Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

ta Duccti Dcsmoredici - Compar"ing tvlotoGP's apples to its - - first time. After that you can use full revs while in first geai which you use twice per lap at Valencia. Out on the track, it was immediately apparent by the way it accelerates, and the long, lazy fourth-gear power wheelies it pulled everT lap wide open down the pit straight, that the Yamaha has more motor than last year, but without sacrilicing low- down drive. lf anything, it's improved. That's a pretq/ difficult R&D trick to pull off (especially while also wresting l0 hp more power from a bike v/hich is also seven-percent more fuel-efficient than last year) Yamaha's clever engineers have done this by shortening the 990cc engine's stroke to obtain that extra 1000 rpm at the top end. This extra dose of power is spread throughout the rev ran8e, thanks to the extra traction deliv- ered by the irregular firing order Yamaha introduced for 2004. The YZR-MI engine feels even more vivid in acceleration than a year ago, yet iust as smooth and refined in engine pick- up- lt's not explosive, iust so very very effective. The smooth power delivery comes with no undue vibration of any kind, which must help make this a rela- tively untiring bike to ride for a 45-minute GP lt's sweetly responsive almost any- where in the powerband, driving hard from as low as 7000 rpm out of th€ bot- tom-gear-tum-two hairpin all the way to that I 6,000-rpm rev-limiter. I I I onanges, tomatoes and gfeens CYCLE NEWS . JANUARY 18,2006 23 Hondq RC2l lV Kowosqki ZX-RRo &\ z-\ \s, .tr, A I , q, tl a L- ? ,a.- aou I / ) I ( s- I \ 2 d L I o ? t E / Bv Aurl Crrxcmr Pxoros sv KEl' Eoe, IltlAcro AND DOUBLE RED feel as confident and instinctive on the To provide Rossiwith the tools to stick RC2llV as it did a year ago. But the it to his former Honda masters again, Honda's single biggest problem is the lack Yamaha Racing boss Masao Furusawa and of stabiliq/ and increased vibration that all his men produced an improved version of riders experienced in 2005 under heavy their l6-valve YZR-M I 990cc in-line four braking down from high speed. What was which was the same only very, very differ- previously a paragon of stability and user- ent to the bike that broke the Honda friendliness in terms of handling, now grasp on MotoGP racing's top honorc the feels nervous and unsettled when stop- previous season. ping hard from high speed, and certainly The chance to test the Yamaha in a pair less refined than its Yamaha rival. of Is-minute test sessions atValencia pro- vided a fascinating glimpse of how dedi- vAMAHAyzR-Mr:rwo-nM€R:'J:i:j[f :"J:t':"il'J}*rt'"il:I; It's the conventional wisdom ofgoing rac- motorcycle, can indeed make the best ing that defendinS a championship crown better still. That chance came with the is often more difficult than winning it in bike in exactly the same €ondition in the first place, thank to everyone which Rossi had staned from his lowliest expecting you to repeat your debut title place on the grid all year long after a rare triumph. While some dispute this on the crash in qr-ralifying, only to ilast through grounds that winning ady title is equally the field from l5th to third and a place on hard work. there are lots of multiple the rostrum. World Champions who go along with First, it was time to get reacquainted that. ln which case. Rossi's se.ond succes- with the Ml's unique riding position, sive World title in 2005 for Yamaha was an which, thank to the Rossi family genes, is especially hard task, which he amply ful- iust perfect for a taller rider like me. filled by winning I I races (compared to There's still lots of room to move around nine in 2004), ending the season almost on the bike, although it seems lower and six GP wins ahead of Honda-mounted smaller to settle aboard compared to its runner-up lYarco Melandri in the final rivals when you sit on. Watch the Ml in points table. tums and you can see that one of Rossi's ln achieving this, Rossi and teammate great assets on the yamaha is his very high Colin Edwards also delivered the Iornering speed, for which loading up the lYotoGP Manufacturers World title to front wheel with your body weight is a Yamaha for the second season in a row. maior asset. That'i presumibly one rea- son Yamaha increased front wheel weight bias on the '05 M I 's new chassis. Behind the screen bubble in the quite steeply raked fairing's nose, the pretty busy cockpit has a three-position switch on the left clip-on, which offers a range of different maps for the Magneti Marelli engine management system, which you can swi[ch to depending how much grip there is left from the rear Michelin - matched by the kill switch on the righr, plus another green button for the Marelli ECU's power launch program. The dash has both a digital and abbreviated analog tach readout, plus a large gear indicaror in the top right-hand corner - which proved really welcome - and at the boftom is an array of your eight previous lap times. Above the dash is a large red shifter light timed to flash at 15,300 rpm in every gear, then below that is a row of small red LEDs, which light up in unison at 15,800 rpm, ready for Rossi to shifr before the 16,000 rpm rev-limiter - 1000 rpm higher than on last year's bike. Unlike any of its MotoGP rivals, the Yamaha drives cleanly away almost as eas- ily as a road bike, makinS it a controllable, but responsive, bike to get off the line when the flag drops, with the added ben- efit of that launch control- The l,'lagneti Marelli ECU restricts revs to 5800 rpm in lirst gear after firing up the motor, good for the 80 kph (49.6 mph) pit lane speed limir - until you change into second for the

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