P92
RIDE REVIEW I 2022 YAMAHA YZF-R7
However, there's a significant
price difference between the
two bikes, and I suspect Yamaha
will probably sell five R7's to
every RS 660 Aprilia sells.
Our ride on the R7 saw us fly
on our first packed plane since
Covid to Georgia and the won-
derful Atlanta Motorsports Park,
a rich man's paradise if ever
there was one. The relatively
tiny and very tight 1.8-mile venue
came from the pen of famed
Formula One track designer
Hermann Tilke and is like a mini-
Laguna Seca mixed with a sprin-
kling of Barber Motorsports Park
and Sonoma Raceway. It was
the perfect place for the Yamaha
YZF-R7 to show it's more than
just a name.
TRACK TIME
At first when you hop on the
R7, it's impossible not to think
of the outgoing R6. It looks so
much like an R6 you must trick
your brain into removing the old
four-cylinder weapon from the
thought process and accept the
R7 for what it is. The second you
do that, you'll be much better
for it.
A hint at the un-R6-ness of the
R7 comes before you even start
it. Once you take it off the side
stand, the narrowness of the
tank and seat does a great job to
hide the fact the R7 weighs in at
only a claimed six pounds lighter
than the R6 did in 2020, its final
year of production. But the over-
all weight is not the main story,
it's more that the lack of recip-
rocating mass when the engine
Rennie on the inside,
Josh Hayes on the
outside. The AMA
legend was surprised
how much fun he had
on a bike with about
a quarter of the
power he's used to.
