Unless you’ve been living under a rock, ultimate fighting is the sport right now—and Toronto can’t get enough of it (the event had a record sellout of 55,000 tickets, nearly doubling the prior record, held by Montreal’s Bell Centre). We knew it would be a great opportunity to expose our brand to new eyeballs and play a part, even a small one, in the sport’s history.

Where to start … first we had to get TapOut and Authentic Brands Group’s approval (ABG bought TapOut and thus has a major say in promotional partnerships). We needed permission to use their logos and also to display the bike inside TapOut’s booth at Toronto’s UFC Fan Expo. After getting the greenlight, Sean and I started discussing bike design and what this “street fighter” was going to look like. It wasn’t easy, as both of us, and many others, had different opinions. With a little compromising, we settled on a theme: a race replica supersport with a touch of bling!

The BodyWorks in Guelph, ON helped to “dress” the TapOut bike.

We ordered a brand new R1 and a box of performance parts. Yamaha P&A Specialist and sportbike enthusiast, Richard Irwin, secured us front and back BRAKING wave rotors, steel braided brake lines,  GYTR chain and sprockets, ASV levers, Harris Rear Sets, and a trick set of Italian Marchesini Wheels. Because this bike is a “show piece” we didn’t feel the need to alter anything internally (and hey, let’s be honest, does the R1 really NEED anymore jam?).

Once the bike arrived, Yamaha tech Matt Helmer stripped the bike down to its barebones and began installing the new parts. Meanwhile, Sean picked up the body panels, Marchesini Wheels and swingarm and delivered them to The Bodyworks in Guelph, ON for painting. It’s a small, humble operation, but the BodyWorks trio is full of talent and hilarious to work with. Unfortunately, due to lack of communication—and an actual rendering of the proposed bike—we had Bodyworks paint the swingarm twice. I’ll admit it, I’m a rookie…

We used TapOut’s NASCAR design as inspiration for …

… the TapOut Edition YZF-R1

To avoid this from happening again, we put the project on hold until we had a concept in our hands. After some debate, Yamaha’s graphic designer Nick Sang and I tossed around ideas and came up with a visual. Considering TapOut’s dark and gritty look, we used a lot of black, with red and white as our secondary colours. Sean made a good call on adding a big, white stripe down the centre of the fairing, tank cover, gas tank, and rear fender. It definitely improved the look and really grabbed your eye, even from a distance.

With only three weeks before the Fan Expo, I was getting nervous. Our big debut was almost here and there was still a lot of work to be done, not to mention marketing and promotional materials had to be created to support the initiative.

A custom engine protector, designed and machined by Sean Mance. Watch the TapOut Bike Build Process.

The team kept it pinned and Matt and I traveled down to Mance family’s machine shop in Guelph for two very late nights of work. As Sean programmed and machined custom engine and chassis components (which were then sent to RealChrome for chrome plating) and Bodyworks completed paintwork, Matt made sure everything was tight on the R1. (Matt’s a major R1/road racing fanatic, so he took great pride in this project, making sure this bike was ready to hit the track, if need be.)

Mechanic Matt was a huge help, and I’m so thankful he stayed in the fight, no matter how much we stretched his patience.

Tuesday April 26^th … our last day of work before the Fan Expo … or so we think. Matt and I met with Sean in Guelph, hoping to finish the deal. Our goal was to finish up around 8pm, conduct a photo shoot and then head back to Toronto with the finished piece (move-in for the Expo took place Thursday April 28 from 12-5pm. Show opened at 9am the next day).

Like everything I touch, things didn’t go quite as planned and we didn’t finish the bike until midnight. Not a huge deal to the three of us, as we all hold great passion for motorcycles and rather enjoy tinkering on them. Sadly, I can’t say the same for the photographer or Sean’s models … I don’t think they were too thrilled to be up past their bedtime.

Matt, Sean and I show off the fruits of our labour … I wonder who would in a fight?

All of the late nights were worth it though. Once we had everything bolted on and polished up, the three of us stood back and smiled. This bike was, as a fight fan would say, “Badass!” But what about TapOut? And what about the fans? Would they share the same opinion?

