Yellow peril

Ever dreamt of a fully road legal Yamaha TZ750? Martin Bell of the Air-Cooled RD Club wanted to build the nearest thing he could get. Chris Pearson sampled the result, and found the white-knuckle ride fully authentic.

This is one test ride that almost ended before it started. After the first run past the camera I grabbed a big handful of right lever with immediate and shocking effect. I let go of the lever and rapidly rethought my approach. ‘Overkill’ and, ‘professionals only need apply’ are apt phrases to describe this bike’s performance.

The bike is the brainchild of Martin Bell, stalwart of the Air-Cooled RD Club, who wanted to build the nearest thing possible to a road-legal TZ750, and how he's succeeded. Having raced a few TZs in my time, this bike immediately felt familiar, and memories of many races on board my own TZs came flooding back. That low-down grunt, seldom seen in any kind of road machine, was there by the bucket load. No matter where you are in the rev range, a cart load of horses are there at all times ready to answer. The distinctive exhaust note that can only be created by four separate end cans is also authentic, and this machine really could be a TZ on the road.

The way the engine picks up from low down in the rev range, and just keeps on pulling, is addictive. The six-speed gearbox is soon eaten up by the engine’s voracious appetite for ratios, while those four separate end cans sing a sweet tune, seldom heard in these four-stoke times. Accelerating has rarely been this much fun.

There is simply no way to be light with the brakes, the FZR1000 set-up hanging off each side of the front wheel takes no prisoners as it hauls the race rep up from speed. Even from top speed the brakes feel as if they could lock the front with the slightest increase in bar pressure.

Chassis-wise the tubing is a largely unmolested RD400, and yet it handles the extra weight and power admirably. In fact I would go so far as to say it handles far better than any standard RD twin I’ve ever ridden. Gone is that mid-corner wallow so typical of the lightweight twins when ridden hard, and in its place is a sure, rock-steady cornering experience. The up-rated suspension, particularly at the front end, has created a machine that handles like a modern-day sports bike, while the extra length and strength found in the swingarm area keeps the powerful and torquey motor firmly in check.

Joining Together
By joining together two RD twin-cylinder crank casings, Martin and his supporters have moved into an area not so far removed from the world of the Big TZ. Internally the race machine shares little with the roadster engines, externally, however, the look is quite convincing. The ride isn’t so far off either.

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