Ergonomically the R1 feels relatively comfortable and narrow and is easy to move around on and easy to get tucked in on if needed. The footpegs did seem a little far back however for these beaten knees.  Sharper "layered" side panels create a vacuum-effect to help with cooling, pulling engine-heated air through large side vents by the rider's knees. I didn't notice the heat coming out by my knees but I did feel it in the seat. The under-tail exhaust creating a good amount of heat while sitting at a light for a long period of time on a hot day.

The R1 shifts very smooth and positive, no false neutrals and the Yamaha was very easy to nudge into neutral when coming to a stop light. Definitely one of the slickest shifting motorcycles I've been on in a while.

One thing I did notice was a slight hesitation when starting the bike before it would fire up. When attempting to leave from a lookout stop at the summit of Ortega Highway it actually took about 30 seconds to get it running which had me a bit worried. I can picture it now, decked out in my flashy racer-boy leathers suffering from oxygen deprivation, knees weak, running to get up enough speed to push and coast the bike 20 miles down the canyon in a fully tucked position. There would be more than a few bearded men riding Harleys having a good chuckle. Fortunately the R1 fired up and my pride was left intact.

The 6-piston Sumitomo Radial-mount Calipers grabbing 310mm Dual Discs did a good job of slowing the R1 down. There is good power and feel at the lever and all is good in braking land. The 310mm rotors are smaller than the previous generation R1 but Yamaha claims the new calipers grip the disc closer to its circumference effectively making the braking surface as large as the old braking system. I never ran it into the corners hard enough to really test out the slipper clutch which improves traction during rapid deceleration and hard braking, and enhances engine and transmission reliability, but I have enough track miles on the bike to assure you that it is up to snuff. I did however encounter for the first time the Highway Patrol's attempt to catch speeders using wires on the road to measure your speed by the amount of time it takes you to pass over them. Luck was on my side however as it seemed every time I sat up to cool it down for a few miles I would see these wires on a shadowed part of the highway. Slow it down to a nice easy 45 mph then, and wave to the friendly officer on the side of the road. I really wasn't looking forward to doing a lot of explaining to the men in blue.  "Yes, I actually have permission from Yamaha to ride this bike" and "Yes, they really do want me to be doing these things to the machine." I had a feeling just handing them a 2WF.com business card wasn't going to be enough to keep me out of trouble.

Many of the same R1's engine traits I experienced on the track were present when riding on the street. The lack of low-end power and torque was still noticeable and it wasn't until about 8,000 RPM that the In-line 4-cyclinder really comes to life. Once you get the R1 higher in the rev range it becomes a raucous blur of excitement, the power hits abruptly and pulls all the way to the rev limiter. Gear selection is very important on the Yamaha R1, more than most open class bikes. It just doesn't have the torque to power through a wrong gear choice. Keep it above 8,000 RPM and the power is plentiful.

One of the biggest changes for the current design of the R1 was the YCC-T “Yamaha chip controlled throttle” which monitors throttle changes at a 0.001 second rate. It worked fine on the street and throttle response was crisp with no stumbles. It really feels no different than a standard throttle but the name makes you feel like you are riding some high tech MotoGP wizardry.

Yamaha is going to have it's work cut out for itself this year with new models in the open class from Honda and Kawasaki and of course the already strong Suzuki. Having just finished watching the opening race from World Superbike it looks like the R1 was more than holding it's own on the track and I have a feeling it will on the street as well. Ya, it's yawningly slow below 8,000 RPM which is noticeable on the street, but as a whole package the R1 still brings the goods. Mid-corner stability and flickability are still the R1's strong suit and the R1 is still sexy enough to park next to the new 2008 models at your local bike night.

Open class champion for 2008? I doubt it . . . but with a solid package like the R1 you might be wise to cheer for the underdog.

Check out our R1 Forum to ask questions or read what other people wrote.