods here point toward a bike meant to be used, not looked at. EXUP-retaining downpipes, a Yosh slip-on, a swapped swingarm and sprocket, HID lighting for actually seeing at night. Add in the spare carbs, extra cylinders, and a grab bar and luggage rack, and this reads like a bike somebody planned on keeping and riding for a long time, not flipping. Whoever buys it next gets to just pick up where that plan left off.
This isn’t a garage queen and it isn’t pretending to be one. It’s a rider’s Thunderace, built by someone who cared enough to do the engine right the first time instead of limping it along. If you want a rare, one-year-only 90s Yamaha you can actually put miles on without worrying about a tired motor underneath you, this is about as good a starting point as you’ll find at this price. The chip in the windscreen is right there in the photos, no surprises, and the seller says inspections are welcome.
Good luck to the buyer and seller!
