The two-stroke twin seemed to run better in cold air. So at dusk, my friend and mechanic, Graeme Rogers, and I would sneak out to a long section of straight road a few kilometres from town. We’d park Graeme’s Holden Monaro and the trailer in the grass and unload.
A strip of unmarked bitumen in front and behind, paddocks on either side. No cars anywhere. A perfect opportunity to tweak the tuning and practice race starts. Between 7000 and 9000rpm, the Yamaha RD350LC grew wings.
I was 21 years old and learning to keep the front wheel close to the ground from a standing start. I’d lean over the tank, rev the engine and try to slip the clutch the right amount – between bogging down and looping the bike. I’d start about 400m away from Graeme and