Keeping things consistent, we once again scrambed to move the bike into the Direct Energy Centre (DEC) on Thursday afternoon. We arrived at the DEC moments before the doors closed. The stress of it all floated away, fortunately, as we rolled the bike into the building and everyone who walked by complimented the machine or ran up and shot a pic with their cell phone…

The bike attracted a lot of attention at the UFC Fan Expo …

… especially when the ladies joined in!

The next morning, Yamaha’s motorcycle tech specialist, Nick DiCristofaro, and I showed up at TapOut’s booth, ready to mingle with fight fans. It was quite overwhelming, really. I knew UFC was big, but I couldn’t believe how many people jammed into the Expo. Over the two day event, more than 40k fans walked through the DEC! It helped that we were located right at the entrance, inside TapOut’s booth, and parked beside TapOut’s autograph line. Punkass and Skrape signed autographs and took photos with fans over the two day event, along with their fighters, including Jake Shields, who would be fighting Canada’s own George St- Pierre that evening.

The bike was a hit, especially when a beautiful young lady (or two or three) climbed aboard. We had posters printed up of the bike and TO’s Punkass and SkySkrape were kind enough to sign them and give away to fans. Both guys loved the bike, but what’s better, is the fact that both of them ride (as did their late, former leader, Charles Lewis, aka “Mask”).  Punkass rides street, while Skrape has a garage full of WRs, YZs, and TT-Rs, and this funky R1/Hayabusa hybrid.

TapOut founders SkySkrape (fro) and Punkass (shades) weren’t so happy that their sponsored fighter, Jake Shields,  lost to GSP in Toronto’s Main Event, but they liked the bike!

The goal of the project was to partner with a cool, hip brand, like TapOut, and get in front of new potential riders. The crowd was alive, young and showed great interest in our “Ultimate 2-Wheel Sreet Fighter.” Considering that, and the positive response from TapOut and their crew, I think it’s safe to say we met our objective.

If you wish to see this bike in person, tune into Yamaha ‘s Facebook page to see where it will be next. It will be on display at many dealers across the GTA, as well the Blocko 8 sportbike rally, corporate bike shows, and many other events during 2011.

DanBro

More recently, one of our agents helped provide some tech specs to a then-and-now Yamaha rider named Lynn. As it turns out, Lynn endured some eerie coincidence on her new bike. (Looking at her pics, she’s also attained some wisdom in regards to proper riding gear )

Thanks for sending me the detailed tech specs for that DT200.  I am comparing it to what I currently have, the WR250R, which was the bike that replaced the DT200.  I never thought I’d be able to come close to replacing that beloved DT, and to be honest, when I bought the WR and was riding it home, I got goose bumps.  Not because I was on a flashy new bike (well, that was kinda part of it) but because of the day and time I took possession.  It’s REAL creepy.

I bought that old 1986 DT200 brand new in Penticton; I was 19 and had saved up from working a whole winter up at the ski hill in Kelowna.  I absolutely LOVED that little bike.  Roll forward to 11:30 AM, Oct 23, 1988.  I wrote off my poor bike after an old lady failed to yield and decided to cut in between me and the truck in front of me.  Bike was totaled.  All I have left of that memory is a picture of me on it when I was camping at Christina Lake in the Kootenays.

I had always wanted to get another bike like the one I had.  Life took me different places and I never got the chance to get another, even though I kept my eyes open for that year of bike.  Nothing.  I ended up with an old 1977 Honda XL 250 that was a heavy tank of a bike, and didn’t enjoy it near as much (I still have that old bike)…in fact it never even could be compared.  I had numerous street bikes, the last one being a 1995 Suzuki RF600R.  Stupid fast bike.  It was a scream to ride, but every time I’d go past a trail off the road I’d want to explore it.  NOT a good thing on a sportbike.

I then went onto the Yamaha site and saw the WR on there.  I had looked at the WR250 years before, but because it wasn’t street legal I never took a second look.  I read up on the R that others own, and the responses were incredible.  A new bike, basically a dirt bike you can ride on the road right out of the crate.  I immediately thought of my old DT, and HAD to take a ride on one.  I had to wait for a demo day in order for that to happen, but once I rode it, I was hooked.  I felt I had finally found a replacement, even if the damned thing was so high I couldn’t touch the ground.  That was in July, 2008.  A month later I sold the 600.

