Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives in the exhaust collector box. The result was the valve would alternate the backpressure de- pending on what revs the engine was using. It's no surprise that an easy route to more horse- power was to ditch the exhaust and muffler for an aftermarket item, as it was quite restrictive in standard form (but if you're after an OW01 for a collection, make sure it's got the standard exhaust). The chassis engineers took the lessons learned in Grand Prix and Endurance racing in stiff - ness and rigidity to create a new version of the Deltabox frame with no downtubes and used triangular mounting plates that bolted to the top of the cylinder head. The engine was inclined forward at 40° and was a fully stressed member of the chassis to increase overall rigidity. The chassis was substantially lighter, shorter and stiffer than any production Yamaha before it, and had fully adjustable 43mm forks that let racers and engineers into a world of adjust - ments they'd previously never seen on production bikes (un- less they'd been riding RC30s!). Steering rake was a track- ready 24.5° with trail measured at 3.9-inches, 9mm more than the RC30. Yamaha chose not to fit a steering damper, but there were threaded holes drilled into the frame ready for one. Out the back Yamaha fitted a fully adjustable Ohlins shock with the ability to vary rear ride height via a bolt mounted to the top of the shock mount under the seat— quite a feature for 1989. The swingarm was an all-new design that didn't come out with any bracing as standard, although many a factory bike at the time eventually employed braced swingarms for extra stiffness. Stopping the hugely expensive show were a pair of magnesium-bodied four-piston calipers gripping 280mm discs that had been swiped from the larger-capacity FZR1000 up front and a single caliper biting down on a 177mm disc out the back. The OW01 rolled on cast aluminum 17-inch wheels—prob - ably the cheapest part of the whole bike. Aesthetics-wise the OW01 was similar to the FZR1000 but it had some distinct differ - ences. The blue, white and red color scheme was similar but the OW01's design lines came straight off the Formula One YZF750, with the twin air snor- kels mounted on top of the fair- ing that housed two round head- lights taken from the FZR1000. Low clip-on handlebars and a rider-only single seat cowl painted in racy number board red made it pretty clear this thing was racebike first, road- bike second. Just to emphasize the point, Yamaha fitted a super- cool twin endurance-style fuel filler for the tank, awesome for Sunday ride bragging rights. Yamaha only built 500 of these instantly collectable bikes for the worldwide market, just enough to get them over the line for WSBK homologation require - ments. There's no denying the Yama- ha FZR750R OW01 is one of the most important and collectable bikes in the company's storied history. This and the YZF-R7 OW02 of 1999 are the only two bikes Yamaha built specifically to go World Superbike rac - ing (no, the current YZF-R1M doesn't count), built in a time when glory was everything and the word 'budget' had yet to be fully grasped or respected. Even though it never took out the Superbike World Champion - ship, the OW01 was far from a flop on the track. It took 16 of the 98 WSBK races it contested in the hands of Aussies Michael Dowson, Kevin Magee and Peter Goddard, Britons Terry Rymer and Rob McElnea, Italian Fab - rizio Pirovano and American Tom Kipp, but it wouldn't be until 2009 that Ben Spies finally captured Yamaha's elusive first WorldSBK on the YZF-R1. But looking purely at the world championship race wins record doesn't tell the whole story. The OW01 was always destined to be a collector piece and the fact it never quite won what it was designed to win makes the bike strangely ap - pealing. That, and the fact OW01 is downright, drop-dead sexy with an air of exclusivity about it that Joe Blow at the cafe on a battered R1 just wouldn't under - stand. CN CNIIARCHIVES P124