Hakan Andersson rides his 1973 World Championship Yamaha

On September 27th 2008, 1973 250 World Champion Hakan Andersson rode his World Championship works Yamaha for the first time since 1973. For those who are unfamiliar with this bike, it is the first monoshock, the first long travel motocross bike, the bike that started the suspension revolution, the very bike that Hakan won the 1973 250 World Championship with. The bike had not been started since it was last raced and when it was shipped to Chicago, it was cleaned and put away. Hakan and his wife were visiting and we decided to take the bike out and blow out the cobwebs. After making sure all the bolts were tight, we poured the same Castrol R mix that Hakan used back in 1973 and after a couple of kicks the bike fired right up. There is no silencer on the pipe and it was extremely loud. The engine revved instantly and sounded as if it was jetted perfectly, just like you would expect from a bike of this caliber. The sound of the exhaust combined with the smell of the Castrol R instantly brought back memories of a bygone era. You could see the excitement in Hakan's eye as he revved the GP works bike, this was a special moment.

Once the engine was warm Hakan put it in gear and was off. With out hesitation as he shifted into second, the front end came up and Hakan wheelied across the back yard. The sound of the open chamber was absolute music. Hakan made several passes and I tried to capture the moment with these shots but was more focused on the moment than at the camera settings. When he pulled in, the first thing he remarked on was how fast the bike was. "It is exactly how I remember it, I'm surprised how fast it is." Hakan said. The engine sounded real tight and ready for another GP. After an hour or so of reflecting on 1973 and what had just taken place, Hakan stated this was definitely the highlight of 2008. I could not have agreed more!  Enjoy the photos and stay tuned for an announcement of a very historical upcoming event!

Order a DVD of Hakan's historical 1973 GP season.

Hakan fires up the bike that took him to the 1973 250 World Championship for the first time in 35 years. The 1973 works Yamaha YZ637 monoshock is alive!

     Check out the open stinger in the above photo. Can you imagine what 40 unsilenced works bikes sounded like on the starting line?

                                        Moments after shutting it down, the Champion poses for a photo.