It was like a weird Biker Boyz déjà vu. Tucked in behind the fairing of the new Yamaha R1, engine screaming toward its stratospheric 13,750 rpm redline, I looked over to see my reflection in a mirrored visor. Smiling back, I shifted right before the rev limiter, effortlessly selected the next cog and whacked the throttle back to wide open. Snatching another look sideways, as the front end started to go light, yielded the same result: a face full of R1. Up shifting again, both bikes were still side-by-side running hard towards the brake markers for turn one. Someone was going to have to do the gentlemanly thing and back off, we were going to be running over 260kph very soon.
Thankfully it was Cycle News editor Paul Carruthers, as he pulled a Laurence Fishburne on me, rolling off early. Actually, he was on the inside line and figured we didn’t need to be inches apart at 200kph in case anything went wrong. Sensible Chap. For the next lap I made myself as wide as possible, resorting to everything except sticking my boot out to keep him behind me. Banging off the rev limiter and lofting the front wheel out of the turns, I rode harder than I have in a long while, the R1 unfazed by my meager efforts.
Entering the front straight it was over, Paul got a better drive and rode on by as I saw my reflection in the mirrored visor for the last time. I did my best to hang on and pushed even harder, but by the end of the session he was gone and I was circulating the Eastern Creek racetrack alone.
The occasion was the World Press launch of Yamaha’s new R1, and with two days of riding, split between track and street, we were able to get plenty of seat time to justify flying half-way round the world. Yamaha had budgeted a rest day for us to get acclimatized to the time difference, and with 40°C air temperatures at the track, I felt happy to be rested. The R1 on the other hand, was totally oblivious to the heat and ran just as hard at the end of the day as it did at the beginning.
There is no doubting that the war raging in the litre-bike this year is as hot as the Eastern Creek track surface. And, with the Suzuki GSX-R1000 firmly in everyone’s sights, all the new models have now made their intros. I haven’t ridden the Honda yet, but did ride the Kawasaki. There are certainly a number of differences between the ZX-10R and the R1, but it is impossible to simply say which is better without a comparison test.
It was like a weird Biker Boyz déjà vu. Tucked in behind the fairing of the new Yamaha R1, engine screaming toward its stratospheric 13,750 rpm redline, I looked over to see my reflection in a mirrored visor. Smiling back, I shifted right before the rev limiter, effortlessly selected the next cog and whacked the throttle back to wide open. Snatching another look sideways, as the front end started to go light, yielded the same result: a face full of R1. Up shifting again, both bikes were still side-by-side running hard towards the brake markers for turn one. Someone was going to have to do the gentlemanly thing and back off, we were going to be running over 260kph very soon.
Thankfully it was Cycle News editor Paul Carruthers, as he pulled a Laurence Fishburne on me, rolling off early. Actually, he was on the inside line and figured we didn’t need to be inches apart at 200kph in case anything went wrong. Sensible Chap. For the next lap I made myself as wide as possible, resorting to everything except sticking my boot out to keep him behind me. Banging off the rev limiter and lofting the front wheel out of the turns, I rode harder than I have in a long while, the R1 unfazed by my meager efforts.
Entering the front straight it was over, Paul got a better drive and rode on by as I saw my reflection in the mirrored visor for the last time. I did my best to hang on and pushed even harder, but by the end of the session he was gone and I was circulating the Eastern Creek racetrack alone.
The occasion was the World Press launch of Yamaha’s new R1, and with two days of riding, split between track and street, we were able to get plenty of seat time to justify flying half-way round the world. Yamaha had budgeted a rest day for us to get acclimatized to the time difference, and with 40°C air temperatures at the track, I felt happy to be rested. The R1 on the other hand, was totally oblivious to the heat and ran just as hard at the end of the day as it did at the beginning.
There is no doubting that the war raging in the litre-bike this year is as hot as the Eastern Creek track surface. And, with the Suzuki GSX-R1000 firmly in everyone’s sights, all the new models have now made their intros. I haven’t ridden the Honda yet, but did ride the Kawasaki. There are certainly a number of differences between the ZX-10R and the R1, but it is impossible to simply say which is better without a comparison test.
Cranking out that claimed 180 horsepower, and hitting nearly 14,000 rpm, the new R1 engine generates some serious heat. Not to worry, a new curved radiator is in place with two ring-type fans. Even these are new, with an external ring around the blades to reduce flex and allow more cooling.
Helping the engine make its truckloads of horsepower, up 20 from last year, is a new fuel-injection system. It uses larger 45mm throttle bodies; with primary and secondary butterfly valves instead of generation two’s diaphragm slides. The throttle opens the first butterfly while a servomotor controls the second (sound familiar GSX-R owners?). Long-nose injectors fire fuel down the almost straight intake ports, before the burned gasses are whisked away into the sexy looking titanium under tail exhaust system.
Containing Yamaha’s patent EXUP valve, the system is all titanium except for the stainless steel catalytic converter. While the pipes look extremely sweet, they do make for a very hot seat battling through traffic.To be fair, temperatures in Sydney were excruciatingly hot, but asbestos underwear might be a good investment if you are male and haven’t already fathered children. Any annoyance at the heat was soon forgotten when the engine revs started to rise and the rear exit pipes start to howl.
