Europe's only Yoshimura X1 sells at auction
Uber-rare Yoshimura factory-racing special fetches big money
A YOSHIMURA X1 Hayabusa, thought to be the only one in the western world, has sold at auction.
The bike was sold as part of the Aled Jenkins collection at the Bonhams auction in Stafford. The X1 started at £5,000 but the price was quickly raised following multiple bids from telephone buyers, the web and in the room itself. Eventually two potential buyers in the room pushed the price up and when the hammer dropped, the X1 had fetched £19,470.
Only 100 X1 Hayabusas were made by Yoshimura and nearly all of them remain in Japan, mostly owned by collectors.
The X1 Hayabusa was created by Yoshimura in 2000, to race in their domestic Formula X class. The X1R won its class in the Suzuki 8-Hour, qualifying just behind Haga's factory Yamaha YZF-R7 - some going.
Yoshimura put the Hayabusa on an extensive weight loss program and, of course, being Yoshimura, upped the power too. The X1 road bike pictured here is said to produce 196bhp at the rear wheel and weigh just 200kg wet - making it more powerful and lighter than a BMW HP4.
When Performance Bikes tested this X1, it was their fastest 0-100mph bike, getting there in just 5.44 seconds.
