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/1542345
t t c u 2006 Open-Closs Shoofouf €NGIN€ IGY TEATUNES Short-strok€ 998cc motor Five valves per cylinder EXUP Exhaustvalve fhe Rt mav look and feel rlmost I "*r"tt, the same as the '05 Loa"t- tut Yamaha a ctu s llv I made several uodates to the I bik" to g"t it through what we would guess is going to be one final modelyear in this iteration. Two years ago the Rl turned the fastest lap time when we testsd at Willow Sprinqs. Last year the Fl suffered at the stop-and'go Buttonwillow racetrack due to a lack of bottom- end and midrange powel So we were cuious to see how the Yamaha would stand up to the newer bikes atWillow Springs torthe lirsttime. The bad news is thatthe Yamaha has a huge canyon in its powerband from 6500-8000 rpm. The good news about taking such a bike to Willow Springs is that if you're rewing that low on a bike that has a 13,750-rpm redline, you aren l really "riding" at Willow Sp.ings. The 81's motor sits right in the middle ot the qroup in terms of peak power, blt the way it makes that power can be frustrating- "The Yamaha motor is stronq, with plsntv of power," Sorensen said. "But it oeeds to be rewed up high [to use itl. lt doeso't have the low' to midrange torque like the Suzuki and Kawasali." At Willow Springs the revs seemed to climb completely different manner than, say, the Suzuki or Honda. Both of those bikes have very smooth,linear power curves with ample torque, and they never seem to have a spike of any sort. they just pull hard throughout the rev range. The short-stroke B1 relies 0n rpm to make power and not 0nly has the shortest stroke l53.6mml but th€ hiqhest rsdline. This works okay on the track once you learn to wring its neck, but the street is I ditterent story. The Rl feels slug- gash around town and in the canyons due to the lack 0l bottom and midra0ge power- lt's still a nice motor overall, but in the company ofthese bikes, it feels way too track focused. CHA55Is/HANOLING KEY CHANGES Longer swingarm (20mm) Revised frame stiffness lrors rigid lolvsrtripls clamp one of the key chanoes to the Rl was due to the traction issues that Noriyuki Haga and Afldrew Pitt were havinq in World Superbike last year. lf yo! saw any of the latter races in the sea' son y00 would remember Hag a smoking the rear lire exiting corners, down the straights or any- where that he t,.,/isted the throttle hard. The solu- tion was to lengthen the CF (Controlled tillidie- cast swingarm by 20'Im for rmproved tractron. The wheelbase was increased from 54.9 to 55.7 inches with the added length. What all of this meant at Willow Springs was that the Yamaha felt considerably more stable midcorner than we remember the bike feeling the lasttime we werethere. "The H] is very solid midcorner," Sorensen said. "The more speed and the more lean angle, the better the bike feels.' 0f courso whatthe Rl gained in stability was lost in turn-in. The bike is noticeably slower get- ting into the corners, requiring more ettort atthe bars- However, enterinq the ultrafastturns eight and nine the Yamaha fslt solid and held its lins 0ne area that many ofthe testers complained about was the rear shock, which felt completely taxed on the track at speed. 0n the street the shock felt perfect, but atthe track it was simply too soft. Atthe other end of the machine, the Rl's fork was pretty good on the track. lt provided plenty of fesdback and felt like the sprinq rates were in the right z0ne for €veryone. 0n the streetthe fork tendsto feela bit on the harsh side. The brakes onthe Rl are a bhof a preference thing, some of the testers really liked them and some thought they were merely okay. 0ne thing that is annoying is the lever-span adiuster on the front brake master cylinder. The adjuster knob doesnl have a corresponding numeralfor reler ence and can't be adiusted on the fly very easily. 0n some olthe others you can resch over on the lront straiqht if needed and adiust the span. The Yamaha's brake-lever span doesn't seem consis- tent either 0n one lap it will feel really tirm and stay wheae intended, and then on tho next lap ths lsvsrwillalmost coms tothe bar The powet is always there, but its a bit annoyinq that the lever adiustment is so inconsistent. The Yamaha ranked very high in terms ol rider coofort, both on thetrack and on the street. 0n the track the seating position seemed well suited to attacking fie track, while the bike was one of the favodtes in terms of comfon on the strest. overall $e Yamaha still gets high vot€s, sspBcially for a r€as liko midcoff€r sta bility. nsu- tral hsndling and overall comfort From a styling standpoint sveryone is still a fan of the Bll appeercnce. Even so, wo suspect thatthe.e will be a nsw Rl for A[7, so strytuned. 32 MARCH 15,2006 CYC[E NEl,l/5 $g [p--s: 119,99 , i Nlax hrqup = 70.67 : i - i - i - 1 - : i - : - -l Engine Speed (RPM xI000) 0 160 140 120 e !t) = o L EI J !t F 100 80 40 20 FclSITTVES Strong top-end perrormance Stable chassis Styling still very nice ntrmtrffiiffisi Bottom-end to midrango powor Frame gets hot in trallic Slow revver FIFTH PLACE 84 POTNTS YAMAHA YZF.R I urAL sraTtsTtcs Measured wet weight: 45O lb. Peak horsepower: '145.83 hp Peak torque: 70.67 ft.-lb. Weight-to-power ratio: 3.O6 lb./hp Fastest lap timei 1i27.37 [Sorensenl Quarter-mile time: 9.82 @ 144.14 mph Price: $1 1,299-11 ,599 \TTNTT so slowly that it r,!as tempting to bang a down- shiftto get it back ofl the boil. ln particulaL exit- ing the high-speed turn nine and entering the front straight in the wind, was an area on the track where the bike was seriously hindered. Yamaha did make somo minor changes to the Rlt motor for this year. including shorter valve guides, revised intake ports and reduced internal {riction, but those changes didn't show up on the dyno in teams of a power increase. The past two R1s that we've had were plagued by weak clutches. We've had a clutch g0 out at two tests in a row prior t0 this one. Yamaha addressed the problem lor'06 by redesiqning the clutch hub for improved oilflow snd reduced wear 0ur'06 Rl showed no signs ol wear and te6r both on the track and on the street, butit stillcouldn tsurvive Laye storture at the draq strip, once again giving ustrouble. 0n the track the Hl was still a stronq por- former and actually turnod ths third fastest lap of the day with Sorensen aboard- The Hl is a really good overall package, but it makes its power rn a I a -.. @ i \ \>_; I I J' -;-. <) 6 l'' {* ! :f t\ Yamaha Rl