This beautiful day I actually had zero alcohol last night and I’m feeling pretty bloody good. All the guys went hovercraft racing yesterday and I said no I’m gonna go to the gym. We’re just about to go into the briefing and it’s amazing to be back here. I love it such a lovely venue it’s so modern and clean and it just feels really peaceful. I just love it and obviously, the track itself is a spectacular layout so without further ado let us get on.
If you’re late to the party then people just get all your ready for you obviously. Well, welcome the boys and girls and supporter of Mao and the 2018 Yamaha YZF r1. So far once I know exactly what you’re gonna say I actually got to go somewhere with a super juicy bite. Well, you know anyway here at present thank you very much to the boys and girls that are presents here. They said Suzuki run the world super white team the PATA so Paul has very kind to let us use his workshop to display it.
I’m in the 2018 model which this was actually one of the launch bikes. It just came back in their truck. It is very subtly didn’t it almost slipped through the net because there were all these new bikes in Milan and there was no real mention of the new Yamaha YZF r1 sports motorcycle. There are very few changes but the big news for me after riding the Panigale was the öhlins smart ec2. We’ve got that a blip it changes to the lift function and ECU remapping is that a few just sorts of minor tweaks.
Is it worth a launch for those updates? I would say yes originally before I went out I was like well it’s got a Blippar there’s gonna be some updates but actually, there’s a package. Remember that when this bike came out it was the one it had done all this thing it didn’t have a blip. Now the competition has stepped up we need to actually address some of the issues from customers. The road test requests that people wanted number one was a blip er and apparently according to Yamaha the second one was LIF interference.
Personally I ought to put ABS right and obviously in the background onehans has been working on the new smart technology. The same issues in the v4 so instead of doing standard rebound stuff which someone like me doesn’t really know what I’m doing. It’s like compression rebound what do you know is how is that going to help corner acceleration braking. So they’ve made it easier for us which is nice of them. Now it has a braking support acceleration and cornering support.
Two general front and rear stiffness settings were the same as the very similar producing. They’re pretty much I turned this key on which has all three keys attached to it. You’ve never a good idea to hold the menu button down. I think I did that slightly incorrect me and then we go to YRC. It’s the end interesting well if you don’t want this new setup as well in brake support corner. The support acceleration you can still go back to the old rebound it can give you more comfortable.
You know what you would but we’ve got T1 T2 and R1 so these settings are for track 1. We as a slick tire track 2 which is a tread attire and r1 which is Road all rain like. I mean you can sit and set the modes up but this is just actually what it’s designed to be. As you can see on the road actually removes corner support and acceleration support. Let’s go into t1 so again brake support if you want a bit more simple that’s going to stiffen up.
The phone that’s gonna scratch the bike very badly so it’s not on camera if you want to stiffen up the front crank. If you want more dive you can reduce it very simple. Cornering support get stiffer soft earth to simple and then these two at the end general feel. If you want more stiffness which I personally I prefer that’s just me though and rear. A lot of the bikes were set up with a quite a soft rear more grip is what they were saying. Obviously, it’s down to your own personal preference so it’s literally as simple as that. I think the key highlight of this smart AC 2 is that when you do stiffen up the brake or acceleration support that is all you’re changing.
This bike is so clever it’s not across the ball it’s just literally on that moment when you grab the brake. I think that is something I’m still struggling to get my head around yeah and also you’ve still got that if I can figure out how to get into it. You’ve still got the manual modes here as well so that is non-invasive it’s doing its thing. Once you’ve set it up it’s exactly as it was nice. Although inversely this even looks like it’s going up it’s actually softer because this is still done on the standard clips from fully roused.
That’s just getting really confusing to get rid of using it but that is as hard as it can be and it literally goes up on one click at a time. You can go through that and on the CCU app you can change your modes to whatever you want. I hope you’ve enjoyed this time with suspension because the bikes are so clever. Now it actually knows what you’re doing because of the six axis. I know that your mid corner it will know that you’re upright on the gas. It will know that you’re on the brakes so that it will adjust it’s not just rebound and compression across the board it’s event-based.
