CAFÉ RACER 76: Weet-a-bix

When James Kellas packed his bags and headed for Aus, he left behind his legacy of turning VW Beetles into drag strip beasts. In need of transportation around Sydney he opted for the ever reliable Yamaha TW200. “If it’s good enough for a Japanese farmer it’s good enough for me” says James, who blames his Grandmother for getting him into bikes in the first place with her 1938 Ariel NG350. However, never satisfied with an engine being stock James tore into the TW. The result?

An amazing Salt Lake racer. “I either wanted to build a Sandrail and do the Finke Desert Race or build up something for Australian Speed Week and get down to the Salts’ explains James. So the bike was stripped, welds were made, the engine was rebuilt (twice) and the whole thing given a spray (props on the colour choice). The hardest part of the build was conforming to the strict regulations around Salt Racing says James “The prep for the bike was simple, read the rule book, read the rule book again then build the bike to the rules without cutting corners. Everything else wasn’t really planned, I just went with the flow and it all came together”.

How did he go? He clocked 119kph (74mph) which may not sound fast to some but that scored the national open class 250cc record at Lake Gairdner. What's next? Well another racer of course, the record has now been taken from James and he wants it back!