What Kenny Roberts accomplished in Europe as a first-time world grand prix competitor is the most under-appreciated story in motosports racing history. The obstacles and setbacks that he overcame in his first year of racing overseas are still mind-boggling to reflect upon. Kel Carruthers was obviously a positive force in mentorship, but you have to hand it to King Kenny who let his racing speak for itself and who would not yield to any so-called legendary, traditional, old-school forces in grand prix motorcycle racing. Truly a racing icon who upheld the classic American tradition of candidly and honestly speaking one's mind while backing it up with winning results.
If Steve Baker had Roberts bike with the YPVS in 1977 I believe he would have won the title,and Baker was the first American world champion for Yamaha, winning the 750 formula 1 title,if only Yamaha had kept him to race alongside Kenny in 78, would have been one heck of a season if they had.
King Kenny,the only person in my 76 years that I ever asked for an autograph.Mid 70s,Harrington,Delaware 1/2 mile dirt track national.Still have it too!
I remember watching Kenny and reading up on everything about the man and he was one of the best that has ever thrown a race bike around a track, mad respect
He's so amazing...he makes it look easy...perfect lines the right gear before entering just a pro and fearless for his age..king Kenny we salute you!!💛💪💪💪👌👌👌
Excellent video!!!!!King Kenny & Yamaha 2-stroke roadracer bikes were the Best! In the start of the film(from the rider's viewpoint),listen to the sound,watch the track and tach,the lightness of the frontend and Kenny's positioning in the turns. The view from the right side of the bike really shows his talent of becoming "ONE" with track and bike.Watch this video at least 3 or 4 times to absorb the sweetness of it all.THANKS!Kenny for being a part of my life in motorcycle racing during the 70's.
que barbaro 2 leyendas rodando otra vez fantastico keny y su yamaha cuanta historia deberia haber una categoria para que grandes leyendas del motociclismo corran otra vez seria fantastico
Joe, you hit right. I had a tricked out Kawasaki 500 H1 triple years ago. I weighed a Buck 25 wet & when it hit 3500 rpm’s, it scared me but I never slowed down. Just held on! Stupid, I know. But that sound was so addictive. I Loved that bike…Till a Yamaha RD400 smoked me racing. Sold the Kawi & got me an RD400. Lol 😂
As a guy who rode Yamaha TZ bikes back in the 1970's I find it interesting that he is using only the lower end of the power band for most of the riding. It is rare that he goes beyond 9,000 rpm. Not really a race lap, but a demo. Still a good video.
I fully agree to you man. Here in Portugal we still see some nice 2 strokes still running but they are rare. Back in the 90's I owned a Yamaha RD350R (we call it "electric chair") (:
Honda killed 2 strokes. They made some of the best 2 stroke engines but Soichiro Honda never liked them. They successfully lobbied to change GP rules to favour 4 strokes and the rest is history.
Yes John, I agree! The RSV 500 was one of the greats in the hands of Mick Doohan with Alex Crevier as his team mate! I really loved watching Moto GP at it's finest! Imagine a two-stroke 500cc motor putting out nearly 200 hp on the track and weighing only 287 lbs.!
in my childhood (70's) in the San Francisco Bay area suburbs the streets were full of 2 strokes.. rd 400's.. kawi' triples it was a special time.. not to mention all the v8 Vega's.. Pinto's,.. Chavell's you name it.. GTO'S.. it was awesome.. and these cars were owned and built by high-school kids.. we worked at gas stations and built these cars in our parents garages.. cars that could make magazine covers today.. now kids skate board.
Thats back when schools still had auto shop and metal shop. Not anymore. Kids today know nothing about mechanics. I teach my kids, even my daughter to do pretty everything, them selves.
Sharpsdoublerifle true but cars were easier to work on back then. Now it's remove and replace. Back then it was repair and rebuild. Plus you didn't have to have a degree in computer science.