Roll forward to Oct 23, 2009.  I’ve got the paperwork in my hands, my gear on and anticipating my first ride on my brand new 09 WR250R.  The salesman had managed to get in the very first ’09 in BC, right after the dealer demo that was held in Whistler, just for me.  They hadn’t even been released to the public at that point, but he apparently knew someone and pulled a few strings.  So at 11:30, I am on my new bike and riding down the highway.  It was then that it hit me, and why I felt a cold shiver run the length of my spine.   When I got home, I found the paperwork from the accident on the old DT.  Check this out:

Oct 23, 1988  11:30 AM :  1986 Yamaha DT200S written off
Oct 23, 2008  11:30 AM : 2009 Yamaha WR25R ridden off the showroom floor.
Last 2 numbers on the VIN are 23.

20 years later to the exact date and time, I have replaced something I never thought I ever would.

Sorry if I’ve bored you with this, but what you’ve done really means a lot to me.  I’m going over the spec sheets for both bikes, and besides the difference of the DT being a 2-stroke, the two bikes are very similar in a lot of ways.

Again, I thank you for doing this for me.  I’ve sent along some pics, just for comparison.  One of me when I was on the old DT (well it was maybe 5 months old there), me on the new WR250R, and the WR after I went to work and modified it.

What do you think? Is this all coincidence? Or was Lynn meant to be back on a Yamaha dual sport?

So we have ages ranging from 30 to 60, both genders, all different years of R1, ethnic backgrounds are german, malaysian, chinese, african, thai and russian jew (hey, this is Vancouver, eh) and occupations range from low tech to professional. So the question is: what is it about the R1 that makes it the choice of lefties?

THE ANSWER:
Bryan Hudgin: Hello Hugh!! Since I’m the PR specialist, customer service sent me your email and what a great message it was! It actually got me thinking about the people who work here. You guessed it, I’m also left handed. Both VP’s and the President are as well. There seems to be a disproportionate number of staff that I talked to that are left handed.

I’m thinking we can put this to the test on our Facebook page and the 2000+ Yamaha fans we have on there. If you have Facebook, look for us at http://www.facebook.com/YamahaMotorCanada. We’ll ask the question later today and see what kind of response we get. Something like, “Do Left-handers prefer Yamaha?” and we’ll point to your informal data as the catalyst.

As a side note, I did come across this while looking for the breakdown of handedness amongst general populations. It seems like the intelligent choice is Yamaha?  Maybe it has something to do with right brained people preferring the colour blue? Maybe it’s because left handers are the only ones in their “right” minds?  [laughs]. Have a great day, Hugh.

Two Pakistani researchers explored the effect of handedness on the intelligence level of students. The sample included an equal number of left-handed and right-handed students drawn from various universities in Pakistan, altogether 150 subjects. Subjects were assessed for both handedness and intelligence.

The researchers found no significant difference in intelligence between subjects from various educational levels, but they did find that left-handed subjects were significantly more intelligent than right-handed subjects. Results were published in the January 2007 Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology

For those of you who don’t know, the Photo Contest is being run on our Facebook page. It’s easy to enter; all you need to do is become a fan of our page, upload some sweet pics and hit “submit now” on the Contest page …

Our goal with the contest is to get you guys being creative, and show us – and everyone – what makes you and your Yamaha the cat’s behind. The contest ends on February 28, 2010 and so far we’ve received over 200 photos. Awesome.

So what do you get if you’re photo is chosen by our panel of judges? A $5,000 Yamaha Shopping Spree! Not too bad, eh? Also, if one or two or three photos really standout, we may use them in corporate YAMAHA advertising. We don’t really have  a clearcut leader at the moment, but there are quite a few inspiring and interesting submissions. Here are some of my favs:

Midnight oil: Luke Tudor surely had some assistance in this sweet shot of him and his R1, and it’s paid off.

