The Yamaha RD56 cemented itself in the annals of motorcycle racing history when it carried Phil Read to Yamaha’s first-ever Grand Prix championship title in 1964. But that wasn’t the RD56’s only accolade that year; it was also the bike that Canadian racer Michelle ‘Mike’ Duff claimed their first Grand Prix race win on.
Duff would go on to win another race in the following season, finishing second overall in the 1965 250 cc Grand Prix championship behind Read. They retired four years later, but remain the only Canadian motorcycle racer ever to win a Grand Prix. And it’s that legacy that inspired Canada’s Matt Wieckowski to create this nostalgic Yamaha RD56 replica.
“I was inspired after re-reading the book ‘Make Haste Slowly’ by Michelle Duff, which chronicles her time (she was ‘Mike’ back then) as a factory Yamaha racer in the early 60s,” Matt tells us. “It’s a great read, by the way, for anyone who enjoys motorcycle racing.”
Based in London, Ontario, Matt customizes and services bikes under the banner of Big Dream Motorcycles. He races classic bikes too, so projects of this ilk are right up his alley.
Nicknamed the ‘RD256,’ Matt’s retro race replica started as the frame, swingarm, and most of the engine from a 1974 Yamaha RD250 two-stroke. The frame and swingarm were stripped, de-tabbed, and reinforced, and the swingarm was lengthened and modified to accommodate a wider rear tire.
Next, Matt massaged the forks, yokes, and front Brembo brake caliper from a 2001 Cagiva Mito into place. “It went on surprisingly easily—other than that I had to make and install a new steering stem, and cross-reference the steering head bearings,” he says.
The rolling chassis was finished off with custom rear shocks from Race Tech, and a set of KTM supermoto wheels from SM Pro in the UK. Matt mounted a Brembo front caliper off another KTM for the rear brake, hooking it up to a Nissin master cylinder from a Yamaha YZF450. The brake discs are Goldfren parts.
The RD250’s engine was far from running when Matt got his hands on it, so he set about rebuilding it from the ground up. Highlights include a Vape ignition, a rebuilt crank, modified outer covers, ported and polished heads, and a modified VForce reed valve system from a Yamaha YZ80. Matt did most of the work himself, save for the cylinder work, which was outsourced to a friend—Tanner at Sib’s Performance Machine.
The engine runs race fuel, fed by 34 mm Mikuni round-slide carbs. For the exhaust, Matt initially fabricated expansion chambers that he refers to as “unsilenced.” Those clearly proved too loud, as the exhaust system now consists of aftermarket Yamaha RZ350 chambers and cans.
Moving to the bodywork, Matt put an order in at Ragged Edge Racing for a set of RD56 replica parts. They supplied the fairing, belly pan, tail section, and windshield, while the handmade fiberglass fuel tank came from a supplier in Toronto.
“Once I had all the parts I went through the slow and tedious process of mounting them to the bike,” Matt tells us. “I made a front fairing stay that also holds the tacho, as well as all the other brackets and mounts to hold everything in their proper positions.”
“My goal was to always stay as true as possible to the RD56 as far as the look. That meant doing some things I hadn’t done before—like making fork covers out of aluminum tubing, and polishing the anodizing out of the fork tops to give the appearance of conventional forks, even though they’re inverted.”
Matt finished the bodywork off with the RD250’s original front fender, which he shortened to suit the build. Then he took a Koso tachometer, stripped it, and added Yamaha branding for a period-correct look. Other finishing kit includes Motion Pro grips, a YZ250 clutch perch and lever, a Suzuki GSX-R600 front brake master cylinder, and HVC Cycle rear-sets.
Once everything was in place, Matt stripped the Yamaha back down for paint and finishes. The frame and swingarm went off to Chris at Crashburn Cycles for fresh powder-coating, while Blair at Fibernew added foam and upholstery to the raw seat pan.
“The bodywork and fuel tank went to another friend of mine, Mike Murray, who absolutely hit it out of the park,” Matt adds. “I basically showed up with unfinished bodywork, a raw fiberglass fuel tank, and a few pictures of an RD56. It came back spot on.”
“I put a lot of hours into this bike, but was also blessed to have an amazing group of people who I couldn’t have done this without. One other shoutout I would give is to my welder, Doug Cloutier.”
Matt’s Yamaha RD56 replica is a picture-perfect tribute to one of motorcycle racing’s best eras. But even though it looks too good to get dirty, he assures us that it’s no garage queen. “Even though I don’t get it out as much as I would like,” he adds, “it does get some track time at an annual event that I help sponsor, called the Grand Bend Festival of Speed.”
What we wouldn’t give to see this graceful machine ridden in anger.
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