Alright, so here we go again with me being insanely lucky and having an awesome, very trusting, friends. So now I’m on my friend’s 2016 Yamaha R1 Sport Motorcycle in the absolutely gorgeous 60th Anniversary paint scheme. I haven’t ridden one of this amazing Yamaha Yzf R1 bike before other than maybe up and down a neighborhood street. So there are already 1,000 reviews of this bike online It’s like THE “it” bike of the last year or two so this isn’t going to be a standard review. I regurgitate specs and facts about different features and electronics controls and stuff because honestly if you want that, you’ve already seen a million of those videos.
You’ve read all of the reviews from the actual journalists that know what they’re talking about. Instead, this video is going to be more first impressions give you a feeling of what the bike is like if you’ve never had a chance to be on one. So my first thought after first climbing on is the cockpit feels really similar after riding my RSV4. It feels immediately at home that’s pretty much where the similarities end though. The engine notes are similar with the cross-plane R1 the powerband is very different the way the bike turns-in is somewhat similar but feels heavier than the RSV4. This thing takes a little more effort to turn-in but it still seems fast to flick.
The ergos between this bike and the RSV4 are similar. Their powerbands couldn’t be much different whereas the RSV4 has a really strong midrange. The top-end pull does not feel all that exciting compared to a bike where the power kinda all comes at once. This thing feels pretty flat in the midrange but when it comes into the powerband it is just taking OFF. It literally feels like the powerband of a 600 but it’s bumped up by 40 or 50 horsepower. That might not be the best for cruising along in a low gear I’m sure at the track where you’re keeping it on boil it’s just a monster.
On the other hand the upside of that powerband is that it feels really exciting when you rip on the throttle and the tacho sweeps into that sweet spot in the powerband the bike. Just LEAPS forward the front wheel claws the air and you have to hold on for dear life. I rode the bike earlier today in A-mode which has the more abrupt throttle response and kinda less “nanny controls”. I believe and I could just not get the hang of the throttle. I feel like I have really good throttle control I pride myself in that. I ride the Aprilia in TRACK mode which is the most abrupt throttle mode that it has. I have a Motion Pro quick-throttle on that bike and I feel that I can be responsive and smooth with that throttle but I could just not get the hang of this thing in A-mode Of course, given more time…
I’ve only been on the bike for 40 or so miles today. Thankfully all of these electronic aids are all user programmable. I now have myself set up a mode with wheelie control turned off. Traction control and slide control still on but with Power mode 2 which gives a slightly less abrupt throttle response. Which I’m finding works better for me, at least Not knowing that much about all the different modes on this bike. Unfortunately, I don’t know if that means I’m giving up power but it still feels ridiculously fast.
I’m not too worried about it, especially on the street you honestly can’t use the majority of the power from a crazy bike like this. It’s intuitive to go fast on though once you kinda get your head around the throttle. You gain mid-corner stability for what you give up on that initial flick-in speed. So I think that’s a pretty fair compromise and honestly nothing you couldn’t change with suspension setup or geometry bikes these days. Especially a bike like this is so adjustable the way they come out of the box is really just how the manufacturer thinks will be best for the majority of riders. Not necessarily be what you like in a bike’s handling so you can easily fix that.
The two stats I will throw out are the wet weight on these is supposedly a realistic 440-something pounds. They’re putting down I’ve seen dyno charts at the mid-170’s at the rear wheel Like everything in the US. We get a slightly “neutered” version so I’ve seen that you can use an aftermarket ECU flash to get yourself another 10 horsepower. This particular bike is all stock, but I would say if you’re thinking about one of these. Maybe budget in the money you’re using to buy the bike to just go ahead and do the flash right away. I think that’s $200-400 in the grand scheme of things it’s not a ton of money. Certainly less money that the exhaust that you’re gonna put on it is gonna cost speaking of the exhaust. It’s a bit quiet, but it’s stock so what can you expect.
I do like that Yamaha with the valve system in the exhaust. I think they’re the pioneers of that system with the EXUP valve and such when you’re around town. It’s absolutely quiet but when you’re on it in a straight line you get that thing up in the revs. The throttle open the exhaust gets a lot louder and it sounds great! Yamaha’s crossplane inline-four sounds amazing it sounds like no other inline-four. It sounds much closer to the V4 in the Aprilia than it does to any other inline motor.
Whoooa there we go, slipper clutch! I like that it still lets you have a little fun with the backend on downshift. These days bikes seem to have so little engine braking and with slipper clutches. You never get to the bike a little sideways on the brakes, which takes away some of the fun. I like that you can still have some fun their man, It does pull! We’re obviously on a public road and this is not my bike. I’m not going to be going too crazy but I feel like I got comfortable on the bike. Really fast maybe not as fast as the Daytona. I was riding a few weeks ago but it’s an intuitive bike to ride. I can see why these things have gained popularity not that the R1 has ever been unpopular. This thing is AMAZING! and the way that motor pulls.
We’ve had the Aprilia and this bike side by side a couple times today and granted this thing is bone stock. The Aprilia has a full system and ECU flash and shorter gearing but they’re almost dead evenly matched. I don’t think this has anything for the Aprilia on the top end. I would say in that regard the Aprilia has the advantage because it has the same top end pull more or less but with way better mid-range. With the caveat that this is bone stock so with a map flash and a gearing change and whatever else you want to do and exhaust. I’ve seen dyno charts from Attack where they got 190-something horsepower out of this bike to rear wheel so there’s no RSV4 that’s gonna touch that granted. The 2016 RSV4 now has 15 more horsepower it is supposedly over 200 hp so maybe this and that are evenly matched after all. That felt way too short in conclusion what a cracking bike this thing is great go buy one of these right now Whew!
