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Kiyonari's Suzuka crash video

You can start playing the video above while you read this article. The crash happens from 2m20s in. Poor old Ryuichi Kiyonari and Jonathan Rea.

Filling a void with an RD350LC

Last winter I managed to fill a void in my life when I stumbled on a very reasonably priced Yamaha RD350LC.  It was a tad scruffy, had the wrong exhausts but most importantly it was blue and white with all numbers matching.  I had the usual euphoria when the deal was done but I underestimated how much pleasure this particular purchase would continue to deliver another eight months down the line. The difference with this old bike is, instead of just taking it for the occasional ride I was talked into doing a full nut and bolt restoration.  Having never taking a bike apart completely before, initially it was quite daunting but I soon found the RD is easy to work on so it turned into a truly satisfying experience.  I’ve had some help from LC enthusiasts with the rebuild, however, the stripping, sourcing and organising was a total labour of love.  And call me sad but it has made me bond with this bike like no other which only adds to the feel good factor.  The bike cost £1800 and I’ve spent around £1000 but I reckon my mint Elsie is now worth a fair bit more.   I fancy rejuvenating a Fizzy  next time but there’s lots of other cheap 70’s and 80’s winter projects  out there so why not have a go yourself?

Yamaha Reports Q2 2012 Results

Yamaha has lowered its 2012 year-end sales forecast by 14.3% after reporting disappointing first half results. The Japanese manufacturer reported a profit of 14.5 billion yen (US$184.3 million), a 49.8% decrease from a profit of 29 billion yen reported in the first half of 2011. According to the company’s financial report for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, Yamaha‘s net sales totaled 632.2 billion yen (US$8.04 billion), a 4.6% decrease from net sales of 663.1 billion yen reported in the same quarter of 2011.