misc pictures from 88fz to yzf...

As explained previously, once the OW01 was purchased , it was time to scout around the net for full race bikes or otherwise.Some are the pre-OW01s, and you can see the dna is there and the foundations.

YZF Endurance racer-no words required..

OW01 History

News update.
Well, I went ahead a purchased the Yamaha ow01 that was on Ebay. I reckoned I'd never have the same chance if I hadn't without going through the hassle of trying to get a restoration project from Tokyo or somewhere obscure?
So the next thing was to try and find some authorities on the bikes and start looking around the forums and classifieds for any parts or info. It's gonna be a month before I get the bike back from London so theres lots of time before I see what needs to be done.
It's an 89 model which was road registered in 2002 but with an 89 reg plate.
I managed to get in contact with a guy who still races the model and who is sponsored by the main authority on the bikes.He mentioned he remembered racing against the very bike and that it was quick but that it apparently blew it's engine on a dyno..he also game me a name of the person who raced the bike.

So a few googles later and I was on the phone to PDQ, a company who worked on high performance bike building.The technician who raced the bike still worked there and the previous owner of the bike had also worked at PDQ before starting up on his own.So the question was, obviously, was it fast and did it blow on the dyno?

-"no, the engine never blew on the dyno! the owner was curious as to where the engine came from and what it's insides looked like as when he got it and dynoed it the results were so impressive it was deemed as something a bit better than a std tune.back wheel gave 138bhp and the parts on the bike were very trick.Rumours abound that it was an ex works loctite engine.In fact, there were a lot of rumours surrounding the bike but nothing ever really became worked out.The owner stripped the engine and when putting it back together managed to over torque a bolt going into the cases which stopped the rebuild.And that was that.It's got some very serious parts on it, including a race gearbox, race ported head, flatslides and then the frame has a yec gusset kit fitted...also there are loctite stickers painted over on the carbon fibre fairing..so we reckoned it was a full race engine built by a pro..had a race tacho and ecu as well..."

All good news and the rebuilt should be fun.Lets hope so anyway! I'll be updating the site once I start unpacking the bits n bobs.
One thing that I hadn't seen around were pictures of a bike with the YEC frame gussets.I searched and searched, only finding pics of standard bikes or race bikes that didn't have the frame race kit option.
Then , finally on a forum, this bike turned up, Eddie lawsons daytona winning Ow01:

and one more from Italy with frame gusset and swing arm strengthing

You can see the extra frame gusset welded down to the swinging arm pivot over the cast part of the standard setup.
So, basically you have a deltabox frame which is based to take any amount and more horsepower kept together with Grandprix front forks (not like the öhlins above) and an öhlins fully adjustable on the rear.Mine doesn't have the race-kit swinging arm, but does have dymags, qd rear wheel, alloy endurance tank which is slightly larger, and a flatslide/harris airbox:

so, all pretty exciting anyway.Can't wait to pick up the bike and start the strip down..although..famous last words...

One step closer..

The logistical nightmare of buying a race bike over the phone in another country has taken one step forward.If everything runs as smoothly as it should, I should have the Yamaha ow01 moved to a garage in central London awaiting pickup once I'm over there.
I've also been in contact with the authority on Ow01's who has already been very helpful and has 3 sheds of spares when or f required.
The OW01 is quite a rare beast but I have to say I do prefer them more in race guise than standard road bike. The bike I'm buying, which I've put up as pics in another post, has several race parts and also some other parts used back in the day for racing.For example, the radiator isn't a race-kit part but a kawasaki radiator used by many OW01 racers as they were curved and more efficient.
The bike is road registered. But lacks standard parts like a starter and of course a wiring harness.I also believe it was running a total loss ignition set-up.

However, the gutz of the bike are one of the 140 imported to the UK. Currently it has a yzf engine installed , but comes with the original ow01 engine in boxes. Apparently the cases had a hydraulic lock and snapped a lug off on the inside. I reckon that should be fixable.The pistons have been die-tested and cleared but require rings which have been sourced. The crank has been knife-edged and bulldogged and carries titanium rods. So X-mas shopping list will include a complete gasket set.