Yep or under the shade tree in the yard somewhere,, You want a hot-rod? Go drag any Chevy 396 engine out of the weeds, change the cam, pistons, tranny maybe, add a 650 Holly double pumper CARB, a Hurst shifter and a set of Hooker headers and hang on to that steering wheel!
Omg, i had a 99’ fully open Hayabusa for 6 years, before i stopped riding.I thougt that i was fast, but he would put 1 round to my conto after each of my 5-6 round. Nice to see the Kings abilities onboard! :-)
Great video , great memories of a great time- I think I can smell the summer Sun, petrol and two stroke fumes and a hot tinkly engine when you park up for a cigarette.
King Kenny, he was Modesto High School, I was in Downey High school… learned everything I knew about flat track racing from him and the whole crew .. now we are both old …. lol.
That track has nearly everything to catch a rider out,many patches,surface tar streaks/repairs.Is it in an earthquake zone?King Kenny had it all under perfect control,very smooth and precise.
While I mostly agree with another poster, he seems to be keeping it in the middle of the power band. However, the bike accelerates so fast he's spending most of his time downshifting for the next corner. I think under actual race conditions, riding to keep opponents behind him, the power band would probably expand. To Mr. Roberts, this is a Sunday afternoon ride, for mere mortals like us, if I could ride half this well we'd all be thrilled.
This is still fun to watch. I love the older GP(2 smokers) bikes. Funny how fast KR catches up to the lappers...he was such a very talented rider. Back then they did it all, Flat tracking, TT’s, short track and Road Racing. Not anymore, bunch of cry babies, and they worked on them too!!! Until Kel Caruthers finally stepped in. Awesome team.
S Lit; Me too , cause of my neck I can no longer use clip-on bars but, I still use rear-sets. LoL 74 RD250(cafe-d )clip-ons ,rear-sets,fiberglass seat and, tank,chambers,79 mags. 74 RD 350 (bone stock) 75 RD 350 w/ clubmans 77 RD400 (cafe-d) clip-ons,rear-sets,fiberglass seat,chambers,Exccell ignition amplifier system, drilled diskes 32 mm. Makunies ,TZ750 reeds,baskets +bearings, port job. TA 125 (race only) 77 RD400 clubmans ,w/rear-sets and,chambers. 78 RD 400 (bone stock) Built in 2017 76 Franken D400 (cafe-d) Flat track bars (murphy bend)rear-sets. BTW 360 was a durtybike wasn't it ? enduro ? or jurassic RD from the 60's? R5's were prehistoric RD . lol They were roughriden,but you could slap on 1/2 of a TZ 750 on them with waterpump instead of autolube and, have a high maintenance rocket . Anyone know how to install a dry clutch on an RD 400 ??
All the old school 2 stroke bikes have a beautiful view on the Revs however there's no speedometer becoz lack of technology like nowadays they have a speed indicator normally at the far left of the screen with the option of using GPS.What about now why don't the people who produce such a wonderful onboard video show us the speed of the bike.I was a boy in the 80s and wonder what speed they're were going and still we have to guess.Hopefully one day it will happen.
***** He upshifted and got in turn 1, because turn 1 is a fast corner so he didn't have to downshift. He just closed the gas to gain some engine braking, and the rear wheel kicked the bike noticeably 3:34. I drive a non-sleppery-clutch bike and it often kicks like that. That's why i hate non-slippery clutch so much.
Yes it doesnt. What i meant was the natual turbocharge 0f 2 strokes. When the rpm hits the powerband range, and all of a sudden your body get pushed backwards pretty hard. Hahaha.
A mate had an RZ350RR ('85 full fairing) here in NZ in '90. I loved it. He completely wrecked it. First he came off the back doing a wheelie past me, then later low-sided into someone's front yard and under their house on a fast hairpin another time and passed another mate while sitting on top of it while it was on its side when he dropped it ON A STRAIGHT ROAD playing silly buggers with the front brake on a wet road and locking it up. It was mint when he got it too. I don't think it lasted more than a year haha
@@georgebuller1914 Actually the Yamaha POWER valve system gave the engine a broader power band and had way more power than a pre power-valve engine , shows how much you know
@@billrudolph8185 Yawn...... Okay, 1. Did I say ANYTHING about power? No. 2. Did I mention the power-band? No. What I actually said, was that I preferred the pre-power valve machine........
