Yamaha Heavy Bikes

Ben Bostrom is an extremely gifted racer. If things are going his way, he is arguably one of the most talented all-around riders in the United States, maybe even the world (remember his one-off ride to win the inaugural AMA Supermoto Championship or those five-straight World Superbike wins?). His AMA Supersport Championship-dominating Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6, though, may be even more talented than Ben himself. Or at least equally so. That is, if ridden correctly.

This epiphany came to me, smack in the face, as I tucked in behind Bostrom’s younger teammate Josh Herrin, for what was supposed to be a few “easy” laps to get some video footage. Quickly this turned into a spirited run at nearly two seconds faster per lap than I had ever turned around Streets of Willow, and reportedly not far off the 600cc and even outright lap records. Did I mention the track’s condition was quite sub-par, looking like a dirt-filled parking lot, with temperatures hovering slightly above freezing? The seconds literally fell off lap after lap, like cookie crumbles from my hands, almost as if the Graves machine could somehow suspend the laws of gravity. A big part of this Newtonian bitch slap was Herrin’s tow, as it helped show me just how hard the bike strives to be pushed. Still, no matter what I threw at the trusty little Yamaha, it simply smiled at me, as if to say, “That’s all you’ve got?”