This is the thing for me I mean Rob riding the Panigale yes there’s a lot there are so many variables riding a bike. The suspension is so much better than the old stuff so I just assumed that this only the stuff would make the r1 an extraordinary. You know that make that jump because it’s not just your software tweaks on the dash. It’s made the Panigale difference so Robin having a dot at the brake of the apex. It’s made with more dots to make the book much more fluid.
This has a nice graph that we can press the kits have put in I think it’s gone from nine or eight spots of reference. It’s almost 25% more intelligent how much bear it is was already pretty good. As an owner for the last two years of a narwhal name, I would always run it in manual. I’d have my own preferences now the launch schedule itself was quite a hectic one and it was I jump on the bike. We’ve set it up going sample it we put it in this setting and then you jump off.
2018 Yamaha R1 Review
Go into the classroom and off now and literally jump straight back on the bike. There was quite a busy schedule to actually sit down and play with it. The first pre-lunch it was basically an incredibly what’s the hard works physical so you’re recovering your brain. You’re trying to sort it out so it is that much better I don’t know how much I’ve really noticed that those changes. I think where it really shines is how you set it up. Now that’s the difference on the vo2 bridgestone it’s super grip it’s so grippy anyway. The bike would have very little movement so most of the movement was coming through the suspension rather than tire squeal or anything. Overall it’s an improvement but it’s not night and day because I mean that was an area where most among experienced riders. Let’s turn it off because it was quite intrusive and it just ended up sort of kangaroo ring. You’re stuttering and making a bit more staccato it didn’t really do anything for a lap and plus if you turn it off you can pull mingers down.
The straight exact table and be like obviously but lift on you. We might go out to get another little graph basically in the previous version. It would activate very quickly and then tail off quite sharply. Now they’ve made it activate a little bit slower so it’s a bit higher. It feels like it’s not a bad thing and then it’s a bit more natural and Pierre was saying just keep it pinned. We leaing turn it off because you will end up updating the bike. That is what gives you that kangaroo everything is okay so yes that’s also an improvement personally. I’ve got to say there though track specific it was excellent over the mountain you kind of want to show off a bit of a knob.
I mean fakest portimão is one of those circuits where you either have the perfect electronics as in anti-wheelie live we want to call it or you just turn it off. This bike is needed from day one of release was an auto blip how’s the execution sweet crisp I’m gonna say the word violent but only because it sounds so good. As this engine sounds amazing anyway and it’s suddenly going wrap you can like almost no limiter on the engine going down through the gearbox because the slipper clutch is great.
You just got one just deals with it you know how it feels going up wet crisp and cleans it is exactly the same going down. I will have a mention over the course of the day I probably had three missed shifts miss blips between 2nd and 1st. Obviously, you got to travel through neutral so it’s quite a common thing and you know you’re wearing stop boots your rear sets haven’t been set up. They’re all standards everyone’s different you know get to learn the bike so occasionally you will have a little missed blip but it’s worth noting that it wasn’t infallible.
I wasn’t the only one as you mention before there was hardly anything wrong with it. As a bike, it was one of the quickest against all its competition, especially out the corner. One thing I would say I was kind of disappointed there was no Brembos or any other sort of braking upgrade. Probably the biggest letdown of the bike from it’s they just feel exactly the same. We’re on the first generation and it’s the one area that the bike gives you so much confidence. Everywhere else is absolutely unbeatable it’s fantastic but on those breaks is just that the level of detachment. When you jump onto the gyt r-spec bike which has simple to line set up to a Brembo master cylinder.
It was you know 10 yards further on the braking zone easily and better than just the fact that you felt in control of what it was doing. I found a standard bike it was always quite hard to get it into that apex. Initially on the brakes, if you trail braking but whereas on the gyt none of those loads of other components helping you get there.
It was just on it every time so the braking is still not great but I think if I was gonna buy this bike again I’d whip the fuse out for the ABS. The two lines here x2 I think they’re not bad calipers and it’s not a bad master cylinder. I think it’s the way that the fluid goes all the way through the bike and there are electronics everywhere stopping that as a bike. Portimao doesn’t really get much better as it and they how was it. I was a lap around that place hard work for such an easy but such a 52-year old for such a thing to recordings my new gemspec.
