If you've been reading RideApart since I took over as its boss, you'll likely know that my heart lies in the dirt. Whether that's with side-by-sides, hunting, fishing, dirt biking, or adventure motorcycles, my one true passion is getting dirty. It's the best place to be. And part and parcel of that love is off-road racing.
Baja is amazing. WRC is wild as hell. Motocross and FMX is just the coolest. And Dakar, well, Dakar holds this special place that no others can touch. It's the one race where you're not just pitted against other competitors, but against the elements—the dirt itself—and everything the terrain can throw at you.
And over the years, there've been numerous special edition machines that have paid homage to the race. Or manufacturers have delivered outright clones of their race-bred machines. None, however, come close to the motorcycles that raced the competition in the 1980s in terms of just looking drippingly cool. There's an aesthetic that even the modern race bikes can't touch, despite all the carbon and cool aluminum bits and rally stacks.
But this 1989 Yamaha XTZ750 Super Tenere, which is currently up for auction, has to be one of the coolest of the bunch of already stupidly cool things. Someone loan me some money so I can live out some fantasies.
The Yamaha was owned by Evo Magazine's Harry Metcalfe, who also runs the YouTube channel Harry's Garage. You've likely encountered Harry if you're in the car or powersports world, as the writer-turned-YouTube star has made a name for himself on the platform showing off his insane collection of vehicles.
This particular motorcycle, however, is part of a four-lot auction that's coming up through Iconic Auctions in the UK. According to the auction listing, the motorcycle was "Produced by Yamaha from 1989 to 1996 and based on the Paris-Dakar winning YZE750 competition bikes." So yeah, it's not an original race motorcycle, but one of the factory editions that look and feel just like the real thing, but road-legal.
The listing states that the twin-cylinder, 749cc engine has five valve heads, and is a double overhead cam. It produces 69 horsepower, which lets it clock a solid 120mph. Whether that's on dirt or the road, however, remains to be seen. The motorcycle is water-cooled and "fitted with a dry sump," while it's been "painted in the red and white Chesterfield colours of the race bikes that only applied for one year only." All of which is original, as the listing states MetCalfe hasn't restored it, though everything works. Apparently, Harry even replicated a stage from the era in 2018 on a trip to Morocco with the bike, too.
As for the auction estimate, the house lists a likely sum of between 1,000 and 3,000 euros, which feels way too low for something so freakin' cool looking. I mean, that's a rad looking motorcycle. Hopefully, it goes to a good home where whoever buys it will actually ride it like it's meant to be ridden. This shouldn't be a garage princess. It should be dirty, grimy, and ready for action.
What I'm really saying is it should be mine.
