Race Bred: Jeff Palhegyi’s Yamaha MT07 flat tracker

Any customized workshop that’s been working for an honest size of time is certain to have a mess of leftover components mendacity round. However how usually are these the correct of components to construct a thoroughbred race bike with? It’s a uncommon situation—but it surely’s the story behind this race-bred Yamaha framer.

It’s the work of Jeff Palhegyi, the person behind Palhegyi Design. An achieved fabricator and body builder, Jeff’s no stranger to Yamaha flat trackers. That’s as a result of he’s been pivotal in creating the Yamaha MT07-derived race bike that Estenson Racing has been fielding within the US flat monitor TT racing collection; the MT07-DT.

In case you’re not conversant in the flat monitor TT format, it’s identical to common flat monitor racing—besides the monitor has each left and proper turns, and at the very least one soar. Estenson Racing’s Yamaha MT07-DT has dominated the format for the final couple of years, with rider JD Seaside behind the bars.

However the story goes additional again than that. The MT07-DT was truly born out of an idea bike that Yamaha USA and Palhegyi Design collaborated on again in 2015, to point out the potential of the punchy MT07 motor. That idea advanced right into a flat monitor race bike, and Jeff’s been churning them out since.

This specific Yamaha’s chassis is now the 18th that Palhegyi Design has produced. However regardless of the graphics, this one’s not destined for the Estenson workforce. Jeff constructed this one only for himself, utilizing components leftover from the 4 prototype race bikes that he’s labored on over the previous three years.

“At all times experimenting with lighter and smaller tubing, completely different swingarms and linkages, and adjustable geometry, can go away a number of components floating across the store,” he explains. “So I put this bike collectively for my private assortment.”

On the coronary heart of Jeff’s bike lies the 689 cc parallel twin engine from a 2021 Yamaha MT07. It’s good for 74.8 hp and 68 Nm in inventory trim, with Yamaha’s 270-degree ‘crossplane’ including most character. (In case you’ve ridden a Yamaha MT07 or XSR700, you’ll understand how a lot of a peach this motor is.)

The engine’s suspended from a chromoly trellis body, with a tubular swingarm out again. The swingarm sits on an eccentric pivot, giving it a full vary of adjustment fore and aft, and up and down.

The Palhegyi Design chassis is complemented by a smorgasbord of top-tier components. The forks and rear shock are from Öhlins, the brakes are from Brembo, and the 19” flat-track wheels and tires are from Roland Sands Design and Dunlop, respectively.

There’s some trick stuff connected to the Yamaha motor, too. Mounted beneath it’s a Yamaha Racing oil pan, machined out of a stable 18 lbs aluminum billet. It’s designed to supply additional cornering clearance—but it surely’s additionally stronger than the manufacturing facility half, so it could actually take a knock.

The ignition cowl is one other Yamaha Racing half, once more engineered for sturdiness. Chunky Okay&N filters substitute the airbox, with a titanium two-into-one exhaust system from Graves Efficiency on the reverse finish. The cockpit sports activities Duralle racing triples, Vortex handlebars and a AIME sprint.

Each final half on this construct is premium—from the carbon fiber entrance sprocket cowl, proper right down to the foot pegs and fasteners. Even the coolant restoration tank appears to be like swish.

It’s all within the identify of efficiency and weight saving. We don’t know what the bike’s total weight is, however Jeff’s confirmed that the body weighs simply 15 lbs—making it the lightest one he’s fabricated to date. The Estenson Racing carbon fiber bodywork doesn’t add rather more to the dimensions, coming in at below 6 lbs, painted and with the Saddlemen seat pad fitted.

Benny Flores was accountable for laying down the Estenson Racing livery. And as at all times, Jeff had assist from his right-hand man a Palhegyi Design, Craig Smith, each step of the way in which.

Buttoned up and race-ready, Jeff’s MT07-DT appears to be like completely phenomenal. However since he didn’t construct it particularly to race with, we marvel what he has in retailer for it.

“It’s just a few lighting away from being a road tracker,” he quips. “That could be the following step.”

Palhegyi Design | Instagram | Photographs by Jordan Penchion