Nice bike
- Thread starter Darrick Chapman
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Darrick, where in the world are-you? The U.K.? Somewhere else in Europe? Add your location under your screen name so we know from where you're posting.
The Berlin bike is interesting, no-way I'd ride w/o a front fender where we get 60+ inches (152+ cm) of rain a year.
The Berlin bike is interesting, no-way I'd ride w/o a front fender where we get 60+ inches (152+ cm) of rain a year.
Darrick Chapman
Active Member
Ny queens usa
Welcome, if you find other VMaxes you like or that possibly would be of-interest, post 'em up. Even bad examples serve a purpose: "how not to-do it!" Here's an example of that, it's actually an art object (objet d'art) from an artist of reknown, Grayson Perry. It probably pisses-off the H-D boys who can't take a joke, because the basis for it happens to be one of the most-coveted of the H-D production models, the Knucklehead. In this case, truly, "one picture is worth a thousand words."
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Zeus36
Well-Known Member
Love this bike!
The side view reminds me of a flat-tracker. A very-heavy flat-tracker! Those of you who are 'of a certain age,' and who have followed the AMA flat-track series for many decades, will recall the bruiser that Yamaha came-up with for the 1975 Indianapolis Mile for their #1 rider, Kenny Roberts. Kenny wore the #1 plate for winning the championship the prior year, he also won it in '73.
The ascension of Yamaha in the AMA championship series required earning points in a number of racing types. Flat-track and road-racing were two of them, the TT series of today has spun-off from those times. When Yamaha released the TZ 700/750, they gained an advantage over the other manufacturers, specifically in roadracing. That's when Kenny Roberts went from a West Coast dirt tracker to "King Kenny," and ended-up in Europe racing against the world's best riders and equipment.
From the link at the end of the post:
In 1978, Roberts became the first American to win the 500cc World Motorcycle Racing Championship, a feat he repeated in 1979 and 1980. Over the next three years he finished third, fourth and second, respectively in the World Championship standings.
The TZ 750 was a fearsome inline-4 two-stroke roadracer, and Kenny's mechanic, Kel Carruthers, himself a champion-quality competitor before he became Robert's mechanic, decided Kenny needed something for longer flat track events. It was Doug Schwerma, who had been building Champion racing frames for TT and flat-track racers, who built the TZ 750-engined dirt track bikes. Originally there were six built. They were for Rick Hocking, who was the first to ride the prototype, at ASCOT in CA. Kenny Roberts, Steve Baker, Randy Cleek, Skip Aksland, and Don Vesco were the "lucky guys" for-whom the TZ 750 dirt track bikes were built-for.
At the Indy Mile, in August 1975, after riding the bike to his win, Roberts famously said, "they don't pay me enough to ride that thing!"
Interestingly, when the prototype was built, they took it to Baylands Raceway in the San Francisco Bay area, where ten years later, another rider would set the motorcycling world on its ear when he turned a low-ten-second quarter-mile e.t. on another Yamaha, a street-legal V-four: Jay Gleason and the V-Max.
The TZ 750 dirt-track bike did O.K. at its shake-down, it turned a time comparable to a Hyabusa: 9.5 seconds, and 138 MPH. After winning the 1975 Indy Mile with Kenny Roberts, the bike was promptly outlawed, because flat track was pretty-much a Harley-Davidson benefit, and even Kel Carruthers voted against it being allowed to continue, after having been one of the guys responsible for the build of this fearsome powerhouse. Be-sure to read the race description in the link, you can only imagine what Springsteen and the other H-D riders must've-thought as the bike passed them with a huge disparity in-speed. Roberts said he estimated he was capable of 145 MPH on the mile race straights. No-wonder he made that comment! Here-comes the turn, time to 'pitch her sideways!'
https://amcn.com.au/editorial/15482/
The ascension of Yamaha in the AMA championship series required earning points in a number of racing types. Flat-track and road-racing were two of them, the TT series of today has spun-off from those times. When Yamaha released the TZ 700/750, they gained an advantage over the other manufacturers, specifically in roadracing. That's when Kenny Roberts went from a West Coast dirt tracker to "King Kenny," and ended-up in Europe racing against the world's best riders and equipment.
From the link at the end of the post:
In 1978, Roberts became the first American to win the 500cc World Motorcycle Racing Championship, a feat he repeated in 1979 and 1980. Over the next three years he finished third, fourth and second, respectively in the World Championship standings.
The TZ 750 was a fearsome inline-4 two-stroke roadracer, and Kenny's mechanic, Kel Carruthers, himself a champion-quality competitor before he became Robert's mechanic, decided Kenny needed something for longer flat track events. It was Doug Schwerma, who had been building Champion racing frames for TT and flat-track racers, who built the TZ 750-engined dirt track bikes. Originally there were six built. They were for Rick Hocking, who was the first to ride the prototype, at ASCOT in CA. Kenny Roberts, Steve Baker, Randy Cleek, Skip Aksland, and Don Vesco were the "lucky guys" for-whom the TZ 750 dirt track bikes were built-for.
At the Indy Mile, in August 1975, after riding the bike to his win, Roberts famously said, "they don't pay me enough to ride that thing!"
