Have been chipping away at building up my 1989 Bimota YB8 during the off-season, (bloody cold in the shed at night during the winter dont-ya-know.....). Took it for a run at Manfield last week & all in all its not a bad package.
I have the engine in it from the 89 FZR1000 Yamaha i raced a couple of seasons ago & its fitted with Ohlins suspension and the new Metzeler Interact sticky black round things.
The shakedown went pretty smoothly, but i have learnt that a steering damper is probably a worthwhile investment, with the adjustable head rake giving us plenty of geometry options but on the flip-side - she can be a tad "twitchy".
Its got a stumpy little swingarm as well making it quite lively on the drive out of corners, but some internal rear shock modifications on the day of my test ride with the help of Robert Taylor from CKT made a marked difference, and gave us a good improvement in side grip.
Looking forward to getting her dressed which is being handled by Billy from www.racefairings.co.nz who is making up some original matching fairings.
Big thanks to Scott Griffiths and his dads engineering workshop in palmy here for making up lots of bits n bobs to get the bike re-built and running.
Cheers
Glen
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