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2002 Yamaha R1

Thursday, 29 August 2002

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Yamaha 2002 YZF-R1

At speed, the bike is both calm and collected and due to it's diminutive sizing, feels much like a 600 with regards to those ergonomics. The front end has revised geometry too with reduced fork offset and increased trail, initial turn in felt remarkably pin point, regardless of late braking or heavy handedness with either brake or throttle. The revised engine position also helped with its tippy-ness (is that a word?) I can't overstate how nice this bike turned. These bikes are easy to ride fast and getting in over your head requires some composure from both bike and rider, the R1 won't let you down though, the rider is what I'd be worried about.

Once into a corner, the bike was extremely stable on its "ear" and the only time I saw a wobble or two was over a bump under hard acceleration. The bars calmed down within a couple of twitches and never felt that it would become a problem. The fuel injection was remarkably glitch free too, picking up the throttle regardless of RPM never failed to turn forward movement relative to throttle position. I found myself picking up the throttle earlier and earlier but with such linear response, I could feel the grip I had left and take the appropriate action (ie, calm down). Oh, and I never dragged any pegs or hard parts, a complaint from the bike of old.

The brakes have always been good, and these dare I say it, are even better. The twin 298mm front rotors up front, now feature gold-anodized, 4-piston calipers with new aluminum pistons and sintered brake pads. The bike only called for two fingered braking all the time I rode it. Stopping power is further enhanced on the rear lighter-weight, smaller-diameter 220mm disc with a redesigned 2-piston caliper. All the time I rode the bike I consistently brought my reference points closer to the corner with no complaint from the bike or my under-garments.

So, it starts and stops well. Anything else? Lot's of millennium goodies abound. The clocks have a nifty and fully adjustable shift light to bring out the boy racer in you. The rear tail is restyled and significantly sharper both physically and metaphorically. The rear LED taillight is a tad anonymous when viewed from behind, but when the brake lights do come on, it's an attention getter to say the least.

How does it stack up against the "other two"?

The 954 is as the old R1 was, and a bit more. It too was a scalpel on our test track - When climbing onto this bike I went the quickest, quickest but not the absolute quickest. Confused? Allow me… Everything on this bike is where it should be and offered no surprises. I could go almost as fast as the 2002 R1 and the 954 had a familiarity about it. That meant minimal learning curve from the off. Yeah, I know, I just did a Vegas Speedway intro, but the point I'm trying to make, is the bike will not surprise you in any way. No wiggles, no wobbles just honest and precise handling and with a street comfort that will not be beaten by anything (including the R1).

The GSX-R 1000 felt unwieldy in comparison to the above two bikes. The bike is both light and powerful compared to the newbies, but also felt awkward with its wider gas tank, seat and stodgy styling. Sure, I could go fast, but it never felt as planted as either the Honda or the Yamaha. Truthfully though, I never got to dial the big Suzuki in, so your mileage may vary. Handling issues aside and looking at the bike stacked in a row with its newer foes - it looked a little dated. Us sportbikers are a fickle lot and last year I felt the big Gixxer to be the top dog. I've learnt a bit, this last year though, balance and power need to be equal or one will overload the other. I truly feel that with all riders being equal, the R1 and 954 will give the GSX-R fits in most environments with less effort and less "moments". They say there is no substitute for power, so if you must have the big dog, so be it.

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