YAMAHA

A Flat Tracker of Respect

Canadian Brad Peterson is one of the few people who can boast of having a Yamaha TZ750 Flat Track bike in his garage. And also be legalized to circulate on the public road! At the very least, unusual for a creation equipped with an explosive two-stroke engine with a classic Dirt Tracker look, the kind that provoked Kenny Roberts in the father's comment "do not pay me to get to ride this thing!"
The TZ750 was one of the most extreme Flat Track bikes of all time: Kenny Roberts reached the 230 km / h on the straight with her and the bike was banned shortly after, after a victory in the mid 70's, a little under pressure lobby of the competitor Harley-Davidson, by the way. That is to say that mere mortals may well hesitate before passing a leg over creation. The diminutive Steve Baker was another rider who fought with the TZ750. "One of my friends showed me a photo of Steve Baker's original Dirt Tracker and said a TZ750 would make a crazy street Dirt Tracker!", Remembers Brad. "That photo, which is still attached to the wall of my garage, is what started this adventure."
This TZ750 was built around a replica of a Champion Racing racing frame. And it is not an old replica but a modern recreation: Doug Schwerma's original design was reproduced and built by Jeff Palhegyi, a man with a very solid reputation in the twin worlds of Yamaha's competition and preparation.
"I was not lucky enough to find one of the six original TZs built with the Champion frame," acknowledges Brad. "So riding one with a replica was the best we could get." Nestled in this bike is a four-engine TZ 750D engine, basically like two RD350LCs mounted side by side. The propellant was originally prepared in 1977 by Scott Guthrie Racing, a company that has set more than 380 land speed records. (This TZ engine already has several records, and has been registered in other vehicles.) The 'D' engine was able to increase its horsepower by 30 horsepower compared to its three predecessors, charging 120 horses in its original format. This particular specimen was fitted with Lectron carburetors and the head gas flow and transfers were optimized, with the whole tuned specifically for use on the road. These glorious escape chambers are once again the work of Jeff Palhegyi. He put them in a pair of TZ Mike's tiny mufflers.
"I discovered that you can not walk discreetly in it," says Brad. "It's a furious beast that makes a lot of noise and leaves a trail of two-stroke smoke that you can hardly believe." Like many modern Dirt Track machines, this TZ750 mounts Yamaha YZF-R6 forks, coupled with table with custom tables. An R6 also donated the braking system - including the front caliper and disc (with a custom disc holder).
Santa Fe Motors provided the 19-inch wheels (fitted with Dunlop rubber at the time) and there is a quick-mountable rear hub along with other R6 tweezers and discs and Race Tech shock absorbers behind.
The guiders are from Flanders, one of the oldest names in the tube folding fraternity, and valued with a Brembo brake pump. Scitsu's temperature and tachometer indicators are the originals, however. Baja Designs' discreet lighting is required to make TZ legal to circulate on public roads. Paulo Araújo, de Portugal