It needs a exceptional cocktail of skill, knowledge, and reverence to restore a classic racing bike properly—especially if it’s a rare one. It’s a recipe that Mike Watanabe and Luke Ransom both know by heart. They run Union Motorcycle Classics out of a warehouse in Nampa, Idaho, where they make the best stuff restoration and customs.
They also have a knack for finding classic motorcycles with deep backgrounds — like the Yamaha TR2B hybrid in this race. Originally built and raced by the AMA and the Australian Sports Hall, Kel Carruthers, it eventually fell into Union hands in need of restoration.
Born in Sydney, Kel Carruthers has been passionate about racing and swinging on motorcycles since he was a teenager. As an adult, he found a measure of success in racing in Europe — winning the 1969 250 cc motorcycle Grand Prix championship, for example. He then guided Kenny Roberts to many places. national and international titles, as his chief of staff.
But before the Roberts era, Yamaha hooked Kel with an offer to race in the US in 1971. He teamed up with another racing legend, the late Don Vesco, to run a pair of Yamaha TR2Bs that were already established. Revision.
If you’re not familiar with the TR2B, it’s the successor to the TR2 — an over-the-counter racing bike first sold by Yamaha in 1969. The TR2B came out two years later, with a revised compression ratio that helps capacity increase. from 54 to 56 hp, in a machine weighing 115 kg [254 lbs].
The Vesco team’s bikes were faster, though. Don and Kel worked their magic on them, and Kel rebuilt the engine with specially moved cylinders, among other things. Everyone owns one of these Yamahas; what you’re looking at here is Don’s.
Luke told us: “It was only driven a few times during the ’70s and was stored in storage with the same Carruthers engine. “Don traded it in the ’90s for a ’60s Pontiac GTO for his wife. The new owner installed an aftermarket crank (missing the Vesco’s original windshield), and it was driven once in 1996 at a Cal Rayborn Jr. vintage event. “
The current owner of Yamaha purchased this bike in 2018, before finding itself in Union inventory for a full restoration. But without the original first part, Mike and Luke had to cut their jobs for them.
The solution comes from another vintage motorcycle restorer and retired racer, Mark Seifried. Mark had previously purchased and restored Keith Mashburn’s 1972 Yamaha TR3 race bike, and was generous enough to lend the fairing to Union guys to copy.
Lukes adds: “Mark also has ‘track notes’ for many of Vesco’s 1970s bikes. “These notes are sorted by VIN and include date, route, jet, mileage, who rode what and other information. Machine 900501 (this machine) is in these notes, with Carruthers at the helm. “
TR2B and TR3 share the same upper part, so Union used the borrowed part to make the mold for that part. For the bottom half, they studied photos of the bike Kel raced in the 1971 season to recreate it as faithfully as possible.
Next, they repainted the Yamaha OEM aluminum fuel tank and Vesco tail section. But they resisted the urge to re-upholster the seats, opting instead to refit the old cover. “We thought the original patches were just too cool to replace,” explains Luke.
Going deeper, Union rebuilt the engine by sourcing engine parts from useful suppliers like Theo Louwes Racing and Mead Speed. But they didn’t dare mess with Kel’s original configuration.
Internally, the engine was ‘modified by Kel Carruthers’ (confirmed by Kel himself). “The port project is a masterpiece. Kel’s engine tuning and handling was very successful at the time, which is one reason why Yamaha was so interested in hiring him.”
Union has been known to throw sophisticated curved spheres at their reboots, but this is as much a replica as you’ll find. The Yamaha chassis is still original and the engine mount that Don did in 1971. The exhaust manifolds are also original, although silencers have been added some time since.
Union also restored the controls, suspension, brakes and wheels, using new NOS spokes at the rear, and re-galvanizing the spokes and knobs at the front. The only really ‘modern’ parts are the igniter and the tires.
It’s also painted exactly like Kel’s racing bike, right down to his number, his name below the screen, and the gold plated ‘Vesco Yamaha’ team logo on the crank. All that’s missing are a few sponsor stickers.
It was another hit from the dream team at Union Motorcycle Classics. We don’t know what its owners plan to do with it, but it would be a shame if this fine machine doesn’t get back on track.
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