When Yamaha Took a 4 Cylinder Superbike to Dakar!

[@allistairneil8968]

I had a mate who put a FZ750 engine into his supertenere back in the 90's. It was a beast until the frame broke...

[@KRANKiT]

Sounds familiar :))

[@bjornokant4075]

That was exactly my idea of a project when I saw this video..

[@1crazypj]

@@bjornokant4075 That was my idea back in the 80's, I was also thinking 'big bang' motor FZR1000 with new camshafts to fire as two twins. Probably lucky I never had the time money and commitment though?

[@bjornokant4075]

@@1crazypj I mean, I get the feeling! Got this thought of putting a T7 engine in a modified TT600R chassi if that engine gives up someday.. Big bang with other twins sounds interesting..

[@Errol.C-nz]

its always the end path of race developments .. look at KRs flatracker TZ.. any American bike hill climb which was the inspiration.. tractor pulls.. truck drags.. ANY drag event.. when chasing hp for performance

[@TheGardenSnake]

What a crazy idea. I love it. These videos are great!

[@NSUGS]

What brand has the best tasting crayon, Jake? Asking for a friend

[@mcgo3595]

Jakey Jake… kinda like your MT ADV huh? … even down to running on two cylinders 😢

[@j.a.l.m.8388]

If only you wouldn’t be so cheesy… great work

[@KRANKiT]

Thanks! Yeah, the more I look into this side of motorcycling, the most crazy stories I seem to find… Can’t complain

[@1crazypj]

I worked in Suzuki/Yamaha dealers in the 80's and was riding British Enduro's so followed lot of off road motorcycle races and rallies. Did one of the first modified Super Tenere's for a customer, upped the top speed from 117mph to 137mph (guy got a ticket while 'touring' in Holland to prove it) Did conversion from KM to MPH when he got home and was actually quite proud of the 'achievement. He rode with a bunch of ex racers, all still had international racing licence's from ACU and FIM. Sold Super Tenere when he got back as it was too slow and bought a Ducati 916 (also too slow) I remember he bought a Kawasaki 900 mid 90's. I switched jobs so lost touch

[@BastienCHAPUIS]

For all who likes crazy dakar stories, take a look at Cyril Neveu vs Hubert Auriol in dakar 1987. Crazy rivality all along the race. Nice video ^^

[@Hettilo]

i think that every time you uploade a new video... the quality is just outstanding, the research, the story telling, the editing everything is so incredible

[@KRANKiT]

Appreciate it!

[@fazermanny]

I built and raced a Genesis engined FZX off road bike which I called my Dirt Fazer. It was an awesome dirt bike on everything except technical trails. I got an eigth place in the Mini Pine Enduro.

[@thewatcher5271]

I Think It Is A Great Lesson In Perseverance. Thank You.

[@ogasi1798]

their glory was in the attempt - great video fella - these old stories remind me of my youth growing up racing and watching all the crazy dakar from the 80s , thankyou

[@Pillokun]

I recently bought the ktm 950sm and it is such a heavy bike, and yet KTM did try to use the base for their Paris Dakar project. Crazy! Imagine this, even more bananas, the riders must have been men of steel.

[@Gud-y2s]

The 950 was developed for the Dakar rally. They didn't just try to use it, they won the Rally first try in 2002. It was used for another two years but didn't win. Then the two cyl bikes got banned. The 950 adv was claimed to be 95% identical with the Dakar bikes and if you look at pictures you see that it's probably correct. The engine in your bike is identical to the Dakar racer, even the same carburators.

[@RealHooksy]

Good story. I like your history lessons 😎 From someone who started riding in the 70’s and still is, it makes me happy.

[@1998TDM]

I'm not sure how "factory" it was but their was also a French 850 P-twin, TRX/TDM motor, built for Dakar. It's great that their are big twins getting back into Rallye and dirty shenanigans.. Another excellent vid, thank you.

[@Pandomar1]

Great work as always, I liked also the Meoni video. One good subject would be enduro rider Mika Ahola who died 2012

[@dingos1029]

Do Polski dotarłeś tak trzymać 👍

[@sbsb4995]

Another excellent episode

[@monteiro5306]

Such an amazing video. Greetings from Brazil.

[@wesbell3628]

I love it all, this is what you are meant to do. I look forward to each one.

[@slipngrip]

To my eyes that motorcycle's design is visual perfection. It's sad that manufacturers do not make'em like that anymore these days.

[@dannyburgess1811]

Superb film! You need to turn all these stories into a book!

[@KRANKiT]

maybe one day... for now, videos are all you're getting :))

[@saraprva4172]

I had the FZ750, great road bike & 5 valve engine had wonderful mid range power

[@rednelli]

Congrats and daily. A wonderfully told story.

[@KRANKiT]

Thank you!