Running over the slimmer engine, instead of around the sides, the new black Delta box frame looks familiar, but is in fact 68.4mm narrower. Borrowing technology from their own M1 GP race bike, Yamaha claim a 200 percent increase in vertical rigidity and a 30 percent increase in torsional rigidity. This basically means, unless you are Valentino Rossi you are not going to be taxing this chassis.
Attaching to the new frame, the foot pegs are now positioned 2.5mm further forward and 7.5mm lower. Allied to the handlebar’s 10mm increase in height, sitting on the new R1 feels surprisingly roomy. The bike’s lean angle is supposed to have stayed the same at 56 degrees. But I frequently had my boots on the floor, and Mr. Carruthers was complaining his foot pegs were touching, so I am not too sure about this.
Moving aft, the new swing arm is a tasty looking piece, and has its bracing on the underside so as not to interfere with the new exhaust. As with the main frame, torsional and side rigidity have both been increased. It also provides a home for a revised rear Soqi shock that features damping and spring rates to suit the new chassis. This now has a horizontal reservoir tank in place of last year’s vertical affair. For the track, the compression had been turned way in from the standard setting, some pre load added and the rebound left alone. I had no complaints with the way the rear end behaved, and felt no need to question Yamaha’s settings.
Rolling on five-spoke alloy wheels, in place of last year’s three-spoke design, they are not the same as the R6, even if they look alike. For our testing in Australia, these were wrapped in premium Michelin Pilot Sport rubber: Street compound in the morning, race compound in the afternoon. No complaints from me about the tyres, although if I was doing track days I would definitely fit the race compounds. They are just so much better at dealing with the big Yamaha’s phenomenal power and give so much more confidence. Interestingly, some suspension adjustments were made for the race compound tires and the rear compression was actually relaxed a few turns.
Heading out for the first warm up lap, I would have guessed the suspension had been tightened up, as it felt less compliant: Due no doubt to the firmer construction of the tyre sidewalls.
Up front, a five-spoke wheel is also used, held in place by the 43mm Kayaba forks. These have a stronger spring rate and more compression adjustment than last year. As with the rear shock, I certainly felt no need to make any changes and was just amazed at the way the forks behaved. Clamping down on the brakes at triple digit speeds, gave no unsettling dive, and letting off as I pitched into the waiting corner the bike remained totally stable. Diving into turn-one at over 200kph, the rough track had the bike bucking around some. The forks just sucked up the bumps, kept the front tyre where on line, and allowed me to rail through without drama.
Putting the front forks through their paces at the end of the straights, the new radial brakes also borrow from Yamaha’s GP race program. I think I have run out of superlatives to describe the way these things work. What I can say is how easy they are to use. There is no take up period followed by a huge rush of stopping power. They just start working, and the more you pull the more constant, predictable braking power you get. I did find the thickness of the lever strange, as it seemed to me that it should be thinner in keeping with the rest of the bike’s featherweight proportions. It is multi adjustable by a trick adjuster knob that winds in or out, not in the usual circular fashion, and the lever now pushes on a 2mm larger radial piston.
Down at the business end, the Sumitomo four-piston calipers now have two mounting brackets to eliminate any flex. These bite on thinner rotors, although for this year they have been enlarged from 298mm to 320mm. In the rear, Yamaha has changed the dual piston caliper to a single piston Nissin version to save weight. I didn’t use it on the track, but it works fine on the street, with plenty of feel and a useful amount of travel before it locks up.
We actually spent a whole day street riding, which gave a good chance to see how the R1 shapes up in the real world. Where the bike is beyond my ability to criticize on the track, there are a few issues to talk about on the street.
Firstly, running at legal speeds on the highway, 5000 rpm in top gear, there is an annoying vibration that gets the rear end tingling. The answer to this is to drop a gear or add a little speed, because after a few minutes it gets pretty unpleasant. Gear change action, which is so slick on the track, is a tad deliberate on the street, requiring a good positive boot to change at low rpm.
On a positive note, the engine’s tall gearing makes for a stress free ride on the highway, as bumpy roads aren’t going to have you feeding in too much throttle at the wrong moment. Something I had been worried about after riding the ZX 10.
On a not so positive note, the suspension doesn’t like rough roads, giving a pretty harsh ride. I’m not sure if it was on racetrack settings or not, but I would definitely need to relax it some for regular road duties. Hitting the smooth stuff, everything was fine, as the big four swallowed up the road ahead with consummate ease.
Of course with white lines, cars and other roadside obstacles, twisting the throttle in anger was something akin to hitting the fast forward button as the oncoming scenery got sucked through the windshield at an alarming rate. For the most part, I just short-shifted using the plentiful torque and enjoyed my cruise through the Australian landscape.
Running at street legal velocities gave ample opportunity to enjoy the intoxicating intake noise as the throttle is opened, and at the end of the day we had covered around 320 kilometres.
Flying home from Australia, with time on my hands to reflect on the new Yamaha R1, I was having trouble comprehending that you can buy this motorcycle for similar money to a Hyundai. Kicking out 180 horsepower and capable of over 280kph, while being civilized enough to ride to work is mighty impressive, have bike riders ever had it so good…
