VOL. 52 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 10, 2015 P81
bike's weight was moved forward
one percent and you got some
gold fork legs and a couple more
ponies.
The 2006 model year saw
Yamaha come out
with their first
'special' YZF-
R1–the YZF-R1
SP, basically
Yamaha's answer to
Ducati's R series and sold
in very limited numbers. The
SP sported a one-off GunSmoke
(sic) color scheme, gold Mar-
chesini forged aluminum wheels
that were 14 ounces lighter than
standard wheels, Ohlins forks and
shock, and a slipper clutch–all
aimed at giving Superstock racers
the best machine they could buy.
You knew you were buying some-
thing rather exclusive. And if you
didn't happen to score an SP in
2006, you could make amends by
picking up the best looking YZF-R1
ever built in the Kenny Roberts
replica colors Yamaha brought
to the market to celebrate the
company's 50
th
anniversary. Buy
a Colin Edwards replica Arai and
you'd never tell the difference…
For 2007 Yamaha released a
series of firsts on yet another YZF-
R1 upgrade. You got six-piston
calipers, but most notable was the
ditching of their trademark five-
valve cylinder head in favor of the
four-valver everyone else used.
Compression was increased to
12.7:1 but the rest of the engine
remained largely unchanged.
However, it was the electronics
that everyone was talking about.
What will the all-
new 2015 R1 have
in store? We will
soon find out when
Yamaha gives us
the chance to
ride it for the first
time in a couple of
weeks at Eastern
Creek International
Raceway.
