Description
Additional photos of this Virgin Mobile Yamaha R7 are available here for your perusal.
The Yamaha R7 is truly an iconic machine – the only way it gets better is with a proper race bike! And that’s what we’ve got for you today, an ex-British Super Bike racer campaigned by Rob Mac Racing with Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha.
“Rob Mac” is Rob McElnea, a successful GP and Isle of Man TT racer who won five BSB championships as a rider and team manager. We highly recommend that you check out the above link for a Motor Sport magazine article with plenty of great information on Rob, but he was a large presence (both physically and emotionally) in the BSB paddock for over a decade.
This example is VIN: JYARM011000000358.
When British Superbikes changed from 750cc to 1000cc a well known UK Yamaha racebike specialist acquired Rob’s R7’s, some of which were sold to a gentleman who bought them for his son to go racing with. He used them for 1 or 2 seasons, then stashed them away until the original buyer bought them back. He then sold this one to the current (third) private owner in 2013.
At this point we’re not able to determine exactly who raced this bike. The seller states that Rob Mac Racing had “maybe six or more R7s in the team and many riders came and went during that time including, Hizzy (Steve Hislop), John Reynolds, James Haydon, Jamie Robinson and more. The bikes have changed hands over the years and I’ve seen several that claim to be the one that Hizzy rode but I really don’t know.”
Period photos suggest that this may have been raced by our friend Jamie Robinson, so we had him come by to check it out. You may also know Jamie from his excellent YouTube channels, MotoGeo and MotoWorks. Jamie says that he’s 99% sure this was the bike he raced in the 2001 season.
Olly’s got extensive R7 experience, and he pointed out some of the high-end components for us on this customer superbike-spec, ex-BSB racer:
Brembo monobloc calipers and rotors.
Ohlins suspension/steering damper.
Akrapovic full titanium exhaust with carbon fiber muffler.
Marchesini forged magnesium 16.5″ wheels.
Works-type Superbike race radiator.
KLS quickshifter.
Brembo billet clutch master cylinder.
YEC Racing ECU and harness kit, plus titanium fasteners throughout.
Renthal 520 chain and sprockets.
Last but not least, a Suter dry clutch conversion.
A MCN profile suggests that this bike cost £100,000 (approximately $140,000 at the time), made 163 horsepower/75 lb-ft of torque, weighed 356 pounds, and was capable of 190 miles per hour. Have any questions about this listing? Let us know in the comments below!
