Dissect this bike- Yoshimura race bike

Pops had long been fascinated by the fabled Daytona 200 and its high-banked circuit. He established racing there as a goal and sure enough – soon was making the trek to the USA and Florida in particular. In 1971 Pops added to Yoshimura Japan by opening a shop in North Hollywood. Yoshimura Research and Development of America, Inc. was born and Pops pulled out all the stops.

Then in 1976, the first official AMA Superbike series was established and the first race was… Daytona. As the 200 was reserved for two-stroke 500s in that era, this was a great chance for Pops to race Daytona and hopefully… win!

Initial Yoshimura efforts were with Kawasaki motorcycles and a young rider named Wes Cooley. Wes had an exciting riding style that was very much in tune with the emerging sport. However, instead of the standard riding style of proper corner approach, apex, and exit… Wes and Pops had a new play-book that would set the Café racers of that era down the path of the Dodo bird.

Wes would come flying into corners more or less out of control,back the big Yoshimura KZ1000 in with tire smoking, scrub off some speed as he slid right through the apex, and then, hammer the brutal power of Pops’s engine to the stops. The Kawasaki was long on power but short on handling, but Wes rode the wheels off of that thing. The crowd was amazed by the incredible exhibition of riding (and tire smoking power) but at the end of the day…Pops didn’t win. Fourth was as good as it got for the Yoshimura team in ‘76… but a seed was planted.

peter1958 wrote:

look at the bends in this pipe!