No less a rider than Giacomo Agostini abdicated his dynasty at MV Agusta when Yamaha introduced the 4-cylinder 2-stroke 700cc racebike. He won the 1974 Daytona 200 with it, and its 750cc progeny went on to a 12-year run on the beach. This newly restored example has matching numbers and a nicely documented race history.…
After lagging slightly behind throughout the ’90s with a host of beautiful-but-dated or comfortable and fast-but-heavy steeds, Yamaha came out of its corner swinging in ’98 with the all-new R1. It was covered in decals advertising age-old Yamaha marketing terms like Genesis and Ex-Up, but the new machine was a beast the way the CBR900RR…
This 1992 Yamaha TZR250R 3XV4 is the last of a bunch in our buddy Gary’s extensive collection of grey-market machines. He’s right up front that this one looks good in a parking space, but shows its age up close. He notes that it has its fair share of scratches and cracks, and says that it…
Yamaha FZR400s were available in the States for a good part of their run, and attracted a loyal club racing following thanks to liter-bike embarrassing corner speeds and engines that begged for revs. This 1989 Yamaha FZR400R is an import from the UK, and carries the bulbous front end from the legendary OW01 and a…
The Yamaha RZ350 represents the last available road-going two stroke available in the U.S., and it brought to bear the full might of Yamaha’s research and development into oil burners up to that point. In ’85, the bikes paid tribute to King Kenny Roberts, sporting his factory bumble bee livery and his signature on the…
It’s hard to find an FZR 1000 that isn’t as cool as a snow cone in a blizzard, but the ’89s and ’90s really speak to me. Maybe it’s the Bike of the Decade designation for the ’89s. Maybe it’s the Ow01-aping bug-eyed fairing. Maybe it’s the sub-three-second 0-60 and 170 mph top end. Probably…
From our buddies at Deftone Cycles comes this 1992 Yamaha TZR250 Racing Sport, the dry clutch version of Yamaha’s entry into the early ’90s quarter-liter two stroke wars. This TZR presents a unique conundrum, as it reportedly runs like a top, but has cosmetically had it. Do you restore it? It certainly is rare enough…
Before Yamaha dropped its lithe, world-beating R1 in 1998, it had already set the bar pretty high for itself with the YZF1000R Thunderace, which took home bike of the year honors in ’97. Elsewhere around the globe, the YZF1000R was sold for seven years, stepping in as a blistering sport touring mount once the R1…