First things first. Gotta give kudos to Yamaha. The've produced another great sportbike.
I owned the Yamaha R1 for two years and really got into updating a lot of the bike. First off, I did not touch the motor. I been down that road with the YZF and once you get into a motor, it becomes an endless check writting nightmare, chasing different builders and parts and usually ending up with something that has to be carefully maintained.
I think todays liter bikes are so strong that unless you are a very very good rider that can use all and more of what these liter bikes put out, it's a waste of time, effort and money. I have nothing but praise for the motor and what Yamaha has accomlished is to build a nice torquey motor that rev's like a bitch!
After many Trackdays, Deals Gap Trips, Thursday bike nights in Royal Oak this thing still pulls like a monster when you whack the throttle. The R1 is a offers the best of both worlds. Corner exits really get your attention on this bike.Instead I focused on the real issues on this bike that I felt woud help me find a comfort zone at speed.
The front brakes on my R1 developed a somewhat mushy feel, Although I tried Goodridge brake lines, and a few pad types. Once on the track, the brakes just never instilled a lot of confidence and thus I added the complete Brembo set up. Now the Brembo's are dead on serious stuff. these brakes are amazing and worth every penny.
The front suspension, out of the box is just to soft and I've had Lindemann Engineering rebuild the front end to solve that issue, as well I've added Attack adjustable offset Billet triple clamps. Once again on the racetrack the subtle flaws of the bike come out and the R1 likes to run wide, is a bit twichy and just never has a planted feel up front. Adding the triples and setting it up as Attack suggested solved that issue. To utilize a Mantris top mount steering damper I had to custom build a top triple clamp to mach the offset of the lower Attack clamp. It is simply a work of art by Alex Ortner. I'll be interested to see if this gives me the feel the GSXR 750 does. (there is nothing like a firm planted front end)
As far as head shake, I find it only when exiting corners, hard on the throttle. Last year I ran a Scotts damper and it worked perfectly. We'll see if the Mantris can do the same. Although I've had a few very exciting moments exiting corners, so far I've managed to save the bike without much fanfare. Just stay on the friggin throttle and ride it out!
This year I have traded the FOX shock for an Ohlins. The difference is mainly in the supple responce over smaller bumps. The Ohlins unit just works and it works well once you get the sping and setup right. You will find that you now have excellent mid corner grip and feel and the rear end grip on hard acceleration out of bumpy corners is much more supple and controllable.
Sadly the R1 saw two trackdays before I decided to part her out and buy an Aprilia Mille R. But thats another story you'll find on the site. In the end the R1 achieved the goals I set for the updates. I already miss this bike. The Mille is not even close in the fun department!
The R1 went through many phases as I built it. At one time or another it had a Hindle exhaust, Scott's damper, Fox shock, many seat cowls, Factory and Dyno Jet kit's. The great thing about building your own sportbike is that you can change anything you want to chase the desired results. And you get to build your own one off personalized sportbike.
Finally, I have to say that if you want an ass kicking motorcycle, the R1 is one you should consider. No matter what year you buy, this is a great bike. On the racetrack,a new state of the art bike doesn't mean alot at the level most normal humans ride at. New is nice, but used will save you some bucks. This bike still rocks, for most guys it should satisfy your itch for the insane, because thats exactly what this bike is.