What Kenny Roberts accomplished in Europe as a first-time world grand prix competitor is the most under-appreciated story in motosports racing history. The obstacles and setbacks that he overcame in his first year of racing overseas are still mind-boggling to reflect upon. Kel Carruthers was obviously a positive force in mentorship, but you have to hand it to King Kenny who let his racing speak for itself and who would not yield to any so-called legendary, traditional, old-school forces in grand prix motorcycle racing. Truly a racing icon who upheld the classic American tradition of candidly and honestly speaking one's mind while backing it up with winning results.
If Steve Baker had Roberts bike with the YPVS in 1977 I believe he would have won the title,and Baker was the first American world champion for Yamaha, winning the 750 formula 1 title,if only Yamaha had kept him to race alongside Kenny in 78, would have been one heck of a season if they had.
King Kenny,the only person in my 76 years that I ever asked for an autograph.Mid 70s,Harrington,Delaware 1/2 mile dirt track national.Still have it too!
Kenny roberts raced in Delaware!? In Harrington!? Ahh thats awesome
I remember watching Kenny and reading up on everything about the man and he was one of the best that has ever thrown a race bike around a track, mad respect
This guy is just unbelievable. Met him in person, he's not that affable but what he does is not that friendly either. Hats off to the King.
He's so amazing...he makes it look easy...perfect lines the right gear before entering just a pro and fearless for his age..king Kenny we salute you!!💛💪💪💪👌👌👌
Still got it after all those years. An absolute legend. Thanks for posting.
Initialy he does a few easy runs, then gradually getting the feeling back a progressing to gp speed. People like him wil never loose it.
Yep, FINDING the groove…
Excellent video!!!!!King Kenny & Yamaha 2-stroke roadracer bikes were the Best! In the start of the film(from the rider's viewpoint),listen to the sound,watch the track and tach,the lightness of the frontend and Kenny's positioning in the turns. The view from the right side of the bike really shows his talent of becoming "ONE" with track and bike.Watch this video at least 3 or 4 times to absorb the sweetness of it all.THANKS!Kenny for being a part of my life in motorcycle racing during the 70's.
I bow down to those machines🙏😑 those 2 stroke machines .. They will always be remembered in the history of motorsports.
Yep, I can't even watch MotoGP without nodding off from boredom.
Watched him at Goodwood with Kevin Schwantz, Mamola and Spencer on the two strokes... Gave me goose bumps.
Damn he's fast. That 2 stroke is getting with it too.Even the best of them misses a gear now and then Long Live the King!
2:35
que barbaro 2 leyendas rodando otra vez fantastico keny y su yamaha cuanta historia deberia haber una categoria para que grandes leyendas del motociclismo corran otra vez seria fantastico
Can smell that Castrol R from here, love the all singing Yam..
sensacional, fantástico.... melhor on board que já vi. som maravilhoso. Kenny Roberts show.....king.
Oh that sound, I love it!
Joe, you hit right. I had a tricked out Kawasaki 500 H1 triple years ago. I weighed a Buck 25 wet & when it hit 3500 rpm’s, it scared me but I never slowed down. Just held on! Stupid, I know. But that sound was so addictive. I Loved that bike…Till a Yamaha RD400 smoked me racing. Sold the Kawi & got me an RD400. Lol 😂
Yes he makes it look as if he's having a quick spin to the shops for the Sunday papers, a champion and a legend
As a guy who rode Yamaha TZ bikes back in the 1970's I find it interesting that he is using only the lower end of the power band for most of the riding. It is rare that he goes beyond 9,000 rpm. Not really a race lap, but a demo. Still a good video.
