Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

IIIIIIRIECJ 2111 v•••". R' addition of a new air-intake system for 2000. Most of the changes come the old-fashioned way: replacing heavy parts with lighter parts. Given the opportunity to spend two days with the new R1 recently in Spain - one day at the immaculate new Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana and the other riding around the Spanish countryside - gave a glimpse of just how good the big Yamaha really is. We liked it before, and we like it even more now. It shined on the racetrack the first day, then it turned around and strutted its stuff the following day, showing what a really good open-class streetbike it is. The circuit of Valencia (also known as the Ricardo Tormo Circuit - as a tribute to the late Spanish World Champion) features a wide variety of comers, though most of them are lefts, ranging from second-gear hairpins, to one fast left that decreases in radius from fourth gear down to second, placing a premium on front-end feel. In between all the lefts are two medium-speed and one slow right-hander - just enough to make you wonder if that side of the tire is still warm when you flick it in. To show us how it is to be done properly, Yamaha also sent Rich Oliver with us on the trip. The always-helpful former (1'op) Ain't .... PNtlr? The old Rt IooIuId good. The _Rtlooks_ betlIer. ILeftIV......... Cartos Chec:II._ .................. ...aap., ......... the Rt .. the V.Jenc:ia circuit In SpaIn. By made in an effort to reduce the overall weight on the R1, Yamaha didn't stop there. In fact, they went as far as to make a bike that looked spectacular look even better. Yamaha's press materials throw around words as if they were lighter, meaner and sleeker like motel matches - but they're fairly accurate in doing so. It is definitely lighter. It is a bit meaner, and it is sleeker. The main mission for the redo, however, was to reduce weight. More power, lighter weight. The holy gra iI of sportbikes: power-to-weight ratio. Since it's easier to lose weight than it PAUL CARRUTHERS PHOTOS BY DAVID DEWHURST AND GOLD" GOOSE Pparently, Yamaha doesn't believe in the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." At least not when it comes to the R 1. Although there wasn't a whole iot anyone could complain about when it came to the old model, Yamaha has still elected to go through its openclass sportbike with a fine-tooth comb. The result is simple: An already wonderful motorcycle just got better. Although most of the changes were A 20 JANUARY 26, 2000' eye • • n e vw s is to gain horsepower, most of the changes to the Yamaha were made in an effort to shed excess poundage. But that isn't a simple thing to do on a 1000cc sportbike that already weighed in at a fairly svelte 390 pounds. Think of it this way, although it would be easy to shed five pounds from Rosie O'Donnell, that task gets a bit more difficult when you're dealing with Calista flockhart. Somehow, Yamaha did get the weight off - and it wasn't just a case of drilling more holes in existing parts. In fact, the R1 actually lost nine pounds, but it had to put four back on with the 250cc Grand Prix Champion is kind enough to make you feel fast, yet also manages to blow by you quickly enough to truly show what the motorcycle is capable of. But back to the bike. Yamaha eJ]gineers set out to not only make the bike more powerful, but better off the bottom. To quote the press literature, "Not necessary to consider engine rpm. Just open throttle and control your acceleration." They seem to have accomplished just that. Whether you decided to rev the piss out of the R1, or simply run through the corners a gear higher, it doesn't seem to make much difference. The bike doesn't bog at low rpm, and it responds well to just grabbing a handful no matter where it was in the rev range. The bike makes its power smoothly. There's no abrupt hit anywhere, just a nice linear transition from bottom to top that makes the bike very manageable on the racetrack and a pleasure to ride on the street. In fact, it was on the street ride where I really noticed just how easy the

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