Think this engine generates some heat? The radiator began life as an R7 kit part. Note the cut out for the ram air intake at the top of the radiator and the potentiometer measuring fork travel.
You've got to love this ignition cutout switch assembly. A beautifully machined piece of billet complete with a friction-reducing roller activates the stock Yamaha side stand switch to cut out the ignition for clutchless upshifts.
The swingarm features a roller and guide to make sure that the chain stays absolutely in line with the sprocket and helps to take up slack throughout the suspension stroke. After you've drooled over this works swingarm (Which simply means nobody you know can buy one.), look at the rearsets. Yes, the shifter tip folds back to keep it from interfering with Buckmaster's cornering.
Yep, radial mount, GP spec Brembo brakes. Buckmaster, who feels that the brakes are plenty strong, prefers 305mm discs while his teammate Jamie Hacking opts for 320mm for more power.
All business in the cockpit. Note the controls for on-the-fly brake and clutch lever adjustment.
Just what you'd expect from a proper race bike. Do you think this machine brakes hard? If not, look at the tank pad.
Graves about developing the FX R1: 'There's always a new challenge. The faster you're able to get the motorcycle around the racetrack, new problems occur. And so, we're just trying to solve that next new problem that occurs.'
Buckmaster on developing the R1 with Graves: 'Chuck always really knows what he wants from the bike before we even start. Basically, what ever turns up, you know is going to be a good starting point.'

What red-blooded American racing fan hasn't fantasized about throwing a leg over a honest-to-goodness racer and running in an AMA national? For most of us, the fantasy would be of a 600 Supersport ride or maybe, if we were really full of ourselves that afternoon, a Superbike. Even in our most Walter Mitty of moments, what percentage of us would ever consider Formula Xtreme? I would expect the numbers to be in the single digits.

Those who still aren't sure of whether they'd consider riding a FX bike should chew on this a bit: The rules governing Formula Xtreme in the AMA Pro Racing rule book take up about one half a page (Compare that to the six plus pages of rules concerning Superbikes.), saying essentially that the engine needs to be 745cc or larger. The engines and frames need to be produced for street use and available through US dealers. The cases, cylinders and heads must be original material and castings. At least 50% of the frame's original structure (by volume) must be retained. Oh, and it must weigh at least 365 pounds. So, you start with a big bore street bike, put as much horsepower into it as you can, don't make it too light, and go racing.

Folks who have followed racing for years probably weren't surprised when Graves Motorsports was chosen to operate the Yamaha factory team in Formula Xtreme. After all, Team Owner Chuck Graves built and raced fire-breathing big bore sportbikes for a long time. For the past six years, Graves Motorsports has focused on R1s. Beginning as a privateer effort, moving up to a factory support role, and finally becoming a component of the full factory program, Graves Motorsports has capitalized on his experience as a mechanic and a racer to grow his company into a vital partner in Yamaha's US racing. Having the same crew of riders race bikes out of both the Yamaha and Graves transporters illustrates the uniquely close relationship between these two companies.

Still, this closeness can't fully explain the trust (or is it foolhardiness) displayed by Graves and his team of mechanics when Yamaha PR Guy Brad Bannister came up with the idea of having a handful of motojournalists ride Damon Buckmaster's FX R1 at the California Speedway in Fontana. Think about it: Just one ham-fisted moment and months of work could be reduced to so much scrap metal. And if the folks at Yamaha and Graves weren't worrying, you can bet the writers who were invited to the event were. Perhaps, Bannister's warning that the event would end with even the tiniest tip over, and the offending journo would wear the scarlet letter for a long, long time. Consequently, after the press briefing, significantly less good-natured posturing took place that would usually occur before track sessions. In fact, the discussions centered on how cautious we would be on the track. We were suitably chastened.

Beginning with the already strong R1 engine, Graves' team massaged the output through a generous application of good old fashioned engine know-how. Guided by Chuck's vision, engine builder Barry McMahon refined the engine's ability to move combustables through it. The air is pressurized by a ram air system visible in the square section cut out of the top of the massive radiator. The head was ported and polished. Graves cams offering both higher lift and longer duration slid into place. Of course, the valve springs were beefed up to handle the heavier work load. Inside the cylinder, Graves pistons and rings (that will, according to Graves, be available soon) travel through stock dimension cylinders to maintain OE displacement. Compression was bumped to 13.5:1. To handle the extra power and rpm, custom made Carrillo connecting rods were installed. As you would expect from a bike like this one, the crank was both lightened and balanced.

Downstream from the power production, the delivery system needed to be tweaked. A Graves adjustable slipper clutch passes the "approximately 175 horsepower" on to the transmission. On deceleration, the amount of back torque limiting clutch slippage can be tuned to suit the requirements of different riders. A GYTR factory kit transmission allows the gear ratios to be fine-tuned for various track conditions.

