MARCH 2018|PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 63possible to the actual YZR500 in terms of heights,
geometry and wheelbase, but using only Yamaha road
bike parts, to keep it authentic,” said Jerry. “To be
honest I made a rod for my own back, and it was a
bloody nightmare at times, but it was a challenge and
that’s half the joy of building a special.”
Having sat down and come up with a shopping list
of the parts that would give his bike the correct visual
look, Jerry’s first task was locating an RD500 engine.
However, this was no easy feat as even back in 2011
the prices of this iconic two-stroke V4 were through
theroofandindividualpartswerebecomingscarce.
“Icouldn’tfindanRDengineonitsown,soIended
upwithacompletebike.Ipaid£3500forarusty
houndthatwaspaintedmattblackwitharattlecan,
butaccordingtothesellerithadaStanStephensStage
3motor(don’t they all? – CN)andthatwasallIwanted
itfor,”saidJerry.“Then,muchtothedisgustoftheRD
owners’ club, I pulled the motor out and sold the parts
Ididn’twant.TheyweredistraughtandtheguyIsold
the chassis to started badgering me to get the engine’s
casessohecouldmatchthemup,butbythattimeI
hadrebuiltitsoIdidn’twanttopullitapartagain.”
PuttinganRDintoaTZRisthetriedandtested
routeforaYZRspecialandJerry’sresearchtoldhima
TZR2503MAframecouldbemodifiedtotaketheRD
motor and also look correct. With a secondhand frame
sourced,hesentitofftoan‘expert’whoclaimedtobe
able to perform the conversion...
“TheguywascrapandIhadtoreturntheframeat
least three times to get it done properly,” Jerry
remembers. “To be fair it’s a huge amount of work and
has new cross-members as well as modified mounts,
but I wish I’d done it myself. Annoyingly I didn’t have a
TIG welder, so I just had to trust him.”Frame
The TZR250 3MA frame has been
extensively modified to house the
RD500 motor. Much of the work
centres around the rear of the frame
as the RD500 motor is far longer
than the TZR250’s twin, hence the
cut-out. The cross-members are
also modified and new suspension
mounts were constructed. The
finish is a result of the frame being
dipped, mirror-polished then
linished to get the correct look.
Jerry built his own subframe to
the exact dimensions of the YZR
but with extra brackets to allow
a battery to power the road
bike’s electrics.Bodywork
The fibreglass bodywork was supplied by Harris Performance
and is from the same moulds that created 1991 YZR500
fairings back in the day. Jerry widened the bellypan by 10cm
and also modified the fairing’s air scoops to suit the RD500
motor’s width. The hugger is from an R6 and is shorter and not
ribbed like the YZR500 unit. You can buy a genuine YZR500
replica unit from a firm in America, but the hugger alone costs
£400 including shipping...
‘I COULDN’T
FIND AN RD
ENGINE ON ITS
OWN, SO I
ENDED UP WITH
A COMPLETE
BIKE... A £3500
RUSTY HOUND
PAINTED MATT
BLACK WITH A
RATTLE CAN’
SPECIAL / YAMAHA SONAUTO YZR500
IN 1991 THEYamaha Sonauto-Mobil
team ran three factory-supported
YZR500s in the premier class. Sonauto
was actually a private company that
imported Yamahas into France. It went
on to become Yamaha France (in the way
that Mitsui Yamaha became Yamaha UK).
The team began the season with just
Jean Philippe Ruggia and Adrien
Morillas, but Niall Mackenzie joined them
at the 12th round of the year at SanMarino after a strong showing at the
British GP where he finished seventh on
Doug Chandler’s spare YZR500 – mainly
to give the Sonauto team’s riders a kick
up the arse!
Niall finished fifth at San Marino and
raced with the team for two further
rounds in 1991, finishing 12th and sixth.
In 1992 he joined the team full-time and
finished the season 11th overall, scoring
a podium spot at the Spanish GP.1991 YAMAHA SONAUTO YZR500
THE INSPIRATIONMackenzie went full-time
with the team in 1992