The impossible shot? Craig Adams isn’t afraid of a little hard work. I’m guessing it was a PITA trying to set up this unique photo with his Nytro but worth the results.

Michael Zwier clearly loves his VMAX.

Adrian Van Vugt sent us a whole collection of images featuring his FZ. If you flip through the album on Facebook, you’ll see that Adrian and his Yamaha have explored nearly every inch of this country.

Girl Power: Katrina Bryant’s photos impress me for two reasons: first, because she’s put a lot of effort into her work, second, because it’s not often you see a woman riding a sleek and powerful R1. “A bike is only as dangerous as you make it,” she says. “Any bike accident on any size bike will yield similar results, the cc of the bike only dictates how quickly you might arrive at your destination.”

 …. we’re stuck for words as well. Bear-skins, lamp shades, vintage YZ … Jessica Off is definitely leading the contest as far as creativity goes.

Shaun May and his family show off their beautiful blue C3. It brings tears to Mr. Scooter Sense seeing love like this ….

It’s not going to be easy choosing a winner. We need your help. Visit our Facebook page, become a fan, and comment on these and others contest photos. Tell us what you like or don’t like and who gets your vote.

Thanks for reading!

DanBro

It’s a question that has troubled experts and bench racers alike since the beginning of motorcycle racing: is it the rider or the bike?

Anyone with some racing background and experience, obviously says it’s the rider who ultimately determines the results. Sure, equipment is important – you need reliability, performance and confidence – but a good bike can only take you so far. A team is a valuable asset as well, but at the end of the day, it’s the rider turning the throttle.

For those with minimal motorcycling experience, they’ll typically say it’s machine, not man, who determines results. (At least that’s what all my high school buddies told me when I tried to share some glory on my motocross racing. “Come on, Danny, all you do is turn the throttle!” Yep, that’s all you do guys … turn a throttle … it’s that easy.)

That said, after looking back at our results and championships in several disciplines of two wheel racing this year, maybe it is the bike? Or maybe I’m just saying that because I work for Yamaha and have been drinking too much of the Kool-Aid?

Rossi collected his 9th “egg” this past weekend.

After last weekend, we added two more championships to our growing ladder, with Ben Spies taking his first World Superbike title in Portugal, and Valentino Rossi sealing his 9th MotoGP title at the Malaysian GP. Congrats, men!

Some words from Ben … 
“I’ve got to thank Yamaha for giving me the bike I need to win. We had a really good first race, in the second we did what we had to do to win. It was quite difficult to keep it in check as the pace was pretty fast, I saw I had a couple of people behind me and I knew that if Nori won I had to be in sixth and that’s where I was so I tried to get a bit of a gap on them and stay out of trouble. Max came through the inside of me and ran off a couple of times which really freaked me out so I went to get past him and then settled in for some nice fast laps to the end. It’s been a spectacular day and I can’t thank those people enough that have been behind me. It’s been incredible to do it for Yamaha, and especially in my first year here. I don’t think I really realize what’s happening right now but I’m sure it’s going to hit me in a couple of days!”

And a few Itali-lish words from “The Doctor” … 
“It’s great to be World Champion again, I am very proud to have done this nine times in my career. I want to thank everyone in my team, Furusawa-san, Davide Brivio, Lin Jarvis, Jeremy…everybody! This season has been very hard and Lorenzo especially has pushed me to new limits, but I think it’s been a great duel for everyone to watch. Today was unbelievable, when the rain came it was scary for everyone because all the work we’d done was then useless and we were riding ‘blind’ with the setting. I made a mistake at the first corner and then I was a long way back, so I think I did a great race to finish third! I was going to try to pass Dovizioso when he fell and then for a few laps I thought I would try to get Pedrosa but with wet tyres on a drying track it was a bit risky by then and so I decided to be safe. It’s a fantastic feeling to take this title with Yamaha again and I also must thank Bridgestone, who have done a great job with the tyres all year. My celebration was because in Italy we say an old chicken makes good soup but can no longer lay eggs! I am like the old chicken – 30 years now – but I have made another egg! That’s nine!”

To read a full recap of Spies final race, go here.

To read a full recap of Rossi’s final race, go here.

