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2002 Yamaha R1

Thursday, 29 August 2002

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Silver Dream Machine?

Late sleeping by Mike Emery ~ Photos my rude awakening

Yamaha 2002 YZF-R1

Japanese companies are waging war on each other on foreign soil. This is best illustrated with the Suzuki and Yamaha and Honda battle royal. The Yamaha R1 has been eagerly awaited by the sporting faithful and we recently got a chance to sample one. For the proverbial shits and giggles, we also grabbed a 02 Honda 954 and the GSX-R one thou' to test these "front-line" enemies back to back. This is was an early 2002 delivered by Yamaha to their premium dealers and this particular model was supplied to us by Glen Castle of Sportbike Extreme magazine, who in turn, grabbed it from Sky Powersports, Lakeland Florida.

Now, I'm really a typical human bean. I respect life and the law, I have no real vices, I don't drink much and I don't do drugs. Heck, I don't even get fluff in my belly button. Yet I always seem to get into trouble… Peer pressure? Beer? Drugs? Nope, to all three. If you want to witness rascally behavior from me, just give me a motorcycle.

A borrowed bike is a borrowed bike, but looking at these 2002's and back at their respective new owners faces, death and dismemberment would be mine to enjoy if I lunched any of these bike. So out of respect for the poor guys present, I tried to stay calm, ride smooth and get these bikes back in one piece. So much for that plan cause' lunch one I did. More on that later…

This 2002 bike has seen a total revamp, it retains the typical R1 features, but looks as good today as it did back in 1998, its first year release. This bike looked particularly impressive in its liquid silver livery and it's got an unforgettable, stance and style that could be compared to a Japanese equivalent of the 916/998 range.

This is the first year of fuel injection and forced induction, which brings it smack up to date in technology as well as looks. Sitting astride the bike, it feels skinnier due to its redesigned tank and front fairing design. The frame is an all new but familiar Deltabox III design and is finished in a satin black ala' R7. It's more rigid, lighter and holds the motor some 20mm higher it's also a fully stressed member as an aid to rigid fuss free handling.

The bike still features a de rigueur titanium muffler that again, looks R1 familiar but in reality is reshaped, is lighter and has some titanium header pipes for company. The EXUP valve is still in situ, but again, redesigned to be smaller and lighter, better, stronger and faster etc. Being a Florida cracker, I'm glad to see the radiator enjoys increased efficiency with cooling fans that produce a claimed 20% more airflow. To further that process of cooler running, the engine too enjoys an increased oil capacity and larger oil cooler providing that same cooler cooling, cooling performance.

Turning the ignition on sees a pre flight sweep of the gauges, a quick, err pre flight check, confirms that the clutch, gear lever, throttle and brakes are all where they should be. No big surprises there then. As I pulled away, I could immediately sense the immense bottom end of the big Yam'. The nice thing about the R1 is the fact it has very nice low rev torque combined with that big open class top end hit. The bike has had some major attention to the unsprung weight department, wheel and brakes specifically, and that lack of initial inertia sees the R1 leave the line with convincing authority.

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