THE FINALE - ROAD TO THE TT YAMAHA R7 PROJECT

Now the dust has settled, it’s time to tell the tale of how Rutter’s R7 cut it around the 2023 Isle of Man TT.

- BIG MAC

If you’ve been following this project in Fast Bikes over recent months, you’ll know that things have been very last-minute due to the late arrival of parts. Instead of a decent amount of pre-season testing, the first time the R7 turned a wheel was in the second qualifying session at the North West 200, which showed signs of potential but not much performance. The absolute key component that was still missing was a ram airbox, which promised a much-needed power boost. The R7 came home from Ireland with me instead of going straight to the Isle of Man with the rest of the team bikes, and went straight to MSS, where it was stripped, ready for the arrival of the airbox.

Eventually, the airbox cleared customs and arrived at the workshop the day before I was due to leave for the Isle of Man. After a big effort by about six people at MSS, it was fitted, along with a set of variable bellmouths from Ray Stringer Performance for a theoretical boost of midrange power that you arguably don’t really need at the TT, but so long as there wasn’t a drop in peak power, why not use them? By the time everything was fitted, and the duct from the intake to the airbox was fiber-glassed to the inside of the bodywork, there was only enough time for a few dyno runs and to activate the auto-tune on the Power Commander before it had to go back in the van and on its way to the Isle of Man for its day of reckoning.