It’s incredible how well we’ve done in 2009 on the racing front, but I believe it’s the result of quality machinery, hard working race teams, and riders who know what it takes to be a champion. Below are Yamaha’s 2009 motorcycle champions. We here at the Bike Blog salute you!

James Stewart joined Yamaha for the first time in 2009. (Actually, that”s not true! He raced a PW50 back in the day.) He would go on to win the 2009 AMA Supercross championship, and also the US Open of SX two weeks ago in Las Vegas. He returns to AMA SX again this January on the all-new 2010 YZ450F.

Colton Facciotti captured his second – and Blackfoot’s umpteenth – MX1 Canadian National MX championship this summer. He’ll be back with BF and Yamaha again in 2010, along with Dusty Klatt, to defend his title.

Italian Antonio Cairoli captured his first MX1 World GP MX title this past year. Cairoli now has three World titles to his credit (two in MX2 – 2005 and 2007), all of which came aboard a Yamaha.

In only his first season in World Superbike, Ben Spies came away with the championship, which marked Yamaha’s first title in that series.

Valentino Rossi … to no one’s surprise, wins again. That makes a total of 9 MotoGP titles for the 30-year-old Italian.

Britain’s Cal Crutchlow was victorious in the 2009 World Supersport series.

2009 FIM World Endurance Champions: Team YART – Steve Martin, Gwen Giabbani, and Igor Jerman.

Leon Camier won the 2009 British Superbike championship.

So what do you think? Is it the rider? Is it the bike? Be sure to comment and offer your opinion.

DanBro

 
By Danny Brault

[In the tune of "Bicycle Race" by Queen.] “Dan Pecora wants to ride his motorcycle … he wants to ride his bike…. ” And he wants to ride it a lot! So who is Dan Pecora? He’s your average Joe kinda guy who really, really likes to ride motorcycles, and after reading an email of his where he marveled at some new Yamaha models, I decided to call him up for a few words on the blog….

The chatty 57-year-old, who has operated equipment and snow plow trucks in Golden, BC for more than 30 years, offered more than a few words, and has spent more than a few miles on the road. In fact, after only listening to his endless tales of road trips, my butt started to get sore. Born and raised in the beautiful mountain town of Golden, Pecora is one of those special kinds of motorcycle riders; the ones who aren’t riding for any other reason than the experience itself. Here’s what we found out about “Biker Dan … “
 
Dan’s vitals
Age: 57
Dealer: Alpine Motorsports, Salmon Arm, BC (Universal Cycle in Calgary for tires)
Residence: Golden, BC
Years riding: 41

His FJR1200 …
“That bike has been everywhere! The Arctic Circle, Gulf of Mexico, both coasts of Canada, the top of Pike’s Peak, hot weather, cold weather, rain, ice and sleet—we’ve done it all. I have towed a trailer with it as well. You have to colour coordinate it, so I painted it as well [laughs]. I’m nuts, what can I say!”

Dan’s dream …
“I remember when I graduated back in 19 … okay, when I graduated [laughs], I put in my yearbook, that my dream was to open a Yamaha dealership. It hasn’t happened yet, but I’d love to get some type of PR job out west.”

Why Yamaha …
“I like the product; I like how they’re built and the looks. None of the others match them. There are lots of good bikes, but the fit and finish of the Yamaha—the whole lineup—is unmatched, other than the colours; they keep going back to black [with the FJR]. The motors too, that one [FJR1200] of mine is bulletproof. I’ve put on over 152,000 kms and I haven’t done a thing to it. Just regular maintenance. I had the valves checked a month ago, and one was out a little bit, but we did a leakdown test and nothing was leaking. My mechanic said it was borderline for rings, but that’s it.

“It’s just a tough bike. I don’t abuse it because I’m still on the original sprockets. I didn’t change the front brake pads until 70,000 some kilometres. I’m going to keep it, even if I get a new one, I won’t sell my FJR.”