There are some other interesting parts.Endurance alloy tank which is slightly larger.Harris airbox.carbon mix fairings and seat . Flat-slide carbs Dymags carry the chassis.At 187kg as a road bike, it will be interesting to find out the weight with all the goodies.

Anyway, full strip down for the winter on the way.Will post updated pics and info throughout the winter.
Oh, and the picture? It's not my bike, but I'd like to replicate those lines for the project bike!

OGK STEVE HISLOP FF-4 Helmet

on the way...

Not this one, but a new one on the way.
Hizzy was a legend and a true road racer ambassador for Scotland.

OW01 awaiting a buyer....

Project RED

Bodywork is all carbon mix ,Afam chain and sprockets with spare chain and sprockets ,Race Kit Cams ,Gas flowed head, Race Kit gearbox ,Race kit pistons ,Knife edge crank and bull nosed but rusty, titanium con rods ,Race kit cdi ,Race kit breather ,Flatslide carbs ,Race kit Airbox ,Race kit Radiator,Race kit frame,Dymag Wheels,Race kit Exhaust full system, Spare front wheel with discs,Extreme tech steering damper speed sensative ,Original WP steering damper ,Ohlins rear shock with hydralic preload adjuster but taken off the shock.Spare body work with 2 spare belly pans and other parts in a box also spare crank cases.....

Not this one....

But one of the original OW01's that made it to the UK...
phone call's been made.Basically a complete factory engine that never got put back together and requires some  work, but just to keep things ticking along , a YZF750 engine is fitted, together with the kit airbox, full exhaust and flatslides.

Suffice to say I'm interested....

A cacophony of megaphonitis!

Anoraks of Sound need only watch and enjoy...you gotta be a petrol head to understand, me thinks..

Bark...of the MV!

gotta love that bark!

and the best to last..the 6 cylinder..

Honda thought they'd copy and have a shot..

Honda went insane with the amount of cylinders and cubic capacity...sounds good though

Current builds..

Things been moving since my last attempted update which ended on the scrap pile.
..basically it's been musical chairs since the inception of the RED project.
The main problem I have is that I really don't like going half way on projects.
I found a great body for the project neck but it was an American Standard trem setup and had a "swimming pool" route...okay, that may actually sound awesome AND the body was real light, running in at 3,6lbs..
But, at the same time, it's a schecter neck and I do have a red / tangerine Schecter  body running in at 3,5lbs   with a relic pickguard setup. So Red will be that.
At the same time, I finally put the Relic 77 stratocaster hardtail together. I've had her parts on a lighter 76 body but felt she deserved to be put back together despite the 70's heavy Ash weight.
Just to ensure the fingers got a workout I fitted Rotosounds 13-54's and tuned down a half.
A genuine fender 76 neck and neck plate will be fitted to the super light 76 body.
A genuine signature SRV 12" radius will be put aside as the RED takes shape.I've been offered an SRV signature body at a good price, but I'm not sure..it's like..innovate, don't copy 100% , if you know what I mean..
..the EJ relic I put together is a good example..with 59 thin skin custom shop scatterwounds and genuine relic bakelite 50's parts , its not exactly the same as the std EJ strat..

Updates to follow..
oh, and lets give cred to the crazy Swede who uses 2 zillion marshall 50 watt heads and no floyd..

ProjeKt Red

So you kinda guessed by now what the plan is...or was..you know they change around when your in projex time..
So the SRV "red" guitar will be the rough plan but the parts are Schecker , including custom body in iroko which is really light, and the newly acquired neck which is a reverse head with rosewood board and made by L'arrivee guitars in Canada.I'm actually surprised it didn't sell sooner as the quality by L'arrivee is second to none and just looking at the pics I was impressed.
Schecker at the time were getting parts also made in japan but at some point they pointed their finger to Canada and here is the result.
Of course, a lot can happen before the neck actually arrives as there is a very heavy 77 hardtail strat body and a 78 tele body..we shall see...

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