Bike Review: Yamaha R1 review (2016)
This bike's an A1 ride
THE Yamaha R1 is a legendary bike.
Since it arrived in 1998 it has been one of the finest Japanese superbikes.
Yamaha has always had to contend with stiff home-grown competition from Kawasaki, Honda and Suzuki.
But with the new R1, Yamaha has ditched its traditional rivals and gone into battle with European big-guns.
BMW and Ducati both raised the bar with their S1000RR and Panigale, respectively.
Honda didn’t even flinch, keeping the Fireblade the same, Kawasaki and Suzuki both tweaked the ZX-10R and GSX-R1000.
But it’s the R1 which is truly going toe to toe with Europe.
For £15k Yamaha will sell you a machine groaning with technology derived straight from the labs of MotoGP.
Deep breath – it comes with a quickshifter, launch control, anti-wheelie, traction and slide control and linked anti-lock brakes.
The computer is being fed information 100 times a second, allowing it to cut in and help out if you are about to flip the bike backwards on a wet, greasy road.
Believe me, without these tools eBay would be littered with written-off R1s being sold for parts. The engine produces 197bhp. On a bike.
That’s the same power as a spicy hot hatch such as a Peugeot 208GTi. On a bike. It’s mental.
Plus, it’s as light as it’s ever been. Climbing on to one at Silverstone recently, it felt more like I had a supersport between my legs.
This means it’s a joy to dance on from apex to apex, being laid down into the corner with ease and wrestled upright on the exit with minimal effort.
Dial back the electronic aids and the wheel will pop up nicely all the way through fourth.
Before you know it you’re at the next corner – just two firm fingers of brake lever will scrub off 80mph in an instant.
It’s simply a joy to ride on the track. How it would behave as a road bike, I couldn’t tell you.
All I know is, you’ll need to keep one eye on the speedo.
This bike is so well engineered 100mph feels like 50. It would be very, very easy to say goodbye to your licence.