Big power isn't the be-all-end-all to Formula Xtreme, though. If you can't control it, you don't win races. Although the R1 ships with fuel injection, the Damon's FX bike sports carburetors about 70 percent of the time. Why? When you've got over 20 years of carburetor tuning under your belt, as Graves does, you have a wealth of knowledge to draw from. According to Buckmaster, what makes this bike work so well is the tractable power down in the rev range. The 41mm Keihin flat slide carburetors are largely responsible for this. What the team found was that the EFI worked too well down low, delivering too much power. When you've got the bike cranked over at its limits, riding on milimeters of rubber, the power should come on smoothly. Add just a little abruptness, and the rider has to worry about traction management more than he already is. As Graves put it, "The rider needs the least amount of power possible, but just enough to transfer the weight from the front wheel to the back wheel. So the motorcycle can track through the corner." Therefore, until the team can build up enough data with the EFI, carburetors will be a vital part of the package. Still, in the long term, Graves acknowledges that fuel injection will allow much more control of the power delivery.

Without a means of controlling the chassis that carries all this power, the Graves FX R1 would be nothing more than an overpowered project bike. Consequently, the other key component in this successful package is the suspension. Buckmaster claims he's "fussy" about suspension, particularly the front end-not that he's one of those riders who rides the front really hard. For him, he's more looking for information about what's happening at the contact patch. Look closely and you'll find a 43mm Ohlins fork with valving developed by the Graves mechanics. A set of the de rigeuer Marchesini magnesium wheels (16.5 inch front and rear) shod with Dunlops. Out back, a superbike spec Ohlins shock connects to one of Graves' several linkages. In fact, everything from the swingarm pivot back is adjustable. With the ability to move the pivot forward and back a total of 8mm plus up and down 12mm in 2mm increments, the rear grip can be altered to suit any track and rider. On the front of the frame, a fully-adjustable Graves triple clamp assists in the overall flexibility of chassis adjustment.

One type of flexibility that doesn't rear its ugly head is chassis flex. Look closely at the Graves R1 frame, and you'll see that it is considerably thicker on the spars. Graves wouldn't be too specific, but he admits that a good bit of aluminum was welded on to the frame for stiffness. The swingarm, which is long and looks hell-for-stiff, is a works item directly from Yamaha Japan.

Finally, the team keeps tabs on what's happening while Buckmaster is out on the track with a Drack data acquisition system. The same laptop that tracks all the information gathered in each testing session is also used to control the ignition curves and fuel injection (when installed) on Yamaha's YEC kit ignition.

The modifications of the R1 to Formula Xtreme specs makes the bike radically different from racing a relatively stock bike. According to Buckmaster, the amount of aggressiveness required to master competition in this class is-ironically-significantly lower than racing a stock class. Instead, he says racing the FX R1 requires patience. Buckmaster knows what he's talking about after having been leading the series until a jumped start and the requisite stop-and-go penalty moved him 26 points back in second.

All the performance information weighed heavily on me as I threw a leg over the Graves FX R1. Adding to my trepidation was the fact that I had logged a grand total of five laps-ever-on the California Speedway. Sort of knowing where the track goes for its 21 turns is not conducive to pulling the trigger on an expensive, highly developed machine. My first impressions on the bike were that the riding position was quite comfortable-despite the fact that I'm taller and thicker than Buckmaster. The steering was precise, almost telepathic, as I tiptoed my way around my first lap. The power in the bottom end and mid-range were exactly as described: predictable and easy to modulate. Once I pulled the trigger on the front straight, the bike leapt forward with a character that made the stock R1 I'd ridden to learn the track feel like a cruiser by comparison. The last bit of turn on the throttle made a huge difference in acceleration. Slowing to exit the banking off the front straight gave me my first inkling of how powerful and the Brembo monoblocks were.

With each lap I gained confidence in the bike. The power came on in such a predictable manner that I didn't worry about accidentally spitting myself off mid-corner. The suspension, while softer than I expected, ate up the pavement irregularities both on and off the gas. Seams parallel to my path of travel that had the stock R1 shaking its head-most notably the ones leading from the flats up onto the banking-left the Graves bike completely unfazed. Consequently, I found myself getting on the throttle earlier each lap when heading towards the banking. Where the stocker would wags its clipons, causing me to drift up towards the wall on the straight, the FX R1 simply held its line. In fact the only instability I noticed on the bike was a slight high-speed wobble down the front straight. Back in the pits, Graves confirmed that the probable culprits were probably my additional height and, uh, girth upsetting the aerodynamics and weight bias. Still, the bike felt utterly composed even while moving around below me.

After a couple of laps, I became progressively more comfortable with the FX R1. I got on the throttle sooner, braked later, became more precise with my steering input, and trailed the brakes further into the corners. The sad truth about press events like this is that, just when I got over my concerns about riding a bike of this caliber and started to have fun, the white flag came out. My stint on the Graves Formula Xtreme R1 was over. I attended the event expecting to to ride a bike with barely controlled malevolence. Instead, I experienced mechanical finesse that could almost lull me into believing that the machine wasn't as dangerous as I'd expected. Cranking on the throttle, however, revealed the folly of the thought. In my short turn on the bike, I learned how brutishly refined a R1 can be. All it takes is a liberal application of motorcycle tuning knowledge and experience. Oh, and lots of money, say about $80,000 or so.