During World War II there was a popular urban myth which went some thing like this. The Supermarine Spitfire was so fast that a fighter pilot engaged in a ferocious dogfight chased a ME 109 into a full throttle power dive, fired off his cannons and, having overtaken his own shells, shot himself down!

I think the Germans the Japanese and the Americans told the same story about their FW190, Mitsubishi Zero and P51D Mustang respectively!

Back in the 1970's a similar urban myth revolved around the legendary cat-quick Yamaha RD 400, it went like this. An unsuspecting 2-stroke hooligan jumped onto his 400 Yam, "twisted the wick” and went speeding round the housing estate only to be choked by his own exhaust gases as he completed a lap past his own front door? Implausible? Perhaps not!

Fast forward to a recent 2011 motorcycle event, two of the Bangor sections resident 2-stroke hooligans Brian and Billy thought it would be a good idea to give Brian’s RD 400 F "Daytona Special" a bit of a twanging while no one was looking. They jumped onto the Yam, "gave her the message" and went flying around the block to find they actually were choked by their own blue 2-stroke exhaust gases when they pulled up back where they had started. A heavy, misty, February evening had not detracted from the revelation. Legend had become undisputable fact!

VJMC Northern Ireland Bangor Section - where truth is often stranger than fiction and myth can become reality.

Brian

Surfing around the classic sites I was intrigued to see the claims and counter claims regarding the terminal velocity achieved by fizzie owners in ancient times.

As previously stated, a fizzie DM booted up to 70mph makes a weird induction honking noise. This phenomenon had troubled and puzzled me for over thirty years.

While surfing around the classic bike sites I happened upon a forum discussion between a couple of anoraks. It was a circular argument revolving around whether the Yamaha RD250/350/400 had 5 or 6 speed gearboxes.