Yamaha’s OWO1: the racer for the road that time forgot

To the uninitiated, Yamaha’s FZR750R OWO1 might look like any other 1990s superbike with a name like a WiFi code – but to those who know, this is a true racer for the road that was created to counter Honda’s dominance of the World Superbike Championship with its RC30. To meet homologation requirements Yamaha needed to build 1000 OWO1s, a mere 125 of which landed in the UK – complete with a whopping price tag of £12,700, double the cost of a standard FZ750 road bike and a sum equivalent today to £33,000.

For their money, buyers got a 749cc engine that produced 121bhp at a screaming 12,000rpm thanks to the use of forged pistons, hand-polished ports, big valves, titanium conrods and a quartet of 38mm Mikuni flatslide carburettors.

The OWO1 was competitive straight from the crate and became even more so with the fitting of a relatively minimal, £2100 race kit (mainly comprising of a more free-flowing silencer and alternative carburettor jets), giving an extra 9bhp and pushing top speed from 160mph to 169mph.

But the differences from the road bike extended far beyond the engine. The single race seat was quickly detachable, as were the rear-view mirrors and speedometer, while the motor was canted at 40 degrees instead of the regular FZ750’s 45 degrees thanks to the use of an all-aluminium frame from the factory YZF race bike that was shorter, stiffer and quicker-steering.

It gave far better ground clearance, too, with the unique swingarm and quickly detachable fairing lowers being designed to be rapidly removed in the pitlane, while the top quality Öhlins rear suspension could be adjusted in multiple, minute increments.

And weight, of course, was shaved off wherever possible to the point that the OWO1 tipped the scales at 187kg compared with the regular, less-powerful road bike’s 224kg.

The carefully thought-out package made for a motorcycle that didn’t look out of place on the public highway and could happily be ridden and enjoyed there, but which truly belonged on the track – which is where most of the UK consignment ended up – being pushed to the limit.

As a result, finding an all-original OWO1 that has not been raced, crashed, ridden hard, rebuilt or significantly altered from its factory specification is difficult these days – making this virtually mint-condition example being offered by West Midlands dealer Moto Velocity – on behalf of a client who is also selling an equally good Honda RC30 – a true rarity.

Said to have been in the same family ownership for most of its life prior to being acquired by the vendor, its has covered fewer than 4000 miles from new and still carries all of its original frame decals, paint finishes and even the factory-fitted lockwire on
the rear sprocket.

The toolkit it was supplied with when new is also there, along with the owner’s book pack and the two original keys.

Some, in fact, might say it’s too good to ride. But we beg to differ. We say it would be rude not to…

1990 Yamaha FZR750R OWO1
On sale with Moto Velocity, Kingswinford, West Midlands, £27,990. motovelocitymotorcycles.co.uk

The racing Ferrari that always finished

λ If it’s reliability you need, this 2013 Ferrari 458 GTE, inset, below, never suffered a DNF. It was quick too – chassis 2868 was first in all four 2013 Asian Le Mans Series races and finished eighth in class, 28th overall, at Le Mans in 2014 (Shinji Nakano, Martin Rich and Pierre Ehret). It’s in immaculate condition, says DK Engineering in Herts, where it’s on sale for just under £1.35m.

λ After being entrusted to sell Bernie Ecclestone’s car collection, next up for Midlands-based dealer Tom Hartley Jnr is the Mansour Ojjeh collection. Ojjeh, the Saudi businessman and noted McLaren figure, died in 2021 but accrued 20 McLaren road cars – including the final F1 supercar built, which is tipped to fetch a record price for the model.

λ At the start of the 1960s, Jaguar had big plans to take on Aston Martin and Ferrari. This 1961 Jaguar E-type ZP, left, was one of just seven ZPs made, each being allocated to a team. This one went to Equipe Endeavour and had two outings with Jack Sears – second in the Norbury Cup at Crystal Palace and fourth at Snetterton. It’s on sale at Joe Macari in London for £999,950.

λ Cupra has opened its first City Garage concept in the UK. Located in Manchester’s St Ann Street, it’s a bit of a young person’s game: DJs, yoga, Q&As and food and drink for the Cupra ‘tribe’.

λ Motoring enthusiast and Frasier star Kelsey Grammer made a surprise visit to supercar dealer Acklam cars in Middlesbrough. “He called in to have a look around – he’s a big enthusiast and was very down to earth,” said a staff member. LG