Car Modeling/Automotive Modeling, Scale 1:24 Yamaha YZR-M1(04) (Motorbike)

The building of the Yamaha YZR-M1(04)

This motorbike is a Tamiya kit

Some background......" Following taking out the 2003 Riders Championship, his 3rd consecutive world championship with Honda, champion rider Valentine Rossi shocked the racing world announcing he was transferring to rival Yamaha for the 2004 season. For the Yamaha team, the signing of Rossi wasn't the only big change in 2004, the YZR-M1 itself also went through a lot of fine-tuning during the off-season, with major changes including a newly designed inverted swing arm and a more solid aluminum twin-spar delta-box frame. Traction and axle response was also vastly improved by altering the firing order of the powerful 990cc liquid-cooled 4-cylinder inline engine. The eagerly awaited first round of the 2004 season drew massive media attention as the motoring world focused on the new Yamaha-Rossi combination and their battle against the dominant Honda RC211V. First success to Rossi came early, recording the fastest lap during qualifying to secure pole position. In the opening stages of the final, Rossi, and Honda's Max Biaggi and Sete Gibemau set a blistering pace, quickly pulling away from the rest of the pack. Gibemau eventually fell off the pace, and Rossi and Biaggi were left to fight out a frantic dual up front. By the end of the race it was Rossi who prevailed to take the checkered flag, giving Yamaha their first victory since the 2002 Malaysia GP. With Rossi going on to take victories in Italy, Catalunya, Netherlands, Great-Britain and Portugal, by mid-season he could already smell an historical fourth consecutive rider's title. "........

The paint is Tamiya's TS-51 (Racing Blue,spraycan)

Placing the shock-absorber in the swing-arm was a bit difficult

I used carbon-decal for the ram air box

the attachment of the side cowls was done with little screws