Road Bomber
ROAD BOMBER
At the 1978 Suzuka International Eight-hours race in Suzuka City. Japan, a Yamaha XT500-based road racer nicknamed “Road Bomber” captured the imagination of the crowd by finishing eighth, beating the first Honda CBX by three laps and three places.
At the 1979 Suzuka race, the man who built Road Bomber. Hidehiko Shima, entered another 500cc Single, this one based on the Honda XR500. The bike worked, turning about 4 sec. a lap quicker than the original Road Bomber, but various problems kept the bike out of the hunt in the race.
The engine is stock, the frame fabricated by Shima, who owns and operates Shima R&D, a racing shop. The bike has a wheelbase of 55 in. with a head angle of 26.5°. The engine is offset 12mm to the right of the frame centerline-, which Shima says allows the frame to be more compact. The bike is narrower at the pegs than an MT125R. It’s interesting to note that the entire top end of the engine can be removed with the engine in the frame because the top frame tubes run wide after leaving the steering head. Also notable is the bracing behind and below the steering head. Forks and shocks came off an RSC250 Single, as did the front wheel. The rear wheel is off' a CB400N Honda Hawk.
Ready-to-race weight is 271 lbs.
