Shawn Nicoloff (66) leads Alan Bertagnoli, Jim Still (1) and Scott Blow during a WERA D Superbike race at Blackhawk Farms sometime in the late 1980s. Bertagnoli got around Nicoloff to win the race and the $500 in Yamaha contingency money. A case could be made for the Yamaha FZR400 being the best handling sport bike ever, certainly of its era. Riders raved about the GP-like handling characteristic of the diminutive Yamaha. Produced from 1986 to 1994, the FZR quickly overtook Yamaha’s RZ350 as the defacto Lightweight club racing machine.

Shawn Nicoloff (66) leads Alan Bertagnoli, Jim Still (1) and Scott Blow in a WERA D Superbike race at Blackhawk Farms. (Larry Lawrence photo)