the yamaha lc350 , in ireland it was also known as the widowmaker.legend has it that of the first ten bikes brought into the country 9 riders were killed on them.they sure were a snappy little beast.

i swapped a kmx for my first one. it was tuned to the max and had spent most of its life dragracing outside pubs.k+n airfilters,expansion chamber exausts,racing end cans,racing reeds,skimmed head, ports filed to the limit (and then some!). bored to almost 500cc,upjetted etc etc.

it was fun on the right road on a sunny day but the rest of the time it was plain scary.there was little or no power until 4000 revs and then it felt like a lightning quick truck had ran up your arse.WHEELIES ha! the skill in this bike was trying not to wheelie.it felt like a shitheap untill it came on song and then it pumped you full of adreniline almost as quick as it guzzled the gas.

on a rainy day the airfilters would let in water and make the carb stick open, i often had to use the killswitch to regulate the power , an absolute nightmare on a bike with such a vicios powerband.how i survived i`ll never know.

after a very fast 20 mile spin with a mate on the back we stopped at a crossroad. there was a scary rumble coming from the bottom end ,after a quick consultation we decided she should die in the glorious two stroke way.out onto the road, finger resting on the clutch and i hammered it wide open in first, second, third,CRRRRUUUNCH, the back wheel locked , i pulled the clutch in and she rolled in to the side . RIP my poor lc.

big ends were shot to pieces, conrods wrecked and small ends scrap.

more pics and info soon