Yamaha FZR750R OW-01 WSB Homologation Ltd edition 1 of 500 made, fully restored

For Sale - 1989 Yamaha FZR750R OW01 following a 2 year fastidious detailed restoration which is fully recorded in Practical Sportsbikes' magazine article and ride test of issue 37. November 2013.

One of an original run of only 500 bikes produced worldwide to homologate it for the new World Superbikes series. this example is really stunning. The bike has had an extensive and detailed restoration over the past two years costing thousands of pounds and taking many hundreds of hours. It's now complete and has a current MoT for UK riding. long road tax and comes with the elusive genuine toolkit and owners manual.

The work done has replaced every seal. bush. bearing and consumable on the chassis and those requiring replacement in the engine. This includes chain. sprockets. all caliper pistons and seals. master cylinder seals. wheel bearings. brake lines. Ohlins shock rebuild and new spring. hard chroming and fork rebuilds. brake disks. you name it. it's been done and the bike is immaculate as can be seen in the PS magazine article and the photos here.

There are some changes on the bike from standard that are very intriguing and there is a story attached to them which I can discuss with the buyer. The bike itself looks at first glance to be a Japanese model save for an oval titanium Leo Vince racing silencer. The normal restrictions on a Japanese market model are not present at all and it's more likely this is a European Spec. model and is a full fire snorting lightweight race bred 750.

Leo Vince do not list a silencer of this type for the bike so this is another of the interesting performance upgrades for the bike although it has to be said that the pipe is not loud so will not draw attention to the bike. Amongst other subtle changes. the wheels of the bike have been powder coated black. This did match the disc carriers on the front althogh these have now been fully restored to original finish on the carriers in a job that took 20 hours per disc!

There is a very neat stainless steel polished hugger blade screwed to the swingarm. very nicely made and it blends in perfectly and keeps that lovely serviced Ohlins shock protected from road filth. The rear seat pad has been replaced with a thicker one that was professionally upholstered and trimmed with a white piped edge to support a smaller rider. The Leo Vince end can has a professionally made very neat OW01 badge on it and the badge itself is reputedly gold plated.

Having only 10. 00 miles on a 25 year old bike. the engine has a completely blank engine number with only the 3FV- prefix stamped on the case. This is normally something you'd associate either with an engine replaced under warranty in the late '80s or a race shop engine although this bike has clearly never been raced as it is in totally standard street condition and specification bar the few subtle modifications above.

The bike is standard if standard is a word you can use for a limited run bike of only 500 pieces constructed with such exotic materials and race bred origins. The detail in the parts is amazing with many of the bolts cut to bare minimum weight with dished heads. drilled lengths. extensive use of magnesium. titanium and other exotic construction parts. I have restored and built many race bikes and road bikes and this one was a real eye-opener for me. Yamaha have put so much thought into geting the bike right from the start. There are no expensive performance kits to buy for this to add in the exotic and race bred parts. they really are all there from the get go and the way parts have been functionally designed with weight minimisation and race bred purpose is fantastic. You just have to look at items like the wheel spindle pull rings for quick changes. the suspended captive rear caliper for fast rear wheel out operation. it really is a step above even modern road bikes. The frame is incredibly high quality alloy and this shows when you polish it. it's quickly up to shine and you don't need much elbow grease to maintain it.

The bike is now a beautiful example ready to be enjoyed for all its worth. New Michelin dual compound tyres add to the equation and all receipts. magazines and so on for the restoration parts are included with the long MoT and tax. You can buy an OW01 for similar money as this bike but not one that has been serviced and cared for with hundreds of hours put into it as well. This is bang up to date. fresh. serviced. all consumables are new and unworn. This is ready for some summertime scratching and to be fully enjoyed and for others to marvel over which they will surely do with such a rare machine in such top condition. Make no mistake. this is a limited edition WSB homologation replica and is stunning to look at. to ride and will be a genuine pleasure to own. . Practical Sportsbikes Features Editor. Chris Newbigging loved it so much on the road test. he was keen to keep riding and keep his head down all the way to Peterborough!

My plans for the bike have drastically changed and this has led me to put it up for sale much earlier than I inteneded to do. I have to make room so sensible offers are more than welcome. with the emphasis on sensible. It will come with some small spares cache. owners manual and genuine rare and hideously expensive toolkit.