Ragin’ Cajun’s Plate: Jamie James AMA #1 Plated YZF600 on Craigslist

1996-era Yamaha YZF600 (Vance & Hines factory build)
Miles: 1
Asking: $50,000
Where: Craigslist, San Diego

SELLER
Jamie James AMA PRO # 1 PLATED YZF600 Factory YAMAHA Vancen Hines. Has been kept in the garage for about 30 years. In excellent condition. Extremely rare

RSBFS
One mile on the odometer, confirmed in the photos, and thirty years in a garage. That’s about as close to “never ridden” as you’ll find on a 30 year old race bike. It tracks with the seller’s story, and it’s the kind of detail that justifies a $50k ask if everything else checks out.

Beyond that, the listing is thin. Twelve photos, one paragraph, no VIN talk, no documentation, no race history laid out. For a bike at this price, that’s a lot of trust being asked of the buyer up front. The name attached carries real weight though.

Jamie James, the “Ragin’ Cajun,” is one of the more underrated names from AMA Superbike’s golden era. He won the 1989 AMA Superbike and 750cc Supersport titles in the same season aboard a Yoshimura Suzuki, then spent six years with Terry Vance’s Vance & Hines Yamaha squad starting around 1991. That run included winning the 1994 AMA 600cc Supersport title on a Yamaha, plus a heartbreaker of a Superbike points battle that same year, a title he lost to Troy Corser by a single point after an EXUP valve failure on the final lap at Road Atlanta. If you want the full blow by blow on that season, Cycle News ran a great two part retrospective worth tracking down.

This is presumably one of the team’s 600 Supersport machines from that championship run, or built in that spirit, hence the “#1 plate” reference. Whether it has actual race history or is a tribute build with the right pedigree pieces isn’t clear here, and that’s the gap a number like this needs to close. One mile, garage kept, no paper trail yet. Plenty of questions before plenty of money changes hands.

If you know this bike, or know what would separate a genuine team spare from a well dressed replica, the comments are open.

Would you chase down the seller for more on this one, or pass on a one paragraph listing at this price?

Good luck to the buyer and seller!

Part 1 of the Cycle News article, The Rajin Cajun, “The “Ragin Cajun” is a great racing moniker for Louisiana native Jamie James. A fun nickname no doubt, but the reality is James is about as far from “Ragin” as a man can get. One of the friendliest and most approachable racers ever to be crowned AMA Superbike Champion, James garnered a large following of fans. At autograph time, you could always tell where James was located by the massive line.”

Part 2 of The Rajin Cajun goes into his stint with Ducati before Vance & Hines called him, definitely worth the read.