Looks liek a track day to me.
I don't know who's bike that he was riding, but he probably has to respect that it is collectors item. His slow is still very respectable.
absolutely amazing, king kenny forever!!
2 stroke with a conventional carburetor, the most powerful engine!
A legend on a real Gp bike. Love it !
It doesn't get better than this a birdseye view riding with the king 👑 king Kenney Roberts
Dude still has the drive and skill to be out front. He's the real deal.
That's KING Kenny Roberts thank you very much
loving 2 stroke
Smooth as can be. What a treat, thanks!
King Kenny Robert's is The one road racer who I have stayed loyal to , ever since 78
Outta the way, boys, I'm comin' through. I first saw KRSR race at Laguna Seca in 1981, and he blew me away.
It would be an honor to get passed on the the track by this guy. I see nothing's changed.
Ahh sweet music from the days before the greenies killed the 2 strokes.
I fully agree to you man. Here in Portugal we still see some nice 2 strokes still running but they are rare. Back in the 90's I owned a Yamaha RD350R (we call it "electric chair") (:
+Boris Aztoff Rd350 is still a head turner here in India in 2016 . I love riding it.
Better watch out guys!!I still have my RD400c!! And it's a ROCKET!!
Honda killed 2 strokes. They made some of the best 2 stroke engines but Soichiro Honda never liked them. They successfully lobbied to change GP rules to favour 4 strokes and the rest is history.
Yes John, I agree! The RSV 500 was one of the greats in the hands of Mick Doohan with Alex Crevier as his team mate! I really loved watching Moto GP at it's finest! Imagine a two-stroke 500cc motor putting out nearly 200 hp on the track and weighing only 287 lbs.!
even the king can miss a shift
He could mis-shift every other shift and still kick most peoples asses in a race.
missed more than that seem to be havin a few problems shiftin
It wasn't a mis-shift, it was a wink to normal people.
first thing i thought by the sound of the upshifts is maybe the gearshift is set a little to high lol ,
Clunky gearboxes in this years, also old and used.
Kenny, The Man
King Kenny the legend.
Long time favourite.
finally someone who knows how to change gears, love it!
He dont mess around!!
King Kenny💛💛💛
in my childhood (70's) in the San Francisco Bay area suburbs the streets were full of 2 strokes.. rd 400's.. kawi' triples it was a special time.. not to mention all the v8 Vega's.. Pinto's,.. Chavell's
you name it.. GTO'S.. it was awesome.. and these cars were owned and built by high-school kids.. we worked at gas stations and built these cars in our parents garages.. cars that could make magazine covers today.. now kids skate board.
Thats back when schools still had auto shop and metal shop. Not anymore. Kids today know nothing about mechanics. I teach my kids, even my daughter to do pretty everything, them selves.
Sharpsdoublerifle true but cars were easier to work on back then. Now it's remove and replace. Back then it was repair and rebuild. Plus you didn't have to have a degree in computer science.
Yep or under the shade tree in the yard somewhere,, You want a hot-rod? Go drag any Chevy 396 engine out of the weeds, change the cam, pistons, tranny maybe, add a 650 Holly double pumper CARB, a Hurst shifter and a set of Hooker headers and hang on to that steering wheel!
great sound , real gentle on the engine braking, my favourite on board video. very capable rider.
Omg, i had a 99’ fully open Hayabusa for 6 years, before i stopped riding.I thougt that i was fast, but he would put 1 round to my conto after each of my 5-6 round. Nice to see the Kings abilities onboard! :-)
if the old 2 stroke gp bikes have the modern gp shifters it will be damn good
I love the fact that Kenny still rides quick its impressive
it's amazing to see how easy he makes it look.
This is his relax driving..not so much late braking..he 's holding it back a little
Great ride and video the old boy still has the goods
Magnifique Merci !
He makes it look easy. He makes that bike seem tame and manageable. Truly The greatest rider to change the game of road racing technique.