It’s a hard work circuit and this is a lot of weight on your arms though isn’t it. A lot waiting for your wrists and the main thing I found because they had a G ytr part SPECT bike. Which is incredible we’ll come back to that in a minute but that herds aftermarket clip-ons on its completely revolutionized for me. Even though that was 15 brake more powerful and rampant engine with increased gearing. I did a longer session on the standard one because it’s so narrow and all of them had the short screens on Tanner screens.
Wind protection was bad and there was a really windy out there like 40 mile an hour. Headwind going down the pit straight so you’re doing hundred and seventy you’re into 200 mile an hour wind speed with GoPros and on your head and that bloody booth on. It was intense but you know I can’t think of another Superbike. I’ve won arrive around there and haven’t written it yet and as we talked about off-camera with Alex Lowe’s. He did a ridiculous time on a stock r1 will with treaded row ties. Essentially the r11 special ironmans Bridgestone or Elevens stand.
There was a couple there for us to sample everything he was four seconds slower on a standard R1 with treaded road tires. Its World Superbike that’s ridiculous that is in standard sneering. That’s pretty faster than some of the other slower guys at the back isn’t it in well supervisor. You think you can buy that bike for 15 grand we can buy an old one. It’s not much different than that but put stuff on it.
It’s a good point we’re on that bit of stuff on it. Blippar cannot be retrofit retrospectively fitted to another bike is that right we can you can. There’s a zero point doing it I asked them to change the loom. It makes it an economical end up spending two grand most of getting aftermarket. The new bike you get from bike Sport developments and get a discount of 40 for rewards it was quite interesting actually riding the standard r1 round. The r11 cut tire it felt like it had a little bit more movement bit more traditional.
The vo2 was so greatly stable that the bike would rarely loose a little bit. I’m not talking about letting loose just getting that feel any sort of movement. I probably wasn’t going faster I’m sure if you’re pushing the boundaries then it would move a lot. It was quite a nice experience on the standard that I want, to be honest. Is this 2019 worth upgrading of your older boy that is an interesting one? In fairness, I would say and reality probably not, obviously depends on what you’re going to get on when M do tend.
To hold their value quite well but now there’s a newly upgraded bike. I see the second-hand values dropping on the older ones so is it worth it. That’s cool to make I will say in its defence when this r1m first came out it was like eighteen and a half grand suit. It is getting too expensive now it’s one of the cheapest. Money wise It’s really like the value for an incredible bike. The 2019 price I think it’s nineteen one right I list something like that. The road’s a limited edition premium spec Superbike which is cheaper than gkt and Honda
. Cheaper than the Aprilia and with decent wheels yeah it’s probably cheaper than that. You still get the wiry experience either mu jello Wilson that’s a grams worth. It’s quite a compelling it’s really strange because you look at the Superstock. No one raises super stock in the UK superbike in BSB trim. It’s doing really well it’s one of few championships most of the bikes it’s just quite good. It’s getting there just catching up a little bit but again that got to.
Kawasaki and Ducati it’s gonna be a screaming interesting season that for sure. I just can’t understand why a bike that is so capable as a package isn’t doing it and he was saying that same thing. The bike turns off and it’s fantastic and they’re like this is easy and then it’s just finding that extra little bit chasing tense so we’ll. See what happens but as a consumer track bike club level racer, you can’t get much better.
This it’s still the bike I would choose this dedicated track bike the Aprilia as a track bike is right up there. There was there any sort of news from Yamaha entities do any bit of fishing I got it was explained that the cross-plane engine is part of the Yamahas DNA.
A core component of the bike and even on their GP bikes it’s not known for outright horsepower. It’s the delicacies usability. This bike is built around interestingly I did mention because of the Panigale has got a crack and his eyes lit up. This was one of my ideas so there to do testing you know this is just a silly video on the Internet. I think everyone is gonna be looking at that, not a sham AHA but I think a reverse cross playing Craig r1 would be spectacular 2021 mm-hmm the idea.
