Cycle News

VOL. 52 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 10, 2015 P77 modern age. Upside-down forks, carbon muffler for the four-into-one exhaust, garish red and white paint scheme (it also came in blue), plus edgy, futuristic styling that made everything else look in- stantly outdated. This was and still is a blisteringly brilliant motorcycle. Yamaha claimed 150hp and 390 pounds-dry for their new missile–staggering numbers in 1998. The game wasn't just changed. It was reinvented. The YZF-R1 continued on its merry way, unchallenged for the next three years. Honda progressively grew the capac- ity and output of its CBR in an attempt to keep up, while Suzuki withdrew its seriously aging GSX-R1100 and went into hiding for a couple of years. Kawasaki was still pushing its ZX-9R (and ZX-7R in racing trim), which was quite a good motorcycle, but still in the same mindset of pre-R1 days. The ZX-9R wasn't the racer with lights that the YZF-R1 was. For the 1999 model year there was no real need to update the YZF-R1 except for some new paint. The red and white edition now became a red, black and white scheme and the blue model was still available, but for 2000 the YZF-R1 received over 150 modifications, all aimed at taming what was a pretty unruly beast. You see, the original YZF-R1 was more bike than most mortals could handle in 1998. Thrashy handling and vicious power meant the new Yamaha instantly gained a fearsome reputation. So for 2000, Yamaha engineers tried to soften the blow slightly with revised carburetor settings aimed at producing a more linear and predictable throttle response. This coincided with reduced frictional losses within the engine, an improved gearbox and many weight saving measures across both engine and chassis. The bottom yoke was slightly beefed up and the chassis planted more on its nose to aid corner entry stability, and the suspension was overhauled as well. The basic architecture of the machine remained the same, while the bodywork received subtle tweaks to the nose, seat, tank and screen. To this end, the carbon exhaust can was replaced with a titanium unit. In all, 4.4-pounds were stripped off the machine to make it 385-pounds-dry, but power remained the same at 150 hp and 106 Nm of torque. NOT JUST NEW CLOTHES It was not until 2002 that Ya- maha gave the YZF-R1 its first real makeover. The previous improvements had been a case of refining what they already had, but with the arrival of the equally impressive 2001 Suzuki GSX- R1000, Yamaha needed to come out swinging for 2002. The '02 YZF-R1 looked sharper than the old model in every way. Com- pletely new styling saw a more angled seat unit, a pointier nose, redesigned tank and lower fairing, plus the colors were simplified for a cleaner look. But it was under the tank that the majority of the changes took place. Yamaha fitted fuel injection to the new YZF-R1, yet this wasn't your typical system. The Yamaha's system mimicked the action of a set of carbs by fitting a CV carb-style piston to regulate the flow of air to the engine, thus replicating the feel of a quartet of carbs at the twistgrip. The result was sublime throttle response, especially when con- sidering the horrid response you'd get from some other large capacity bikes at the time. The airbox intake was now facing forward and Yamaha fitted a new four-into-two-into-one exhaust with titanium headers. The power got a small kick in the back- "THIS WAS BEFORE THE AGE OF TRACTION CONTROL, ANTI-WHEELIE, ABS AND WHATEVER OTHER ANTI THINGY YOU CAN PUT ON A BIKE THESE DAYS. THE ONLY TRACTION CONTROL AVAILABLE WAS YOUR RIGHT HAND."

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