Description
1/16/23 Update: As we further investigated this, it turns out the salvage title may be a mistake. The seller has asked us to take down the listing until he can get the title situation resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience – please contact me (abhi@iconicmotorbikes.com) if you have any questions.
1/12/23 Update: Upon further investigation, we have found that this bike is actually being offered on a Salvage title. We apologize for any inconveniences, and we will continue to look into its history.
Click here for an CycleVIN Motorcycle History Report on this 2002 Graves Yamaha R7/R1. Additional photos are available here for your perusal.
Back in 2002, Chuck Graves and the Factory Yamaha team set their sights on securing a championship in the new AMA Formula Extreme class. At the time of the series’ inception, the rules were quite liberal — so long as the base bike was originally designed for public sale and legal for street use, manufacturers could pretty much do as they pleased. Of course, the finer print stipulated some technicalities (the resulting race bike had to retain at least 50% of the original frame, for instance); by and large, however, it proved an exciting and lawless experiment.
Accordingly, Yamaha supplied Graves Motorsports with a leftover R7 OW-02 to field throughout the season. At first, the results were overwhelmingly positive — to a fault. Graves shoehorned a 195hp 1,078cc mill from an R1 into the svelte frame, making it as fast as it was nimble. (Damon Buckmaster handily swept the first three races of the season.) Given that the bike wasn’t actually homologated for use in the United States, though, the rest of the competition protested Graves and Yamaha on the basis that the R7/1 wasn’t within the spirit of the rules.
To massage the rules, Chuck Graves and his team went about covering the existing frame with approximately 40% of the frame rails from a production R1. In practice, this allowed for the bike to take a stock R1 tank as well as a stock R1 tail section. For all of their ingenuity, though, Buckmaster encountered some engine trouble in the final race of the season, netting him a 21st-place finish and costing him the championship in the process.
According to the seller, the bike you see before you served as Aaron Gobert’s (of Graves Motorsports) Formula Extreme Championship bike from 2002-2003.
This example is VIN: JYARN10Y92A000494.
The seller has owned the bike for 12 years, during which time he has covered approximately 1,100 miles. He estimates 15,000 miles on the chassis and about 1,800 miles on engine; however, true mileage is unknown.
Maintenance:
The seller reports that he had the valves adjusted and the forks rebuilt. Additionally he has replaced the spark plugs and the fuel pump.
To make the bike more street-friendly, the seller states that he had Chuck Graves “add lights and turn signals.” Additionally, he had the “flat-side throttle body replaced with a calibrated stock throttle body and fuel injection,” and he had the racing foam removed from the fuel tank so that it wouldn’t “deteriorate and clog up the fuel system.”
Modifications:
Yamaha R1 frame and R1 gas tank.
Marchesini magnesium wheels.
Brembo monobloc calipers, front Brembo rotors.
SBK radiator.
Öhlins rear shock.
R7 swingarm.
Yamaha R1 fairing.
Yamaha R1 bodywork.
Yamaha R1 seat.
Graves triple clamp.
Graves rearsets.
Dynojet Quickshifter.
Marchesini gas cap.
Not pictured: C.P. pistons, Carillo rods, kit transmission, kit ECU, SBK slipper clutch, kit stator.
Extras:
The sale includes a box of spare parts.
Cosmetic Blemishes: please see the album up top for all known cosmetic blemishes. Here is a selection:
Inside of the tank:
It is riding on Dunlop Sportmax Q4 tires with date codes of 1218 and 1218.
Currently located at our facility in Santa Monica, California (please make an appointment for an inspection), this Yamaha is offered on a Salvage California title. Have any R7 stories or questions about this listing? Let us know in the “Comments” tab!
1/16/23 Update: As we further investigated this, it turns out the salvage title may be a mistake. The seller has asked us to take down the listing until he can get the title situation resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience – please contact me (abhi@iconicmotorbikes.com) if you have any questions.
1/12/23 Update: Upon further investigation, we have found that this bike is actually being offered on a Salvage title. We apologize for any inconveniences, and we will continue to look into its history.
