Custom Yamaha RMAX 1000 Is the Perfect Birthday Gift

In 1978 a young man from California named Kenny Roberts made history when he became the first American to win a 500cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. Atop his 500cc Yamaha, Roberts would claim three titles in a row. Kenny raced professionally for Yamaha for 13 years, becoming one of the most successful racers of all time. King Kenny is one of the most important figures in Yamaha’s racing heritage, and for his 70th Birthday, the company built a custom one-off Yamaha RMAX 1000 LE in his infamous black and yellow “speed block” livery.

Last year, Roberts’s family began searching for an RMAX as a birthday gift. Finding a new rig right now is not the easiest of tasks. Yamaha caught word that the family was on the hunt, and asked if it could help deliver something extra special for the occasion. At the Yamaha factory in Newnan, Georgia, work began on a custom RMAX 1000 LE with a one-off livery that matches the championship-winning bike from 1978.

The rig wears a yellow and black paint scheme with a segmented black stripe that runs up the sides. A matching black stripe splits the hood, and there is a white accent on the hood scoop. The interior features matching two-tone black and yellow seats. The final touch is a set of bronze wheels.

On top of his three world championships, King Kenny managed 44 podiums in just 60 starts during his Grand Prix career. Before that he was an AMA flat-track legend, winning two Grand Nationals for Yamaha, and becoming one of only four riders in history to win the AMA Grand Slam.