Great video , great memories of a great time- I think I can smell the summer Sun, petrol and two stroke fumes and a hot tinkly engine when you park up for a cigarette.
damn right
They didn't call him "King Kenny" for nothing.
HELL YEAH!!
King Kenny, he was Modesto High School, I was in Downey High school… learned everything I knew about flat track racing from him and the whole crew .. now we are both old …. lol.
750 gives me goose bumps hearing it rev up and at top speed !!!
That sound lol..simply amazing
I used to try and keep up with Kenny when he rode up on Skyline Blvd and the hills of the South SF Bay. They call him the King for great reasons
kenny roberts is king of kings !
so chilled in driving that monster great driving skills
Unforgettable...☘🍁
The King !
2 stroke FTW, God I miss 'em.
That track has nearly everything to catch a rider out,many patches,surface tar streaks/repairs.Is it in an earthquake zone?King Kenny had it all under perfect control,very smooth and precise.
While I mostly agree with another poster, he seems to be keeping it in the middle of the power band. However, the bike accelerates so fast he's spending most of his time downshifting for the next corner. I think under actual race conditions, riding to keep opponents behind him, the power band would probably expand. To Mr. Roberts, this is a Sunday afternoon ride, for mere mortals like us, if I could ride half this well we'd all be thrilled.
Kenny, Randy, Sheen, Grant. Transatlantic at Oulton park 76. Two stroke madness.
In Italy he's still known as "The Martian"!
Imola.Legendary track,and rider😎
I was there and Kenny passed me! I'm never washing the poop from my underwear that day .....
oi u,,
4,October
my bday
ThAnx
can't forget!!!!
This is still fun to watch. I love the older GP(2 smokers) bikes. Funny how fast KR catches up to the lappers...he was such a very talented rider. Back then they did it all, Flat tracking, TT’s, short track and Road Racing. Not anymore, bunch of cry babies, and they worked on them too!!! Until Kel Caruthers finally stepped in. Awesome team.
Great sound
Grande Kenny mitico campione!!!
man I love 2 strokes. you get those things "on the pipe" and now you got something between your legs.
Back in the 70s I had a 360 Yamaha 2 stroke...hauled ass...now I have a street glide with a backrest and a cup holder. times they are a Changing
S Lit;
Me too , cause of my neck I can no longer use clip-on bars
but, I still use rear-sets. LoL
74 RD250(cafe-d )clip-ons ,rear-sets,fiberglass seat and, tank,chambers,79 mags.
74 RD 350 (bone stock)
75 RD 350 w/ clubmans
77 RD400 (cafe-d) clip-ons,rear-sets,fiberglass seat,chambers,Exccell ignition amplifier system, drilled diskes
32 mm. Makunies ,TZ750 reeds,baskets +bearings, port job.
TA 125 (race only)
77 RD400 clubmans ,w/rear-sets and,chambers.
78 RD 400 (bone stock)
Built in 2017 76 Franken D400 (cafe-d) Flat track bars (murphy bend)rear-sets.
BTW 360 was a durtybike wasn't it ? enduro ? or jurassic RD from the 60's?
R5's were prehistoric RD . lol
They were roughriden,but you could slap on 1/2 of a TZ 750 on them with waterpump
instead of autolube and, have a high maintenance rocket .
Anyone know how to install a dry clutch on an RD 400 ??
Excellent!
wait until that 2-stroke power band hits then unleash hell
hostia pues si que va muy bien en el cambio y reduccion PERFECTO. al final no se que ocurrio se quedaria sin combustible ?
Engine warmed up. Check. Tyres warmed up. Check. Let's go!
He passes everyone with such a big speed differential.
Amazing rider.
King Kenny Roberts and a yzr.. 😊
I would love to have seen racing at Imola before all of the chicanes.
Check out the rev counter, how eager the needle is to hit the red line!!!. THAT IS THE MAGIC OF A 2 STROKE!!!.
