Yamaha Yzf-R1

YAMAHA YZF-R1

From the test notes: "lwoosb! Unless you're a highly skilled operator, you'll never realize the Hi `s lull potential. It's that good and then some."

Honey, I shrunk the superbike

LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING, BUT IN the case of the new-for-'98 Yamaha YZF-R1, they're not. This bike looks like a refugee from the grand prix wars for one simple reason: It is.

The R1's project leader previously worked in the company's racing department, and that influence shows. Never has a four-stroke streetbike been so compact, or so strongly resembled a grand prix racer. Indeed, as with

Suzuki's GSX-R750, the R1's alu minum Deltabox chassis derives from the company's GP racer, the YZR500. Keen eyes will note that the braced swingarm is exceptionally long; that, plus a carefully selected pivot point! countershaft relationship, helps prevent squat under acceleration.

The Ri `s engine also was designed to be as small and light as possible; Yamaha claims a 23-pound weight savings over the previous YZF 1000

mill. Moreover, the 20-valve, 998cc, slant-block Genesis inline-Four was re engineered with more vertical, less oversquare cylinders, a flatter combus tion chamber and a new camchain location on the right side of the crankshaft. A quartet of 40mm Mikuni downdraft carbs now feeds the motor through arrow-straight intake tracts.

To reduce the length of the engine, and the width of the bottom end's bot tom end, the clutch and the new six speed gearbox's layshaft were re located above the countershaft sprock et-an arrangement first seen on the TDM85O Twin. So high is the Ri `s gearbox that the shift linkage passes through a hole in the frame spar above the left swingarm pivot boss. (Racers take note: This arrangement precludes flopping the linkage to achieve a oneup, five-down pattern.)

The net result of all this work is a motorcycle that produces a true 129 horsepower at the rear wheel, weighs 419 pounds without gas and measures 55.8 inches from axle to axle. To put the Ri `s weight in perspective, consid er that it's lighter than every 600cc sportbike but the Suzuki GSX-R, which weighs just 7 pounds less.

How does the Ri work, you ask? Let's skip the small talk and cut to the chase: The Yamaha topped every facet of our performance testing save one. It posted the quickest racetrack lap (59.16 seconds, .3-second quicker than the second-placed Honda), the quickest quarter-mile time (10.32 seconds at 138 mph, compared to CW's all-time record of 10.25 seconds at 137 mph by a longer-wheelbased ZX-1 1) and the second-fastest top speed (172.1-mph, a mere .6 mph shy of the ZX-9R).

In case you haven't guessed, we like the Ri a lot-enough to award it the overall victory here. As Canet summized, "The YZF is the clear-cut winner in looks, overall performance and value. It's so compact and nim ble, it makes some 600s feel like trucks."

Ienatsch concurs: "I've been lucky enough to ride most of the racing Superbikes made in the last decade, and this is the closest you'll find to that measuring stick."

Maybe Yamaha should have called it the "R Won."

Perhaps more telling are the results of our radar-gun readings on the Streets of Willow's front straight: Where the ZX-9 went 114 mph, the CBR 116 mph and the GSX-R 117 mph, the Ri sent a shock wave rippling down the hill with its 125-mph pass!

How is that possible? Lots of rea sons: Aside from having the best power-to-weight ratio of this group (indeed, the best of any production bike ever), the Ri carries more speed through the apex, lets the rider crack the throttle open earlier and hooks up better at the exit. The highly commu nicative chassis lets the rider know exactly what the tires are doing at all times, which makes it easy to keep wheelspin in check. But even with the rear tire slippin' and slidin', the Yamaha positively leaps off of corners. Said Ienatsch, "Power is overwhelm ing at first. It took me a few laps to adjust every time I rode it."

Yet in spite of its racy appearance, the Ri is marginally more comfortable on the street than either the CBR or the GSX-R. Credit here must go to its nar row fuel tank, short reach from the seat to the bars and plush 5.3 inches of sus pension travel. In terms of riding position, the YZF most resembles the Ducati 916, the most significant dif ference being that the Yamaha has a proper seat instead of a glued on square of carpet padding. The Ri's tiny windscreen also

is remarkably similar to the 9 16's, and as on the Ducati, provides little in the way of protection unless you're in a racing crouch.

First impressions are that the Ri `s seat is too high and bars are too low, but that sensation goes away as soon as you twist the throttle. Then, you realize it couldn't be any other way: With 72 peak foot-pounds of torque (and over 50 ft.-lbs. as low as 3000 rpm), this bike needs as much weight as possible over the front wheel to keep it from wheelying over backward! Indeed, this may be the most wheelie-prone motor cycle ever, with smooth, linear power buildup that lets you keep the front wheel up there indefinitely. (Just for kicks, Canet wheelied past the radar gun in fourth gear, netting a 130.1-mph reading. Sick man.) In that respect, the bike the Ri most reminds us of is the Bimota SB6.

And that may very well be the best way to describe this new Yamaha. It's the first mass produced, madein-Japan Bimota. It has the exotic looks (in white/red or blue), the inno vative engineering, the trick details and, most impor tantly, the perfor mance. Only with

a suggested retail price of $10,199, it costs half as much as Italy's finest.

Oh yeah, there's one other thing the Ri has in common with a Bimota: Like the two-stroke Vdue, it was sold out before enthusiasts had as much as read a riding impression. Sometimes, the mere promise of performance can cause that to happen.

Yamaha YZF-R1

Price $10,199 Dryweight 419 lb. Wheelbase . 55.8 in. Seat height 31.5 in. Fuel mileage . . . 40.2 mpg 0-60 mph 2.8 sec. 1/4-mile 10.32 sec. @ 138.08 mph Horsepower . . 129.3 bhp @ 10,550 rpm Torque . . 72.0 ft.-lbs. @ 8250 rpm Top speed 172.1 mph

A'ps High level of performance rewrites the book & Great looks-is this the sharpest sportbike ever? e First Open-c lasser that really feels like a 600 "owns v Clutch and gearbox still aren't great v Not quite as slim as a Ducati 916 v Mother mph on top and it would have swept every performance category