Motourage

Today’s Motourage Video of the Day is the official Yamaha release of King Kenny’s return to the Indy Mile this past summer to ride the infamous TZ750 Flat Tracker.

For the original Motourage report on the Legend of the TZ750 and King Kenny ‘s return to Indy, Click HERE.

AMA Pro Racing and Yamaha Motor Corporation will honor Kenny Roberts in recognition of the historic last lap win at the 1975 Indy mile on the Yamaha TZ750 that ultimately proved to be one of the most famous wins in American Dirt Track history.

Known as the King, Kenny Roberts, a two-time AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Champion and three-time World 500cc Champion, will take several hot laps on the infamous Yamaha TZ750 powered dirt tracker during the races on Saturday night, August 29th.

“That night was a memorable event for motorcycle fans the world over,” said Bob Starr, General Manager of Communications for Yamaha Motor Corporation. “Kenny’s accomplishments over the years played a major role in the basis of what Yamaha’s performance image is today. This will be a great tribute to a great man and his accomplishment 34 years ago will live on forever in the history of motorcycling.”

“I remember that night very well. You could hear that bike screaming no matter where he was on the track with Kenny hanging on for the ride of his life,” said Mike Kidd, Director of AMA Pro Flat Track. “Running about mid-pack early in the race, Kenny pulled up along side me down the front straight, then he shifted gears and I never saw him again.”

The Indy Mile is the seventh round of the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship.
AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines.  From its Daytona Beach headquarters, the organization operates and manages AMA Pro Road Racing, which includes AMA Pro American Superbike, AMA Pro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro SuperSport and AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT.  AMA Pro Racing also manages and works closely with the day-to-day operational organizations of the AMA Pro Flat Track Championship and the AMA Pro Supermoto Championship Series in addition to other two-wheel and ATV series.  Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.

They don’t pay me enough to ride that thing: The legend of Kenny Roberts and the TZ750

The rumor mill is churning up in Indianapolis, and if you can believe the whispers from the paddock, Kenny Roberts is expected to take hot laps on the 100% pure-evil Yamaha TZ750 at this year’s Indy Mile.

If you’ve never heard of the TZ750, the legend goes something like this:
One hot summer night in 1975, the devil himself appeared in a dream to Kenny Robert’s manager and tuner Kel Carruthers  and told him to take the 750cc two-stroke Yamaha engine from the GP bike that Kenny Roberts had used to win at Laguna Seca the previous year and shove it into The King’s flat track racer.  The purpose of creating such a monster was to hold off the hard-charging Harley Davidson XRs at the Indy Mile flat track race later that August.  Kel did as he was instructed, and what resulted was a fire-breathing demon motorbike that not even King Kenny could tame.

Roberts held the bike together and won that year’s Indy Mile, bouncing the Yamaha off the hay bales and holding on as best as he could.  After that season, the AMA and Kel Caruthers, the creater of the demon bike, banned its use out of fear it would eventually kill someone.

Apparently though, the TZ750 has been resurrected and will again rear its head this August in Indianapolis.
If you’re heading to Indy for the MotoGP race, make sure you get tickets to the Mile, as – if the rumors are true – you’ll be able to witness a piece of history told only in legends.

MOTOURAGE UPDATE (7/21/09 2:09AM): The TZ750 rumor is a rumor no more.  King Kenny will again ride the beast at the Indy Mile as confirmed by THIS YAMAHA MOTOR CORPORATION PRESS RELEASE POSTED ON FLATTRACK.COM!

For the entire legend, read THIS ARTICLE FROM SUPERBIKE PLANET.COM.

Here’s the footage from that fateful night…