And to think he can get off this bike and get on a flat tracker and be just as good on a dirt track.
charlie dee just like that...and!!! On a TZ750!!!!
That's why they call him "KING" !!!
Fantastic! If my RD 500 had the same engine...
Pure music!
Amazing bikes and driver.
When the bike was idling all I heard was ‘You don’t have the balls so don’t even bother.’ All Kenny Roberts hears is ‘Ready when your are sir!!’
I can almost smell the blendzall!
and this lady’s and gentlemans is a real bike
All the old school 2 stroke bikes have a beautiful view on the Revs however there's no speedometer becoz lack of technology like nowadays they have a speed indicator normally at the far left of the screen with the option of using GPS.What about now why don't the people who produce such a wonderful onboard video show us the speed of the bike.I was a boy in the 80s and wonder what speed they're were going and still we have to guess.Hopefully one day it will happen.
500cc and about 158hp thats pretty sweet.
...and then by 1993,up to around 175bhp,if my memory serves...era of Doohan,Rainey,Schwantz et al
Yamaha 😍😍😍
The 62 dopes who gave this a thumbs down must be Randy Mamola fans who are still pissed, or members of the FIM.
手元のレバーさばきが映ってるのが凄い！
この様な車載カメラは角川映画「汚れた英雄」以前にあったのか？
You can tell the motorcycle knows not to do anything foolish…the boss is on board.
Sickest damn Thing on 2 Wheels !
Does he got some problem with clutch or gearbox, i see there is some gear misses or something?
***** No. It's a bike with non-slippery clutch in a 2-stroke. It worked like that. He did the shifting perfectly. Very smooth.
3:30
***** He upshifted and got in turn 1, because turn 1 is a fast corner so he didn't have to downshift. He just closed the gas to gain some engine braking, and the rear wheel kicked the bike noticeably 3:34. I drive a non-sleppery-clutch bike and it often kicks like that. That's why i hate non-slippery clutch so much.
Sonny P 2 strokes don't have much of an engine breaking...
Eh............. No!
I still love Imola.
I would love to get my hands on that YAMAHA
The moment the turbocharger kicking in, was the most happiest thing that ever happened when you ride this machine.
pretty sure it doesnt have a turbo, it's an expansion exhaust system.
Yes it doesnt. What i meant was the natual turbocharge 0f 2 strokes. When the rpm hits the powerband range, and all of a sudden your body get pushed backwards pretty hard. Hahaha.
Ss
It's called EXUP System, not supercharger.
Wrong...2 strokes use tuned exhaust/expansion chambers. EXUP is on 4 stroke Yamahas.
2 stroke 500= 180 hp: 4 stroke 1000= 180 hp, bring back the screamers!!
More like 2-stroke 140hp vs 4-stroke 240hp
Its amaizing
Wonder how those guys felt when they looked up and Kenny Roberts blow past them in a turn.
Sweet 👍👑
Music to my ears. I had a yam RD350YPVS F2, awsum machine, looking in the rear mirror, things go small rapidly.
except the flashing blue lights... they get large rapidly!!! :)
A mate had an RZ350RR ('85 full fairing) here in NZ in '90. I loved it. He completely wrecked it. First he came off the back doing a wheelie past me, then later low-sided into someone's front yard and under their house on a fast hairpin another time and passed another mate while sitting on top of it while it was on its side when he dropped it ON A STRAIGHT ROAD playing silly buggers with the front brake on a wet road and locking it up. It was mint when he got it too. I don't think it lasted more than a year haha
Ah, the YPVS (Yamaha Pussy Valve System!) I much preferred the pre-power valve bikes.........
@@georgebuller1914 Actually the Yamaha POWER valve system gave the engine a broader power band and had way more power than a pre power-valve engine , shows how much you know
@@billrudolph8185 Yawn...... Okay, 1. Did I say ANYTHING about power? No. 2. Did I mention the power-band? No. What I actually said, was that I preferred the pre-power valve machine........
That sound
two stroke Forever!!!!