Interestingly, when the prototype was built, they took it to Baylands Raceway in the San Francisco Bay area, where ten years later, another rider would set the motorcycling world on its ear when he turned a low-ten-second quarter-mile e.t. on another Yamaha, a street-legal V-four: Jay Gleason and the V-Max.
The TZ 750 dirt-track bike did O.K. at its shake-down, it turned a time comparable to a Hyabusa: 9.5 seconds, and 138 MPH. After winning the 1975 Indy Mile with Kenny Roberts, the bike was promptly outlawed, because flat track was pretty-much a Harley-Davidson benefit, and even Kel Carruthers voted against it being allowed to continue, after having been one of the guys responsible for the build of this fearsome powerhouse. Be-sure to read the race description in the link, you can only imagine what Springsteen and the other H-D riders must've-thought as the bike passed them with a huge disparity in-speed. Roberts said he estimated he was capable of 145 MPH on the mile race straights. No-wonder he made that comment! Here-comes the turn, time to 'pitch her sideways!'
https://amcn.com.au/editorial/15482/
Darrick Chapman
Active Member
Dammmed if it dont remind me too
I assume that you're referring to Kenny Roberts' TZ 750, flattrackers are spec'ed that way in their rulebook.no front brake?!!?!?!
[email protected]
Well-Known Member
I think it looks pretty good but it needs a few more things to look better IMO. If you're gonna build a custom machine, you gotta go for the gusto!
There is a big, ugly gap between the side covers and the new seat pan they installed that leaves you with a great view of the fuel tank and the frame.
Looks quite unfinished.
They should have got a custom rear wheel made up to match the front.
A slotted rotor on the rear, that matched the front would make it look more modern.
The stainless inserts for the radiator reflectors is just a cheap way to get rid of them. A custom rad cover or, some body work and paint to make them disappear would look better to me.
There is a big, ugly gap between the side covers and the new seat pan they installed that leaves you with a great view of the fuel tank and the frame.
Looks quite unfinished.
They should have got a custom rear wheel made up to match the front.
A slotted rotor on the rear, that matched the front would make it look more modern.
The stainless inserts for the radiator reflectors is just a cheap way to get rid of them. A custom rad cover or, some body work and paint to make them disappear would look better to me.
I like it except for the view of the gas tank. It would be nice to see one with that section of the frame see thru & figure out another spot for fuel.
[email protected]
Well-Known Member
My knees would be in my armpits with that footpeg arrangement.
On a separate note, I would LOVE to own a TZ750!
On a separate note, I would LOVE to own a TZ750!
Woody
Well-Known Member
The bike I seen.on Google news. This week. They did a good write up.About the build. It's a 94. And they said.motor was so strong.no need for modifying.
It's not a streetbike, your labor and $ costs would have you putting it into static display. Also the powerband is nothing you'd want for the street.
I posted before about a 2-stroke big-bore bike Yamaha prototyped but never released. It was left to Kawasaki to release the Mach III and the Mach IV, and then Suzuki the Rotary and the 750 triple 'Water Buffalo.' While Yamaha had a 500 2-stroke (RZ) in other markets, it was never released here
Center-hub steering, like the Bimota Tesi. I watched at the Ft. Lauderdale Ducati and Bimota dealer had a customer open the package containing his new Tesi. I knew both these guys, and happened to stop-in to-see what was going-on at the dealership that Saturday. The Yamaha GTS 1000 had a similar set-up, designed and licensed from engineer James Parker. The GTS 1000 used the FZR1000 engine from the first water-cooled literbike Yamaha produced. Unfortunately, they installed a very-mild set of cams in it, and instead of making more RWHP than the VMax of the same year made, as the FZR1000 did, it made considerably-less, still > 100 RWHP. You could compare it to the RWHP a VMax makes with a Cobra full 4/4 exhaust.
Interestingly, the FZR1000 of that time had two very-desirable features that are coveted greatly by the VMax'ers: the Sumitomo fromt brake calipers, with three pairs of opposed-pistons, and an USD front fork. The bike in the first pic of this thread apparently is using that front fork and wheel, though for style-reasons it appears one front brake caliper and rotor has been eliminated. The front wheel of that bike in the first post appears to-be the OEM FZR 1000 front wheel, a design using hollow-casting techniques Yamaha pioneered, allowing substantial lightening of cast components like engine cases and wheels. OZ wheels used a similar design of hollow, wide-body wheel spokes: there are three spokes, count-em.
Ask CaptainKyle about his GTS 1000, he had one he flipped.
https://www.motorcycleclassics.com/...-motorcycles/1993-yamaha-gts1000-zmwz20mazhur
Interestingly, the FZR1000 of that time had two very-desirable features that are coveted greatly by the VMax'ers: the Sumitomo fromt brake calipers, with three pairs of opposed-pistons, and an USD front fork. The bike in the first pic of this thread apparently is using that front fork and wheel, though for style-reasons it appears one front brake caliper and rotor has been eliminated. The front wheel of that bike in the first post appears to-be the OEM FZR 1000 front wheel, a design using hollow-casting techniques Yamaha pioneered, allowing substantial lightening of cast components like engine cases and wheels. OZ wheels used a similar design of hollow, wide-body wheel spokes: there are three spokes, count-em.
Ask CaptainKyle about his GTS 1000, he had one he flipped.
https://www.motorcycleclassics.com/...-motorcycles/1993-yamaha-gts1000-zmwz20mazhur
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