Thoughts on some other Yamaha models …
“I tested the R1, FZ6R, Raider and FJR1300 [at Vernon Motorsports] and that thing felt like I was sitting on mine. You can’t get the best feel out of a bike in a 20 minute demo ride, but you get an idea. The Raider … I’m not a cruiser type of person; I’m more of a sport guy. I was surprised how comfortable it felt. I wouldn’t have a problem getting a Raider. The FZ6R was a nice bike. It had the cable clutch, so it was a little tricky getting used to and the seat was stiff. The R1, oh God, I’d get into too much trouble on that bike [laughs]. I was very impressed with all of the bikes.”

Dan’s riding background …
“I started riding when I was school with the 360-DT1, and then moved to an RD 250. I just did mostly street stuff, local stuff. In ’89, I bought an FZR1000. I did my first tour with it and went down through Washington and Oregon and Crater Lake. I came out of a gas station in Chemult, Oregon, going like 10, 15 mph, a lady pulled out in front of me and I t-boned her front end. That was it for that bike. I traded it in on an FJ and had it ever since.

“All of the miles on my FJ came from my tours across North America. In ’98, at 45 years old, I got my race license at Calgary Race City. I raced for four years. In my second year, I won the class championship in Vet class. I found an old Kawasaki KZ650, and switched to a GPZ750s motor for my second year; I couldn’t find a Yamaha that fit that class at that time. The next year, I got second place and then a fourth in my last year. I haven’t raced since but would love to race again!”

A sledneck too …
“I’ve had seven Yamaha snowmobiles over the years. From the SL351, GP433, 440 SRX, 750 VMAX, 700 VMAX, ET340, and my EW643B that I’m working on restoring. I raced sleds back in the ‘70s and did some drag racing with sleds in the ’90′s. So, yeah, a bit of a motor head [laughs].”

On his own …  
“I do all of my tours on my own. Every once and a while I’ll do some local day rides. I’ll get a bunch of my buddies and their wives together and we’ll go for a ride. Two years ago, a buddy and I did an “ironbutt ride.” We rode 1,074 miles in 20 hours! That was two weeks after I drove home from Brandon, MB.

“I came from Brandon to Golden, BC, which is 1,700 km and did it in one shot. I left Brandon at 6 AM and pulled into my garage at midnight. If I’m riding by myself, I ride, but if I’m with someone else, I’ll stop and shoot the breeze, grab a bite to eat or take some pictures.”

Advice for the long haul …
“You gotta be ready for it. It’s not something where it’s your first ride of the year and you just jump on and go. You got to plan it out and acclimatize your body to the longer rides. Take it easy and make sure your bike is in good shape; tires, chain is lubed and not worn out, have good riding gear—I’ve never skimped on riding gear. Don’t ride tired, I’ve done it, and it’s not safe.”

Best places to ride …
“Oh, boy … after 8 years of long distance riding and touring, there are lots. Lolo Pass in Montana is a good one. It’s 120 miles of long sweepers. There are some southern roads in BC that are awesome. Hold on, I got my map right here…. [Looking at map] Highway 6 East of Vernon is a superb motorcycle ride; Highway 23 South of Revelstoke down to Creston; Highway 3 that runs along southern BC is great; in Washington State, Highway 20 that runs from north of Seattle through the Cascade national park; I could go on and on….”

Memorable moment …
“The year that I rode the Alaska Highway, that was an 11,000 km trip. I met a couple from Texas and we camped out on the Yukon border. We rode together for a couple of weeks. They were on an older BMW. He had turned 50 and it was the 50th anniversary of the highway, so they thought that would be an excellent birthday present. That’s the year I went to the Arctic Circle and road the Top of The World Highway from Dawson city to Tok, Alaska. That was 150 miles of gravel, but the old FJ handled it well; I never had any problems with all of those trips.”

Dan’s dream road and dream bike …
“I would love to go down to North Carolina and ride the Tail of the Dragon (Deals Gap). It’s 300 and some curves in 11 miles of road. It’s supposed to be a smooth, wicked road. I’d love to go back down East to the Maritimes as well. I got friends all over the place. My dream someday would be to have the money and go tour Eastern Europe and maybe into Russia for a few months.

“The bike, to be honest, I keep my bike in good shape and I would love to be able to afford to take it. A new FJR would be nice though. I wish I could have a few more minutes on it and try to get a better feel. I was impressed with the Raider. I don’t know how good of bike it would be for touring, but it would be great for day rides.”