[@brdllc]

Hell yes, another great video man. You’re gonna blow up in no time

[@KRANKiT]

Thank you!

[@DoctorMotorcycle]

Yeah, 4 cylinders in an off-road context generally get pretty bad traction and end up fishtailing violently, even with a set of modern Dirtbike Tires. The only context where they excel is sand riding with a paddle - they're missles in a straight line, just as they are on long straight roads. Still though, it's cool that they took on this project, I never even knew about it. Great video!

[@matchu13]

not necessarily i ride my 4 cylinder sportbike on gravel roads regularly and it only fishtails when you want it to. keeping traction with it is simply a matter of using the powerband properly which is easy to do with a good rider

[@FreeMilesMC]

@DoctorMotorcycle is Right I offroaded a Yamaha 4 cylinder all the way through Iceland and the some how it just has so mutch more wheel spin then any similarly powered 2 cylinder

[@geemy9675]

​@@FreeMilesMCbecause traditional flat plane 4 bangers have always a cylinder firing. singles only 1/4 of the time, twins half the time. cross plane inline 4 like in the R1 are a little better for regaining traction and controlling rear wheel slide.

[@geemy9675]

​@@matchu13it's different. you're using throttle control or upshifting to avoid breaking traction proper competitive off road riding uses power slides thus doesn't work well with inline 4.

[@matchu13]

@@geemy9675I just went on a 10km ride on gravel roads and I've come to the conclusion that you might just be bad at riding. Because I can slide the bike whenever I want to and I can get traction whenever I want to

[@Dante_S550_Turbo]

At the beginning I was thinking okay a 4 cylinder, detuned for reliability and comparable gas mileage to a thumper tuned out of it's mind. Then it hit me that french pride. The dude wanted a rocket ship no ifs and or buts.

[@urgaynknowit]

This channel is so slept on

[@Kelly-oq9nh]

A true racer high on ambition and a never say no attitude.

[@ikhlasng]

Just the right amount of dramatization! Love it, man!

[@jimtitt3571]

Yamaha brought one to their history of the Tenere show last year at the adventure bike rally in Germany, a fascinating monster right up my street! I was involved in enduro at that time and never really understood the thinking behind it as they still had in 1984 a parallel twin in production (the XS650) which was a popular sidecar motocross engine which taken out to 920cc pushed out 80 to 90hp and the V-twin Virago range as well.

[@kasperkjrsgaard1447]

The V-twins would have a difficult time due to cooling of the rear cylinder. It could be a struggle on the TR 1 in hot urban traffic, so racing it across an african desert wouldn’t help.

[@jimtitt3571]

@@kasperkjrsgaard1447 Probably the shaft drive was more of a problem though there was one raced in the sidecar MX championships with a chain conversion. The cooling, well the Cagiva Elefant with the Ducati engine managed by increasing the oil capacity and cooler. The XS engine even though it was old would have been better probably, it was proven and reliable even tuned to death. Sensibly Yamaha Japan just pulled out for a few years then came back with a modern purpose-designed twin and cleaned up.

[@kasperkjrsgaard1447]

@@jimtitt3571 The TR 1 was a chain driven 980 cc, so in theory it could fill the bill. The XS 650 could have been a sensible choice, but .... 🤷🏼‍♂️ Don’t forget that the Cagive / Ducati was a “L-twin” with much better cooling to the rear cylinder.

[@sverremoe4087]

Dude I've been binge watching your videos lately and I have to say thank you for such detailed and well produced videos 😊 you deserve more subscribers 👌♥️

[@KRANKiT]

Appreciate it!

[@daveduncan798]

Racing is a pseudo war of a sort after all, a lot of brilliant engineering innovation takes place in wartime.

[@mcgo3595]

Keep with it man. These videos are great. Yamaha Tenere my #1 fav bike.

[@j.a.l.m.8388]

Tenere was instant hit in Portugal back in the day when came out… machine!! 💪❤️

[@sergiorg222]

Great video as always!!!

[@mkpsmkps7838]

I just love your videos!!!

[@pabloarturoespinosa1707]

Thank you very much for all the history of motorcycles!

[@caseymckeeborrego]

Loving the content.

[@richiedagger733]

I like this channel. I had no idea this bike was a thing.

[@congerthomas1812]

Cool video, motor head myself i stopped at a IT 490.

[@ride-to-the-X]

Thanks for telling us this story! Keep up the good work 👍

[@anchinkan]

Well done, cheers mate! Trying the impossible given the circumstances (I WANT TO WIN this one!!!) certainly is adorable. However, a man so experienced like Olivier must have known the challenges as well, like insane weight (260kgs???), fuel consumption, traction issues, etc.pp. The BMW with half the power and much better weight distribution, better center of gravity made in the end. Sheer power ain´t all as we know better. Still, the man is unique. Thanks for again for sharing and the work put into your video!👍

[@SherKhan-b1kes]

Excellently researched and professionally presented, well done 👍🏽

[@hfranke07]

They should build a XS 650 off road bike... this motor is fantastic....

