Tucked away a short hop off the M5, just a few miles north of Bridgwater, Somerset, is a real heaven for all Yamaha stroker fans. Situated in the sleepy village of Stretcholt, 40-year-old Wayne Pipe started off life as a panel beater and paint sprayer, working on cars but with a real love of bikes, having started off on an NVT Junior at the age of 4, before progressing to a YZ80 a short while later, amazingly both bikes still sit in his impressive collection.
The restoration and repair business started by accident some time later, “Around 9 years ago, a group of us bought some trail bikes, DT175s and the like to use up on the hills at the weekend” Wayne Recalls “No one really knew what they were doing with the bikes mechanically, so I ended up doing any repair work on the bikes, which as you can imagine was a regular occurrence. This led to the business we see today, which really took a hold soon after the trail riding began, the car repair business then made way for me to get into bikes on a full time basis. I now repair and restore any Yamaha two-stroke.”
“I do all the paintwork in house, as well as all mechanical work too, the only work I have to outsource is powder coating for the frame and other chassis parts that need it. When it comes to building specials I can also make and modify parts on the CNC machine, carry out dyno runs or blow expansion chambers to match porting. To date, I have restored around 70 complete machines, and currently have a couple of customer projects ongoing as well as a few bikes that I have in stock, that eventually will be for sale.”
The standard of the work carried out by the banks of the river Parrett is impressive, a better than new IT465 sits awaiting collection by its new owner, an immaculate DT175MX is for sale and all over the spacious workshops is freshly painted components pending assembly into even more stunning machinery. Digging around revealed yet another IT in boxes ready to be assembled, and an RD350LC too. Outside the workshop, the yard is full of machines currently awaiting work
Although happy working on any Yamaha two-stroke, Wayne’s speciality is the 350 YPVS and the much desired, Japanese only 3XV. Wayne adds “I have a real passion for the these two models, and now import and stock hard to find parts for these from the Far East for the latter. While the YPVS was a common machine here in the UK the TZR is a different animal and as such, there isn’t many people in the UK who can work on and restore these rare machines. My daughter also attends a language school so it made perfect sense to have the Japanese manuals and parts books translated, this enables me to work on them correctly and obtain the correct parts too.“
Wife Annie looks after the administration side of the business, while Alsatian Scooby tackles the tough security issues in and around the Yard and extensive workshops, not that they get many visitors, the bulk of the parts side of things is mainly done over the phone and by post “Of course eBay plays an important part in parts sales too” Wayne explains.
Wayne also insists on using only genuine parts when possible for his restorations and repairs, and has a good deal of them in stock ready to go, “I am actively buying parts from all over the world for al Yam strokers, whether it be bankrupt stock from dealers or hard to find components for the Japanese only TZR. To date I have impressive stock levels for most Yamahas, and the list keeps getting longer. 10 complete 3XV cranks are currently winging their way to Somerset along with many other much needed, and desired, components. To keep the supply coming, I have contacts in Malaysia and neighbouring countries constantly scouring for parts, and this keeps my stock levels high and my customers happy. I also have good contacts in the UK and Europe, and can source most parts even when the local Yamaha dealer cant.”
Wayne’s customising skills can be seen in his Aprilia framed, YPVS powered special. The yokes have been made in house using the CNC facilities on hand and the bike also features a TZR swing arm, mounted upside down in the Italian tube work. Clearly it works, as it made a nuisance of its self among a sea of pukka race reps at the recent two-stroke track day held by the RGV owners club at Cadwell Park.
Anyone looking for help, parts and advice with their Yamaha two-stoke can do far worse than get in touch with the folk down in Somerset.
Cider County strokers
Tel: 07761 561 411
www.cidercountystrokers.co.uk
Cider County Strokers Gallery
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