Why Dan rides …
“It’s cliché, but it’s the freedom; you don’t need a lot of road to pull off to look at something, you’re on your own, it’s the smells, sights, the people you meet … it’s all of it. Everybody who rides is after the same thing—the experience.”

Do you have a road trip story to share? Maybe a secret route and some pics? Then by all means, send them in to danny_brault@yamaha-motor.ca and we’ll get them up here on the Bike Blog! Thanks for reading.

Well, after my successful first race weekend I was officially hooked. I was very happy with my performance. The only thing that frustrated me was the horsepower difference from my current bike to the newer bikes of the other front runners. When we hit the back straights, I was being left behind, and it took everything I had to push harder and carry more speed than the others into every corner to regain back that difference, only to lose it all over again down the back straight and have to repeat everything all over again. The decision was made to get a newer bike and upgrade–I needed more HP….

I bought one of our factory race bikes, a 2006 R6 that was built by Z1 Cycletech and raced by Andrew Nelson in the 2006 Parts Canada National Pro 600 series with good success. I eagerly asked Zaid from Z1 if he could get the bike ready to roll for the last listed track event of 2006 with Pro 6 Cycle as I wanted to throw my leg over the bike for a test run to see if I needed to make any set-up changes to suit me.

The day went well; I got used to a new bike and had to quickly learn how to “GP” shift (or reverse shift) in a hurry. With the help from Accelerated Technologies we made a bunch of changes to the suspension to get some feel back in the bike for me. It was determined that we needed to do some spring changes in the forks and freshen up the rear shock in preparation for the 2007 season. The bike pulled way harder than my 2000 R6 (16 more HP in race trim will do that) and I found my entry speed into the corners scary as I must have been a bunch more kph going in than normal. It took some time to make that adjustment. Some friends of mine on the pit wall said you could noticeably tell the motor was done compared to a stock R6 motor. At the end of the day, I had a big smile on my face as this thing was a beast and I loved it!

Along with the suspension changes it was determined (primarily by my wife) that I needed a colour change because she couldn’t pick me out at distance as the colours blended with the other bikes. Since yellow is the colour that can be spotted by furthest from  the eye, I figured that I’d do the 50th anniversary paint scheme, with my own little flair of course. After many test sketches a final scheme was decided on so it was time for paint!!

Over the winter I got everything painted and ready to go and had to put my 2000 R6 up for sale to help pay for this new toy. It was a little sad to see it go as I had resurrected it back to life out of the jaws of destruction. But riding my shiny new 2006 race bike and hearing it scream as I twist the throttle made it all worth while…

Bryan Fil

Lacombe, who finished on the podium in both classes last year, is obviously our flagship rider and is the most capable of taking down the green goblin, Jordan Szoke. Flanking him is Minnesota’s Tony Kasper, an accomplished racer in AMA racing and snocross, and 14-year-old phenom, Royce McLean.

Learn a little more about these racers by watching the video below …

Thanks for watching!

DanBro

Along with our road racing team, we’ll also be following Team Toyota/Yamaha/Red Bull/Blackfoot/Fox Racing at some nationals (which kick off this weekend in Kamloops, BC), so stay tuned for some behind the scenes action from those guys as well. And if there is anything specifiic you’d like to see, hear or smell, let us know and we’ll plug it into the script.

Keep your stick on the ice!

DanBro

Fortunately, with this swanky new job at Yamaha Motor Canada, I had the opportunity to attend Calabogie Motorsports Park on May 24 for the opening round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championships.

The trip started out in Marmora on Sunday morning, where I was picked up by Yamaha’s PR Specialist, Bryan Hudgin, in James Stewart’s truck of choice, a Toyota Tundra. During our two and half hour journey from Marmora to Calabogie, Bryan and I exchanged stories about college, road trips (we both shared some very eventful ones from our respective stays on the CMRC National MX tour, but we’ll save those for another column), and what it all means. Deep stuff, for sure [laughs].

