Gold digger!: Project Yamaha YZF-R1 5VY part 3

Our own Paul Berryman seems to be panning for gold… but what are the nuggets in the 2004 R1 sump pan?

- PAUL BERRYMAN

Every circus needs a clown, and right now it feels like I’m the one wearing oversized red shoes and matching nose in Bertie’s CMM big top.

After taking the gamble to run my 5VY R1 without stripping the motor to clean out the potential of travelling flywheel magnets, I only enjoyed 4.6 miles before it seized solid. All gambling ads carry the tagline ‘Bet responsibly’, but it turns out leaving this engine unopened wasn’t the responsible thing to do. Funny thing is though, it’s just possible I may have got away with it, but for another major problem lurking deep inside this motor from it’s recent past…

However it had ended up here, all I really knew was I had a seized R1 that needed fixing. I honestly wouldn’t trust myself to conduct a proficient autopsy and repair on a 20-valve, four-cylinder, 172bhp engine, so I asked myself who was the right man for the job? My happiest hours of watching true expertise being delivered upon a motor of mine happened during the Spa Katana build in 2014 (drag out your CMM back issues, it was epic), so a call was made to Paul Boulton of Motocatman, ex-factory Suzuki GP mechanic and still heavily involved in making many classic Suzuki motorcycles hustle (he doesn’t just do classic stuff, Suzuki stuff, or race stuff, but he’d probably say he prefers it if he does.) He graciously accepted the chance for a joyful reunion over the dysfunctional innards of my R1 motor. Things were looking up.