Please note: This is part of the Mark Boeddeker collection. This bike has been prepped for display and does not currently have a battery installed. As such, there is no cold start video. In addition, this bike came with the original factory race kit when it was purchased and that will be going up via a separate auction soon!
Click here for an VINData Motorcycle History Report on this 1990 Yamaha FZR750R OW01.
The increasing popularity of the World Superbike Championship since its inception in 1988 has been responsible for the introduction of over-the-counter road bikes boasting specifications aimed squarely at the racetrack. The most famous of these limited edition ‘homologation specials’ is Honda’s iconic RC30, but Yamaha’s answer, the 1989 FZR750R, better known as the OW01, is even rarer and more exotic with only 500 built.
Although it was a street-legal machine, the OW01 had a spec sheet that was all about racing. And at $16,000 plus a few thousand more for the race kit, the OW01 was easily one of the most expensive bikes on the market in 1989. Yamaha crafted the OW01’s aluminum frame from a higher-quality aluminum alloy than its regular offerings. Emphasizing light weight, the engineers went so far as to use an aluminum fuel tank in place of steel.
With a Showa fork at the front and an adjustable Öhlins shock at the rear, it was fit for sharp handling. With a small, thinly padded, foam seat, high-up rear sets and low, clip-on handlebars, it was not built for comfort.
At the center of the FZR750R resided an all-new, extremely over square four-cylinder engine with a 72-mm bore, a 46-mm stroke and five valves per cylinder–a development pioneered by Yamaha some years earlier for high-RPM power. Titanium connecting rods were attached to pistons that used just two rings each for low-friction operation. Fueled by a quartet of Mikuni flatside downdraft carburetors, the OW01 made 121 horsepower, a big number for a 750-class machine in 1989. The engine had an almost two-stroke-like “light-switch” power band that came on hard above 9,000 RPM and pulled to a sky-high 14,000 RPM redline. Yamaha also fitted the OW01 with a close-ratio six-speed transmission that allowed the rider to always keep the engine in the power band pushing around 445 lbs dry weight. A factory race kit (for several thousand dollars more) included upgraded pistons, camshafts, a race-only ECU and a full race exhaust. The published OW-01 quarter mile was 11.20 seconds at 130.81 MPH, with the bike topping out at approximately 160 miles per hour.
The OW01 was never sold as a street bike in the U.S., but when the AMA altered the rules to allow as few as 15 examples sold to homologate a model, Yamaha USA sold them directly to licensed racers and teams, despite the bikes being fitted with headlamps and a full set of gauges. Worldwide, some OW-01s had smooth headlights and taillights, while others had sunken-in headlights and taillights that stuck out.
This example is VIN: JYA3JVN06LA001115. The seller purchased the bike from a seller in Florida in 2013 and has dry stored it since then.
The odometer shows 2,454 KM which is 1,524 miles.
Maintenance:
In preparation for the listing, the seller had us perform a safety inspection, our service department notes the following on their condition report:
Gas Tank Internal Condition: GOOD A LITTLE DIRT ON BOTTOM
Engine Oil Level: GOOD
Engine Oil Quality: MARGINAL AGED
2T Oil Level: N/A
Coolant Level: GOOD
Coolant Quality: MARGINAL AGED
Front Hydraulic Fluid Level: GOOD
Front Hydraulic Fluid Quality: FAIL MORE THAN 3% H2O
Rear Hydraulic Fluid Level: GOOD
Rear Hydraulic Fluid Quality: FAIL MORE THAN 3% H2O
Clutch Hydraulic Fluid Level: N/A
Clutch Hydraulic Fluid Quality: N/A
Final Drive Condition: FAIL TIGHT, DIRTY
Headlight High Beam: PASS
Headlight Low Beam: PASS
Passing Light: N/A
Parking Light: PASS
Turn Signals: PASS
Tail Light: PASS
Brake Light (Front Switch): PASS
Brake Light (Rear Switch): PASS
Plate Light: PASS
Horn: PASS
Kill Switch: TBD
Brake Pad % Remaining Front: 80
Brake Pad % Remaining Rear: 90
Forks: GOOD
Shocks: GOOD
Tire Date Code Front: PDC
Tire Date Code Rear: PDC
Tire % Remaining Front: 80
Tire % Remaining Rear: 70
Tire Press. Front: 36
Tire Press. Rear: 36
Battery Standing Voltage: NO BATTERY
Charging Voltage @ 4k RPM: TBD
Running Condition: NO START ATTEMPTED
Test Ride Completed: NO
Test Ride Distance: N/A
Notes:
TIRES AGED
BRAKE LINES FAILED MOISTURE TEST
CHAIN TIGHT AND DIRTY
Recommended repairs:
Install new battery
Replace tires
Bleed front and rear brake lines
Service chain
Change oil and filter
Replace coolant
Carb service and intake boots
Modifications:
The seller states “the bike is all stock.”
Inside of the tank:
It is riding on Michelin Hi-Sport Radial tires which have aged out with date codes of 529.
The sale includes two keys, extra OEM paint, rear Pitbull stand, OEM tool kit, and handlebar bag with factory Yamaha red touchup paint.
Cosmetic Blemishes: please see the album up top for all known cosmetic blemishes. Here is a selection:
Currently located in Panorama City, California, this Yamaha is offered on a clean Montana title. Have any FZR750R OW01 stories or questions about this listing? Let us know in the “Comments” tab!
