1997 Yamaha Royal Star on 2040-motos

Yamaha Royal Star tech info

For Sale By:Dealer Stock Number:173661 VIN:JYA4YEE07VA000171

Moto blog

Frog eBike – the Electric Successor to 1985 Frog FZ750 Concept

San Francisco-based Frog Design released images of a new electric motorcycle concept, just as its influential Yamaha FZ750-based Rana concept gets enshrined at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Frog designer Jin Soek Hwang prepared the Frog eBike concept as an expression of how electric motor technology can influence motorcycle design. In a post on Frog’s blog, the designer says he was inspired in part by Frog’s 1985 FZ750 Rana concept (pictured after the jump).

Back in the day, the All Japan 500cc Championship at Tsukuba

This ‘you tube’ gem sent to me recently brought back some funny memories from the scary but incredibly exciting days of 500cc two stroke racing. This particular race was the final round of the All Japan 500cc Championship at Tsukuba Circuit where I enjoyed a head to head battle with national hero Tadahiko Taira. Yamaha’s favourite son at the time, ‘tie wrap’ as we liked to call him, was taller and better looking than most Japanese riders (maybe a war baby?) and went on to win nearly everything in Japan during his career.

Unique Sounds of the New Yamaha R1

When Yamaha announced its new R1 literbike last fall, company reps told us about the tractability assets of its new, MotoGP-derived crossplane crankshaft for the four-cylinder engine. It’s unique in that cylinders fire 90-degrees apart, allegedly enabling better grip during acceleration. A byproduct of this design is an exhaust note that is distinctive in this world of cookie-cutter designs.