Ninjette Newsbot
May 31st, 2016, 08:30 AM
Photos by Alison Grogan
http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/Libraries/Racing_Images/AMAWayne04_clip.sflb.ashxWayne Rainey was the top World Championship 500cc Grand Prix rider of the early 1990s, winning three consecutive world titles riding for Yamaha in 1990, 1991 and 1992. He was also a star of AMA Superbike racing during the 1980s, winning that championship in 1983 with Kawasaki and again for Honda in 1987.
His greatest triumphs, of course, were his world titles, and Rainey says this bike, his 1991 Yamaha YZR500 factory racebike, was his favorite from all of his Grand Prix campaigns.
Powered by a V4 two-stroke, this Grand Prix racer wasn’t based on a production street motorcycle. It was custom built by Yamaha to be a pure competition machine.
The engine and frame are prototype, custom-designed Yamaha parts, while the forks and shock are specially valved Ohlins. The wheels sport Marchesini rims, and the brakes are made by Brembo. Power is delivered through a dry clutch and a six-speed cassette-type transmission.
Out of 15 rounds in 1991, Rainey garnered six wins, four second-place finishes, three third-place showings and a ninth. There was one race he did not start.
http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/Libraries/Racing_Images/AMAWayne16__clip.sflb.ashx
Rainey successfully defended his world title in 1992, but experienced a career-ending injury while leading the Italian Grand Prix during his 1993 campaign. He returned to the sport the next year as a team owner and manager, retiring from that role following the 1998 season. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and named a Hall of Fame Legend in 2015.
Today, Rainey is the president of MotoAmerica, which is the AMA and FIM North America championship road racing series.
The favorite race bike of one of America’s greatest racers, this YZR500 is currently on loan by Rainey to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame on the AMA campus in Pickerington, Ohio.
Click here for full story... (http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/NewsView/16-05-31/1991_Yamaha_YZR500_Wayne_Rainey_s_Favorite_Grand_Prix_Bike.aspx)
http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/Libraries/Racing_Images/AMAWayne04_clip.sflb.ashxWayne Rainey was the top World Championship 500cc Grand Prix rider of the early 1990s, winning three consecutive world titles riding for Yamaha in 1990, 1991 and 1992. He was also a star of AMA Superbike racing during the 1980s, winning that championship in 1983 with Kawasaki and again for Honda in 1987.
His greatest triumphs, of course, were his world titles, and Rainey says this bike, his 1991 Yamaha YZR500 factory racebike, was his favorite from all of his Grand Prix campaigns.
Powered by a V4 two-stroke, this Grand Prix racer wasn’t based on a production street motorcycle. It was custom built by Yamaha to be a pure competition machine.
The engine and frame are prototype, custom-designed Yamaha parts, while the forks and shock are specially valved Ohlins. The wheels sport Marchesini rims, and the brakes are made by Brembo. Power is delivered through a dry clutch and a six-speed cassette-type transmission.
Out of 15 rounds in 1991, Rainey garnered six wins, four second-place finishes, three third-place showings and a ninth. There was one race he did not start.
http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/Libraries/Racing_Images/AMAWayne16__clip.sflb.ashx
Rainey successfully defended his world title in 1992, but experienced a career-ending injury while leading the Italian Grand Prix during his 1993 campaign. He returned to the sport the next year as a team owner and manager, retiring from that role following the 1998 season. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and named a Hall of Fame Legend in 2015.
Today, Rainey is the president of MotoAmerica, which is the AMA and FIM North America championship road racing series.
The favorite race bike of one of America’s greatest racers, this YZR500 is currently on loan by Rainey to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame on the AMA campus in Pickerington, Ohio.
Click here for full story... (http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/NewsView/16-05-31/1991_Yamaha_YZR500_Wayne_Rainey_s_Favorite_Grand_Prix_Bike.aspx)