Forming a Team (Fiat Yamaha Style)



My Bike (notice the similarity to the sketch on the whiteboard)



The scene was being set for a major effort and Dad was also interested in starting up. It was very clear from the outset that we had very different ideas on what a Bucket Racer should look like and how it should be constructed. Dad had started compiling his own list of parts to satisfy his idea of the ultimate small capacity racer which had and still is the subject of many spirited conversations over cups of tea. Anyway if we all thought the same way life would be pretty dull. As I wanted retro 60's style and Dad wanted modern style the shutters went up. Dad has always looked forward in regards to technology and styling and I have always looked back at his era for cues. All this aside if you want a competitive bike no matter what it looks like the engine and geometry must be good or else you just have a nice looking bike! Which of these two bikes is faster?



Dads Bike (Aggressive looking!)



The story behind each machine is a tale of perseverance, cunning, innovation, triumph, joy and tears. We helped each other and we were helped by our own Jeremy Burgess (my Uncle Matt) who has forgotten more about any form of engineering than I will ever know. Some of the stuff we had to farm out as I feel it is wise not to skimp on some aspects when it comes to performance and reliability. Our bikes were made at two different locations as is the case with fathers and sons we would drink tea, argue and go off on tangents that would hamper our productivity so it was necessary to put up the FIAT Yamaha barrier or else risk a Biaggi style slap from the old man like the one Marco Milandri suffered.