[@alexanderburger3399]

One thing to concider, is the fact that a powerstroke is happening every 90 degrees of the driven wheel with a 4 cylinder engine. That means there are less and also way smaller gaps between the forward punches on the wheel, so it can't settle to get new grip. An experienced rider can cope with that, but it is still a big disadventage and the reason why there aren't commercial offroaders in this configuration. Still very interesting concept.

[@fuglbird]

1. It was a 4-stroke engine 2. The flywheel and the rear wheel have considerable moments of inertia

[@silver_surfer88]

Thats the childhood dream, drive your crazy prototype full throttle. He won in my books.

[@benedictroberts678]

Its a shame the Dakar rules are so restrictive for bikes these days :(

[@cadecarp11]

It's an issue that plauges 99٪ of motorsports.

[@lucaspezia]

Nice video! Make one about XT600!!

[@blacknight7201]

Thank you!

[@JagLite]

Great video!

[@kennethm.pricejr.8921]

I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen this video! 260 Kg (573 lb) motorcycle racing in the sand! How would he have done on a 247 lb Honda CR 500? What are the winners racing on today?

[@spiritusvalebat]

two good references for these bikes are the Japanese magazines "Racers" Volume 43 and "Bikers Station" No. 187

[@hughmac7423]

Which is why we don't see BMW R1250 or 1300 GS, or Pan Am 1250's doing Dakar at 260kg. I have a Pan Am, I have ridden off road with it, but I would not take it on sand, I rather get my old 1974 Yamaha DT400 and take that out.

[@hanselemans4237]

No, it's because regulations at the Dakar rally hugely cater to big manufacturers and restrict bikes and trucks to prevent them to triumph over cars.

[@BRUNO5979]

Great video about something special that sadly didn't go well.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

my cat says they should have used a TZ750cc 2 stroke engine in that frame!

[@pietervanbreda4360]

They did try the TDR250 twin 2 stroke from Yamaha, powerful and light but apparently the fuel consumption was a nightmare so I believe the 750 2-stroke would have been worst.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

@@pietervanbreda4360 i concur...2 strokes drink more

[@pietervanbreda4360]

@fidelcatsro6948 Yes I have a TDR250 on a 2015 test by MCN they test fuel consumption 39mpg in town 30mpg on the freeway and a low 24mpg in sand in off road use, that is heavy, mine stays around 30mpg +-.

[@cjjorge6636]

inline 3 would be the sweet spot !

[@wpkuesters]

Beeing 57 now, a former hobby-enduro racer having some decent success in the late 80's and early 90's I always watched the dakar (until some years ago). So who left an impression to me? Sure Peterhansel did, Gaston Rahier as well. But who talks nowadys about Roma, about Walkner, Sunderland etc. let alone who took 2nd places... Excpet Jean Claude Olivier and few others. For those to whom the dakar meant more. Even though I am sure Olivier had all the comfort and more of a Works-supportet rider (machanics, rest etc) These were the crazy, admired and beloved heroes of our time. However, the real heroes are and have been the ones that raced in the marathon class (or box-class as they are called today?). Today the dakar appaers to be just a matter of money more than before, with 1st class RVs better than any 5-star hotel even for 2nd and 3rd row riders. No real devotion, spirit, ambitions desired (sure, it still takes some gutts, but compared to those days.. nope). These days, those guys have been and still are the real the spirit and real heros of dakar. However, I am not really complaining. It's as always: When you're looking back it all seems to better in history. No it wasn't... But times are changing, and the challnges change. That's sisimplas it IS. Dakar is over and out, the days of glory of dakar, of burning fossile fuels for fun are simply over.

[@yordanlazarov7569]

I had XT 600 I ride it once with 180 km/h on asphalt

[@MyZxcvb12]

Should tried twin or a V4 750cc 😊

[@2Fast4You-636]

That's it,time to sub

[@mdragon99]

Fascinating! Sub'd

[@cr4zyw3ld3r]

Did you mean they stroked the engine for more torque or are you saying because of the overall displacement increase the torque rose, was kind of confused when you said they bored it.

[@KRANKiT]

Yes, they stroked it and also re-tuned it to make more torque at lower revs, and that as a consequence meant a bit less top end horsepower.

[@cr4zyw3ld3r]

@@KRANKiT You know hypothetically speaking nowadays I feel like they could 100% do it in a way that makes sense. Make the engine/trans case out of ceramic matrix composite, the head out of forged carbon fiber with steel sleeve inserts and a DLC/wire arc coat. Run titanium rods and crank to save rotational mass too. They can slim line the engine by getting rid of idler pulleys like what BMW did with the new S1000RR. Lastly the could dump even more weight by going with a camcon head to eliminate the gears/chain needed to run traditional valvetrain.With all this I can see a 4 cyl engine weighing 75lbs? It would still have an odd balance but depending on how it is rotated in the chassis you could definitely make a bike like this work. It would not qualify for Dakar due to restrictions but there are other rally/enduro events.

