Sporty – Test Yamaha R1 and R1M 2015: with or without M, we love! – A quick tour of the R1M special series

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Yamaha R1 and R1M 2015 test: with or without M, we like !

Sporty - Test Yamaha R1 and R1M 2015: with or without M, we love! - A quick tour of the R1M special series

Yamaha‘s brand new sports bike is currently landing in French dealerships. But it was on the other side of the world, in Australia, that Site discovered the 2015 Iwata Superbike, in its two versions R1 and R1M.. On track !

A quick tour of the R1M special series

Site descends the straight line of the Eastern Creek pits and plague again against the lack of space and especially the weak protection of this R6R1 … On this special version at "23,000", Yamaha could still have included the high bubble !

Approaching the first corner, Site really has the feeling of having changed bikes: Ohlins electronic suspensions (ERS) better absorb the small asperities of the track at the entry and in the middle of the curve, even in automatic adjustment 1, the most typical " race"…

Result: without realizing it and without forcing, MNC passes the point of rope with about fifteen km / h more! Higher in the laps, the bike reaccelerates all the better when exiting, so that the second turn is much more pronounced..

Pavement for this launch press of slick Bridgestone V02 tires (but beware: like the standard R1, the R1M will leave the factory with RS10s), Site dares to brake more on the angle. The neutral nature of the front axle also gives confidence and allows fine corrections to be made without struggling.

Perfectly wedged in the bends, our Superbike allows more pronounced angles. Site’s elbow moves closer to the ground: "I will ask it one day, I will ask it !", laughs internally the tester … who does not force the line so far.

Indeed, it would be nerd to put the elbow, the shoulder and the head – lark – for a photo beast … Incidentally too, MNC thinks about the amount of repairs following a fall, if only a simple slip : we dare not imagine the price of a part of the sublime carbon fairing of the R1M !

It would also be a shame to scratch the frame which, on the R1M as on the R1 "quite simply", protrudes slightly from the fairing: "we wanted to limit the width of the motorcycle as much as possible", explained Leon Oosterhof during the press conference.

The 200mm wide rear tire (190 on the standard R1) is so firmly glued to the ground that the TCS warning light hardly flashes. The corner exits are even more muscular and it is the LIF which is used more in order to keep the front steering wheel.

Suddenly, we would like to be able to lower the intervention of the traction control, without lowering that of the anti-abrasion. However, this manipulation is only possible in the pits because while driving, it is difficult to control the adjustment wheel and control its actions on the small screen..

We especially regret that the change of driving mode (general) is done only with the gas off and the brakes released: this procedure will require attention during track days (beware of the little friends behind!) And will become downright disabling, even unthinkable in the race. case of use in competition for winning !

On the other hand, competitors will be delighted to benefit – as standard on the M, optional on the standard – from the communications control unit (CCU) which, coupled with a GPS, allows sessions to be analyzed as meticulously as Rossi and his Grand Prix team.

It’s a safe bet that by comparing the data collected on the R1 and then on Site’s R1M, Yamaha engineers would have detected differences in the slow section of the circuit. Less nervous when changing angles and on ugly bumps and fittings, the "M" encourages you to put more gas.

In the end, it appears that the benefit of electronic suspensions – the main difference between the R1 and the R1M – is real, but difficult to quantify: the slick tires, the better knowledge of the layout and the confidence stored by Site over the laps also contribute to rising pace…

MNC therefore asks the young Yamaha test rider, Raymond Schouten, if his team has measured a difference against the clock: "with the standard R1, I shot in 1’59. With the R1M, its electronic suspensions and the slick tires, I must gain a good second".

Unsurprisingly, the R1M – which costs around 25% more than the standard version (€ 22,999 including tax) – therefore does not allow a top driver to improve his lap times in the same proportions. It will be the same for an average biker … but the latter will undoubtedly be seduced by the possibility of changing his suspension settings with a simple and single click..

And then we must admit that this R1M has a crazy charm … Already excellent on the standard version, the finish of this special version is sublime: the tank and the swingarm "ultrapolished" especially are real pieces of goldsmith’s work. ‘we never tire of admiring.

Customers who have reserved their R1M without having waited for MNC’s advice – or even having tried it on or put their butt on it – will therefore not be disappointed, both dynamically and aesthetically. These lucky guys will realize this during the Yamaha Racing Experience (YRE) driving sessions which are reserved for them in July … "Uh, he’ll be there Rossi ?"No, but Colin Edwards yes !

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