Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128313
To gain ground clea ra nce and a dd to the styling of the la test R1, the bike's exhaust system is now routed under the seat. This year's R1 gets b igger 320mm brokes, and they are now radial mounted. pairs of undies or opting for so me Depends, there's probably a fix to this. Yamaha also chose to totally redo the Deltabox frame on the RI, moving the main spars almost three inches closer together at the knee -grip area. The frame not only got narrower, it also got stiffer with an increase in rigidity that now comes from the chassis more so than the engine . The swingarm has also been redone, with the external braces moving to the bottom to allow room for the new exhaust. It also has more torsional and side rigidity - 30 percent more, according to Yamaha. The engine now also slants another 10 degrees forward (from 30 to 40 degrees) in the frame compared to last year's RI, putting the powerplant under the frame rails, which allows them to be closer. This was also helped dramatically by the motor's reduced width. Get it? To make the RI roomier for big boys, the footpegs on the RI have been dropped 7.5mm and moved forward 2.5mm . That, combined with the fact that the handlebars have been raised IOmm, gives the bike a completely different feel from last year's model. It also means that the hero tabs on the pegs drag at less-than-hero speeds on the racetrack, proving to be a little annoying. Hero wannabes, however, will enjoy t hem - especially the larger hero wannabes . Foot pegs raised, foot pegs lowered , I will admit t hat the RI is a com forta ble motorcycle to ride - even on the st reet. Well, wit h the extra underwear! Yamaha wanted to increase front-end feel with the new RI and thus o pted to put more weight on the front in an effort to achieve this. With the engine now more forward and lower (ditto for the seat and tank), the bike does have a more aggres sive feel when throwing it into a corner. This comes from geometry changes as well. Although the rake is the same, trail has been decreased from 103mm to 97mm . Can you say steering damper? The steering damper is needed, especially when hammering out of the slow final corner at Eastern Creek to the front straight that feels about as long as Sepulveda The Yamaha Rl comes in blue, red and silver. For the first time ever, the RI gets a steering damper. Boulevard, without the stoplights. The front end gets light and the bars flip-flop in your hands even with the damper, but it's all part of the excitement. Right? The damper itself is pretty trick in that it is variable, with a check ball moving slowly in the damper when the bars move slowly,and increasing its pace (and thus the firmness of the damper) when the bars pick up speed. The suspension on the RI hasn't been ignored , and a nice new set of 43mm Kayabas are attached to the front (our photos show the upper tubes with gold anodization, but the U.S. models will be treated In black). The rear shock gets an increase in spring rate, and the reservoir on the shock is now mounted horizontally instead of vertically. Getting the RI stopped is also a much easier task than before. And with the extra power, you need it. This year's model gets bigger 320mm diameter discs (up from 298mm) that are also thinner, but the real treat is that they are Sumitomo radial-mounted units - with a Brembo-style radial-piston master cylinder to boot! The brakes do the job, both in slowing the bike fro m high speeds and also giving exce llent feel through the leve r. The rea r brake has changed from a two-piston unit to a single-piston package mainly in an effort to furt her shed weight and is identical to the one found on its 2003 R6 sibling. Although we rode the bike with Michelin Pilots at the intro, the U.S. mod els will come fitted with Dunlops. Available in three colors - red , blue and silver (we like red the best) - the RI will carry a suggested retail price of $10,699. Although opinions on styling vary like views on religion and politics, it' s hard to argue that the RI is a looker. And its styling starts with the front of the fairing, which now features a twin "cat-eye" headlight www.cycienEWS.com deslgn that looks even better than last year 's. From the front to the rear, the RI utilizes clean lines and what Yamaha calls a "minimalist" approach to styling. There's no extra stu ff. Just the things you need presented in a fashion that makes you sit up and take not ice. With our Open Bike5hootout loomingon the horizon, it will be interesting to see how the Yamaha matches up with the competition, as this is definitely the year of the big bike. Right now, I can only relate it to last year's GSX-R I000 and the all-new CBRIoooRR because I've yet to ride the new ZX-IOR.Ican tell you it matches up well with the GSX-RI000 in terms of thrill value, while the Honda seems somewhat tame in comparison - but that seems to stem from a different design strategy. How it all stacks up when it comes to lap times is an argument we'll have to wait to settle at the shootout. And it can't come soon enough. CN CYCLE NEWS • MARCH 3, 2004 15