"I own these TZR250 Yamahas"

These TZR250 Yamahas are two of a number of exotic Japanese sports bikes owned by Owen. No last name as he wants to keep his collection private! A lifelong motorcyclist who started on vespas in the 1980s, Owen soon graduated to an RD350LC and after owning big sports bikes found their appeal waning, and went touring on BMW adventure bikes. That's when raw 250cc race replicas caught his eye. "I got bored stupid with what the factories were producing, so I started looking for Japanese market models," he says. The other 250cc machines in his shed now include two TZR250SP v-twins, one from 1992 and one from 1994, alongside a 750cc Yamaha ow-01, an FZR400SP, a TZ250 4DP racer and a stock FZ750. He's also owned an NSR250 Honda, an RZVS00 Yamaha vee-four, the Japanese model with an aluminium frame, and a Suzuki GSXR400SP. A mint Suzuki RGS00 was replaced by a Yamaha ow-02 R7 that Owen saw at the Stafford Classic Motorcycle Mechanics show. "The moment I saw it I had to have it," he says. "Some of the bikes came from Roy Jervis, a dealer in Derby, and from Fastline Superbikes in Preston. "Unlike most bikes that you just get on and go, with these 250s you get as much out of them as you put in. When they are going well, a 100-mile ride feels like 200," he says. "I just wish I was three inches shorter and a stone lighter to get the best from them. It's just you and the bike, and a tenner for fuel."