We arrived to the track shortly after ten o’clock and received a rather unwelcoming welcome from the front gate people. It seems that our VIP badges, Yamaha wear, and heavily labeled truck weren’t enough to warrant us access to the pits. Instead, we were asked to drive down into the gravel pits and park with the public. Nice!

Other than their staff not recognizing ‘big wigs’ when they see them, Calabogie is a welcomed addition to the series. This was only Calabogie’s second year as part of the national circuit, but will probably remain on the schedule for many years. They have an impressive facility that features a 5 km track, 5-star chalet overlooking the front straight, and pristine landscape. In my very limited knowledge of RR, I thought that the track didn’t cater to the spectators very well (I know,  it’s not MX …) but I’m sure the racers love the long and fast layout, and the many unique sections and corners.

Rather than explaining every detail of my experience, let’s take a look through some pics instead. As always, feel free to offer some feedback. Maybe share with us your first road racing experience??

Quigley Down Under?
No, unfortunately, Tom Selleck didn’t make an appearance in Calabogie, but some really fast dudes did on street bikes. This section was pretty cool to watch from; it was the final corner before the finish and we saw some pretty exciting passes coming out of it. It’s kinda neat driving into the track, too. You’re driving down these back roads, in between gravel pits, feeling like you’re in the middle of nowhere, and then, all of sudden, you climb over this huge hill and see a brand new racetrack. Just neat is all….

New kid in the class
For 2009, we’ve partnered with Andre Laurin and his OTSFF Motorsports Group (who we also work with in snocross racing) to attack the Superbike Championships. While some pundits are skeptical regarding our new alliance/team and experience, our potential was easily visible in Calabogie. We found the podium in both classes with our veteran leader, Kevin Lacombe, and newbies, Tony Kasper, and Royce McLean, showed signs of brilliance in their first Canadian road racing debuts. And once we have more time on the all-new YZF-R1, and the riders adapt better to its new power delivery, look out!

The Calabogie crowd
Since this was my first road race, I really can’t really say what a good crowd is, but here’s how I normally define a good crowd at a MX race. Let’s see if Calabogie makes the grade:

1. Fans interacting with racers – check.
2. Lots of attractive girls – check.
3. Lots of attractive girls who don’t pay any attention to me – check.
4. Fans surrounding the track – check.
5. Fans eating cheeseburgers and consuming beers without shirts on – check. (And nope, for once, I actually did have a shirt on.)

Boy Wonder
I’ve seen a lot of young, accomplished Canadian MX riders graduate into the pro ranks far too early (I still think our system needs to be reworked) that end up falling apart because they can’t deal with the pressures of pro racing. No matter how well you do in amateur stuff, it doesn’t mean anything when you line up against the men.

However, Alberta’s Royce McLean is a little different than most of the young guns that I’ve come into contact with. The 14-year-old is a naturally gifted rider,  who also knows how to overcome the pressures and distractions as well. McLean was never shook all weekend. He ran competitive lap times and never lost composure anywhere – on or off – the track all weekend.

While he was shooting for a top-5 finish in the 600 class, McLean settled for a 7th behind veteran Steve Crevier, and fellow Yamaha supported rider, Andrew Nelson. He even signed up for the Superbike class for extra track time to work on his bike setup, and managed to finish just outside the top-10 in 11th. Not bad.

Keep an eye on this kid as he gets more track time and experience against the pros….

Kasper “The Ghost” and “Smiley” Nick
Two more new faces at the Canadian races and under the Yamaha tent are Minnesota’s Tony Kasper (left) and Nick Cristofaro (right). Kasper has had some good results in AMA Pro Racing, and is also a top snocross racer, while Nick, who hails from Brampton, is a former MX technician for the OTSFF team and also enjoys working out and playing soccer.

Kasper’s weekend didn’t go as planned after sliding out on his R6 in the 600 final while running fifth. His goal was to finish on the podium, as he knew that would surely make Nick smile for the first time in 2009. Just hassling you, Nick.

I’ll let you create the caption for this one….
Good luck to Team Toyota Yamaha/OTSFF, and to everyone who will be trying to be beat them, at Round 2 in Montreal on June 11-14!

DanBro