Cycle News

FEATURE EVOLUTION OF THE YAMAHA YZF-R1 P78 side, now sitting at 152 hp and 109 Nm of torque. Just as important as the en- gine and fuel injection changes was the all-new Deltabox II chassis. Now painted black, the chassis came with the first detachable subframe for a YZF-R1 (although this was not a first for Yamaha, as the 1989 FZR750RR OW01 had one). The engine was mounted higher in the chassis and closer to the front wheel, thus ensur- ing a lovely sweet-steering rig that made the unruly nature of the first and second generation YZF-R1s look as old fashioned as a Beta video recorder. The suspension was over- hauled, too. The previous generation's 41mm forks made way for beefier 43mm units, and front suspension travel was actually reduced from 135mm to 120mm at the front to give a more sure-footed approach under brakes and when initially tipping into the corner. This characteristic was also helped by lighter wheels and the slightly increased trail, which now sat at 92mm over the previ- ous model's 91mm. Changing the reflector color of the brakes (still conventionally-mounted four-piston jobbies) from blue to orange rounded out the list of changes. Yamaha had created a con- noisseur's sportbike with the 2002 YZF-R1 and, on paper, it had all the right ingredients. But there was just one problem. In the process of refining, the YZF-R1 lost some of its edge, some of its vigor that made it such a revered and feared ma- chine, and the world was going crazy over the new power king of the 1000cc sportbike class— the Suzuki GSX-R1000. Like the BMW S 1000 RR would do eight years later, and indeed the YZF-R1 itself four years earlier, the GSX-R put everyone firmly into second place with its mix of intense, intimidating power and a chassis that could just about cope with it. Hey, at least Yamaha wasn't Honda, as their CBR929RR was well and truly out of date by now. Honda responded with the beauti- ful, CBR954RR for 2002 and 2003, and would up the game even more with the legendary 2004 CBR1000RR, but for 2002 they were old news. 2004 – A Year To Remember The YZF-R1 would not be updated (save for some new colors) until 2004, a year that remains a landmark in sportbike history. If you were buying a new bike in 2004, lucky you. Honda brought the first produc- tion bike to buyers with genuine MotoGP technology from their racing program. Kawasaki had the plainly insane ZX-10R for sale–a machine that instantly took the 'widow maker' label from the 1998 YZF-R1 due to a mix of violent, snatchy power and a twitchy, nervous chassis that often behaved like a cut It was also a sportbike that sounded like no other, borrowing MotoGP technology with its Big Bang engine.

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