[@4Him4u2]

I wonder where these bikes are today?

[@VineV-Dutch]

Test/review the AJP please

[@bingoberra18]

Are any of these 4 cyl bikes on display in a museum?

[@Boomer_Dual_Sport]

First!!...just saying Yamaha is the best!!

[@paveljirku1104]

do Jawa history, please :)

[@seanj.mulvaney6367]

Funny funny I just got finished watching a Video from Kaplan racing , (the owner of the the dirt bike museum , in New England . And though he’s an official aged Gas retailer and auctions highly collectible bikes. Thu s you tube was primarily about the Kawasaki 750 twi stroke y yet at the end of the video he mentioned a few ore he picked up from someone including the 4 cycle dat yamaha . Check him out he has that bike

[@515klrkillahoobie6]

Give me some dirt bars and dirt tires and I'll take any fizzer6 any where

[@aretnap3653]

An Early 1980's "Modified" HONDA 450 "El-Sinore"(4-Geared 2-Stroke), Is TheBike I Woulda Tried That Race With!🤔 (Or a "Modified" 3-Wheeled HONDA 250-R "WidowMaker") Since 4-Wheeled ATV's Didn't Exist Until TheSUZUKI 125 Quad-Runner. (& I Had One of Those!) My 1st ATV.

[@bretloyd8097]

80s works bikes were soooooo cool, when the Japanese said "fu@k it lets build it, somebody will race it"

[@KRANKiT]

The times of true open classes

[@bretloyd8097]

@@KRANKiT A time of experimentation, true R & D and hand built specials. . . . Also a time of racers that didn't have fu@ks to give. . . . We will never see it again, I am very glad I live and race through the 80's.

[@MrLince-hr4of]

Yamaha are freaks ! i like them 🤣

[@Iowa599]

Paris-Dakar...the race out of France...

[@BrownBearMotos]

Sounds like a Tiger 800

[@pllat0scave]

you're funny😆

[@theriderdtm8650]

Walaweh ❗✌🏻

[@gchampi2]

A classic case of "It's better to try and fail, than it is to never try at all..."

[@longzee7259]

Gods bike.

[@chrismcgowan3520]

KTMs 950 rally proved it could be done and was even banned from Dakar for being too fast so yes it could be done

[@stewartmckinley7058]

I think the chassis was the problem not the Engine

[@riyonkennedy1477]

Bro u kinda look like the littel brother of iman the big millionaire youtuber guy

[@anand3033]

What do you mean my T7 wouldn’t take the R1M engine😂

[@KRANKiT]

I’m not saying that ... gimme a call if ever attempt it :))

[@gnagsaar_]

It was not stupid, it just needed less weight 🗿 I'm sure that you could get it to under 140kg + fuel given the resources😏

[@humandroid53]

If you remove the rider! 😅

[@mr_danwalsh]

Love the history and story telling. But the dramatisation and script writing needs to chill please guys.

[@mungo75]

It's all good as far as I'm concerned. 👍

[@johnnyblue4799]

Nah... I liked it all.

[@Kelly-oq9nh]

@@johnnyblue4799I agree!

[@ironken1796]

He does a fine job. Relax.

[@jeremyunsworth2373]

Excellent script and delivery. Enjoyed this.

[@sbsb4995]

The 4 cylinders project was very stupid.

[@DakarBlues]

JCO

[@wernerxldata]

Looks a bit like the modern adventure bikes, way too big engine, crap handling, really heavy... In this case a skilled rider was doing this. In the case of a modern fat overweight bmw gs adventure bike it's average joe on it without the skills to ride even more than a bit of gravel. And still it is becoming the biggest market in the motorcycle industry, all people without skills dreaming of being a real offroad racer.

[@thepro08]

today the modern bikes are the same big expensive fat cows that cant turn or do dirt.... but is the trend because egos need bigger..... engines....

[@humandroid53]

Yamaha were foolish to build this.

[@timlong1462]

I guess you don't understand the concept of evolution? Sometimes you gotta try things that I've never been done just to see if they work. The good ideas continue the bad ones die out. There's no foolishness involved, just curiosity

[@elefunk13]

worst fkin story ever. He achieved NOTHING.

[@davidbrayshaw3529]

He did get a 2nd in a Paris Dakar, that's something.

[@Onlineghost2ohm]

They stroked the crankshaft for the extra torque to 911cc; not hard to realize once you see the peak hp of 80 was less than the old output of 90hp. Basic Engineering 101…..