YAMAHA YZF-R1
There was just one last thing to finish Niall Mackenzie’s YZF-R1 Yamaha – fitting as Yamaha Motor Company celebrates 65 years this July!
Niall Mackenzie finishes up the details
My ‘Journey’s End’ piece on my 1998 R1 in the January issue of this wonderful publication was essentially the conclusion of my latest restoration.
There was no rush, but real work got in the way so it took over a year to once again have this Yamaha icon looking pristine. Except I knew she wasn’t. Most nights I sleep well (paying my taxes and not cheating on the wife definitely helps). However, a careless brake fluid spill on the rear wheel and a scabby Niall Mac top triple clamp paint job (badly peppered by a rattling key ring) was troubling my slumber so something had to be done.
You’ve probably heard me mention CJ Ward from Burton on Trent before and
mostly because I love them. Tim and Chris operate out of modest-sized old school premises, but packed with the latest stove enamelling, powder-coating and shot blasting equipment.
Their bread and butter is prepping and treating medical apparatus for hospitals and dentists, but their passion is late seventies and early eighties Japanese two-strokes.
My visits always make me smile as in between racks of medical utensils there’ll be random bike parts hanging up to dry. Being sad I like to guess the part, as one week it might be air-cooled RD frames, calipers and wheels, and the next it will be LC swingarms and ultra-rare centre-stands. I’m very good at guessing anything from RDS, LCS, Fizzys or C50s, mostly because I’ve had every one of these in bits on my bench over the past six years.
Anyway, Tim turned my parts round in a month, returning my wheels in black gloss and my triple clamp in the original satin fifinish.ih I ffeltl quitei guilty,il as Titim alsol hhad d to remove all the bearings, seals and spacers, costing him time he doesn’t really have. He will be rewarded!
We were fortunate to remove and replace the silver motive on my triple clamp and five minutes saw the full item bolted back in place.
All four-wheel bearings were fine, but I replaced the seals for less than £20 from the ever-efficient Wemoto. Another 10 minutes saw the wheels fitted and my work was finally complete.
It’s amazing how much better I feel having gone the extra mile. My sleep pattern has resumed normal service and I’ve found myself regularly making excuses just to nip out for a quick look to admire and/or polish my masterpiece.
Slight fail last time though. I managed to flatten the battery trying to start her up, before realising 20-year old-bikes have something called a choke. Senior moment? Yup!