Jim Brown is in full tuck as he speeds down the front straightaway at Blackhawk Farms Raceway in August of 1985. Brown had some solid finishes in B & C Superbike on his Yamaha RZ500. The myth of the RZ was that it was a street version of Yamaha’s GP machine, but the truth was in stock form the bike was not all that fast and according to riders who raced them, was a poor handling machine on the track, with frame, forks and swingarm too weak and flexible for a motorcycle of this weight and power capability.

Jim Brown is in full tuck on his Yamaha RZ500 as he speeds down the front straightaway at Blackhawk Farms Raceway in August of 1985. (Larry Lawrence photo)