Yamaha superbike that's one easy rider

Published on Thursday 4 December 2008 20:00

YAMAHA'S 2009 YZF-R1 comes equipped for but one task – wresting the litre superbike crown from the Suzuki GSXR-1000.

This elite sector of the superbike market runs in definite phases. The Honda Fireblade ruled the roost for some years, followed by the Yamaha R1, that was in turn deposed by the Kawasaki ZX10R before the Suzuki took its position at the top of the podium.

Yamaha now reckons it's time to depose the "Gixxer". The secret weapon is GENICH which, if you can believe it, represents the "Genesis in Electronic engineering aimed at New, Innovative Control technology based on Human sensibilities". Only in Japan.

What this means in normal language is that Yamaha has recognised that there's a limit to the inputs a human rider can process and that some bike technologies were exceeding those limits.

The new-generation R1 runs with an all-new Deltabox chassis offering an idealised rigidity balance. You'll need around 9,000 if you're to swing your leg over one of these, although it's not hard to see where your money has gone.

The detailing is a lot smarter than the outgoing R1 with the muscular bodywork aping the sharply creased edges of the YZF-R6.

Six-pot callipers grab the front discs, revised headlights give a longer dipped beam light throw and the finish on the instrument binnacle is clearly tidier.

Weight has crept up by 3kg and there are three colour choices, the classic Yamaha red and white plus blue and black.

With every generation of sports bike we tend to hear how frames have got stiffer, brakes bigger and so on.

Yamaha has removed itself from this brain-out feeding frenzy and looked at what we want from a race replica bike.

The Japanese company discovered that we want to go fast, naturally, but at the same time we don't want to feel scared, overwhelmed or just plain out of the feedback loop.

Therefore this generation R1 notches back the stiffness of the frame spars a little to offer more feedback.

The swing arm, head stock castings and engine mounts are beefed up but Yamaha claims the end result is a more intuitive feel for what the tyre contact patch is up to.

The all-new 998cc inline four-cylinder engine with a crossplane crankshaft feels and sounds smoother than ever, and emits an unforgettable growl from the exhaust.

This MotoGP-inspired engine is without a doubt the most technologically advanced power plant ever seen on a Yamaha supersport bike.

A slipper clutch is also fitted to permit silkier downchanges.

Forget about the on-paper figures, the 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 has been designed not to grab column inches but instead to make big power accessible more of the time.

So many supersports bike makers seem to have forgotten about the typical skill levels of the target buyer.

The R1 hasn't gone soft. It just got smarter.