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/128407
better response. On the Magny-Cours gearbox still fitted to the bike, third, fourth and fifth were very close together, meaning I had to use the bottom two gears for both of the first two chicanes, and the shift between them, through neutral, isn't nearly as nice as it was on the Suzuki. It's quite slow, as was the entire action of the race-pattem one-up powershifter fitted to the bike, which seemed very mechanical - not smooth and fast like the ones on the Kawa and GSX-R, where you just graze the shifter pedal and the next ratio up just slots in sweetly. I thought maybe I didn't have it switched on at first - the system seems to cut the ignition out too long, or something. It needs refining - but then so does the bike as a whole. Indeed, it's hard not to figure that the Yamaha factory needs to wake up and smell the daisies, and finally get serious about their hitherto nonexistent YZF-R I Superbike race program, which has certainly suffered hugely in terms of factory resources thanks to the massive, and praiseworthy, ongoing effort they're mounting to give Valentino Rossi a MotoGP motorcycle that has stuck it to Honda. Yamaha has created in the RI what some will claim, perhaps rightfully, to be the finest Japanese one-liter sportbike yet made - yet in the two most important sportbike markets in the world, the USA and UK, which together run the two highest-profile National Superbike series, Yamaha has chosen not to be represented at all in one, and to be fifth best out of five in the other. Though Suzuki's sales figures would contradict this belief, it seems that in an important market segment, which is primarily racetrack-driven, Yamaha believes that Superstock supremacy at the local level - which costs them relatively little, especially in R&D costs - is commercially even better than doing well in Superbike, especially when they have the ongoing kudos of winning MotoGp, with the corporate prestige and feel-good factor that comes with it. But an intensive market-research campaign by the company-owned Yamaha ItaJia operation has apparently concluded that MotoGP has much less influence on selling motorcycles than Superbike and Supersport success - which is precisely why the "Rossi-landers" are spending large chunks of their own promotional budget in going racing with the bike I rode at Monza, aided by Yamaha Europe, which has reached the same conclusion. Furthermore, Rossi may well not be long for the world of motorcycles, and when he leaves MotoGP for FI, or rallies, Yamaha management may regret not devoting greater resources to helping their European affiliate - and especially Japan's most popular presentday rider - fast-track the R&D curve to put the YZF-R I at the top of the World Superbike tree where many not all of them Yamaha owners - will say it belongs. Third place in such a hotly contested series, as World Superbike has now become once more, was a fine result for Nori-chan and the boys from Belgarda to have achieved with limited in-house resources, and reduced budget - even if their quite separate Yamaha France counterparts found it impossible to produce a bike from the same race-kit parts on which MotoGP refugee Norick Abe could perform equally as well. After riding Yamaha ItaJia's work-in-progress, it's clear that the bike has significant potential that belies the otherwise disappointing showing of the RI Yamaha in Superbike racing around the globe, countering the impression that a bike that excels in box-stock racing can't handle and/or can't deliver the extra 30 bhp it needs to be competitive at a higher level. It'll be interesting to see if 2006 sees Yamaha Europe and Yamaha ItaJia prove those doubters wrong - with or without the parent factory's involvement. eN .-------------------------------------o YESI Start my subscription immediately to Cycle News. I year/SO lssues for $45.00. (can be billed 2 monthly payments) Name _ Address, _ City Zip Slate, _ Phone, _ Order Dale' o o o _ Send to:~ Inc. o P.O. Box 5084. Costa Mesa. CA 92628-5084 Every week for two years (100 issues for 580.00) Six monlh5 second class (25 Issues for 23.00) Thbis a New Subscription Renewal Please bill me 1 payment of 545 Bill 2 payments of S2250 I!ndosed is my check or money Toll Free Subscription Hotline (800) 831-2220 24-hour FAX Order Line (714) 751-6685 • E-mail: Subscribe@cyclenews.com oroe< Charge my I Signalure - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I MC/VlSa# Exp. Date a a Visa Mastercard r-.a"-..w.wupon~ ._------------------------------------""-and ...... CYCLE NEWS • DECEMBER 7, 2005 23