Yamaha R1 and R1M 2020 test: hell of a blow … and salty extra cost !
Yamaha is taking advantage of the change to the Euro5 standard to perfect its Superbike: the "short" R1 benefits from multiple improvements which should justify a tiny price increase. The R1M is also evolving … enough to justify the surge in its price? MNC tested the two sports bikes in Jerez (Spain). Verdict.
2020 R1 test page 1: Yamaha polishes its Superbike
In 2015, we remember that Yamaha launched a brand new R1 that did – finally? – no compromises and clearly aimed at victory over the tiny but capital segment of large-displacement hyper sport motorcycles. The revolution was immediately noticeable thanks to the new lines inspired by the M1 of Rossi and Lorenzo, contrasting judiciously with the round shapes of the previous model..
Handlebars in hand during the press launch on the demanding Eastern Creek circuit (Sydney, Australia), Site had also and above all noted that the new Iwata Superbike was significantly more compact, light and agile than the old one, than the old one. it took advantage of a much more lively and powerful engine, and that it offered its pilot state-of-the-art electronics, essential to operate the assembly correctly … and to stay alive !
- Complete MNC presentation :
- Superbike 2017 comparison :
- MNC special file :
In competition too, the Blues had solid ambitions! If their official return to World Superbike 2016 was not as thunderous as hoped (a single podium with Guintoli at the very end of the first season, four victories in the last three years), the R1 has shone in many other championships..
In speed, Yamaha riders have been crowned in the United States (Beaubier in 2015, 2016, 2018), in Japan (Nakasuga the same years), in Great Britain (Brookes in 2015) and in Germany (Fritz in 2016). In endurance racing, the GMT94 became 2016/2017 world champion and Yamaha won the constructor title three seasons in a row (2015, 2016 and 2017).
The R1 has also won four times at the Suzuka 8 Hours, the prestigious and unique endurance race taking place in Japan, on the circuit belonging to its historic rival Honda! But to date, the best victory for the Yam ’is undoubtedly the one it obtained on Site.
In 2017, Le Journal moto du Net brought together the four Japanese Superbikes in order to compare them on the road, then on the circuit: the R1 which blew its second candle was measured against the ZX-10R (reference in World Superbike) and the all new CBR1000RR and GSX-R1000.
In the end, the Yamaha had imposed itself thanks to "its breathtaking silhouette, its advanced technology, its motor character and its formidable efficiency on the track", we wrote then. MNC particularly appreciated the charm of "the most" Latin "of Japanese production: demanding but sensational, like the first of the name in 1998!"
Bewitched, Site was however not totally blinded by the Super (be) bike of Iwata and at the same time noted a few points to be improved: the lack of protection and comfort on the road came at the top of the complaints, followed by consumption and clearance. heat a little too high, then a flexibility behind the CP4 compared to its competitors.
A year after our comparison, the R1 was entitled to small electronic updates: new mapping, finer anti-wheeling and bidirectional quickshifter on the standard model, supplemented on the R1M model by a new control unit to manage its electronic suspensions. Not enough to correct the small defects of the 2015…
For 2020 and like all motorcycle production (risk of an avalanche of new products at the next Eicma show!), The sports car must comply with the Euro5 standard. Available from this month of September 2019 in blue dealerships, the R1 is the first Yamaha to meet the new European anti-pollution and noise-reduction requirements.
Switching to Euro5 … to 7 assists and more
"Attention, we did not content ourselves with submitting to the new Euro5 standard," said Clement Villet (head of the motorized two-wheeler division at Yamaha Motor Europe) during the press conference for the global launch of the new R1 and R1M 2020…
"We have done much more than that by fine-tuning engine performance, increasing the electronic aids system, optimizing the fairing and aerodynamics and integrating state-of-the-art components on the cycle part", lists the senior French official.
However, by looking at the data sheet of the new R1 (see the fourth and last page of this test), fans of the Blues will be surprised – disappointed, relieved? – to discover that very few values change. Site had four…
The maximum torque reaches 113.3 newton-meters against 112.4 at the output of the new generation of R1, the oil capacity increases by one liter (4.9 l), the total height of the machine increases by 15 mm (1165 mm now) and the full weight passes the 200 kg cap (201 kg instead of 199). And then that’s all ?
A bunch of other changes go unnoticed in the general characteristics, but are detailed in our technical point (on the third page of this full essay). In addition to its mechanical overhauls with the double aim of polluting less but always "fueling" the 4-cylinder engine receives a fully electronic gas control..
Two technological advances of the same type should improve the performance of the R1 in 2020, under braking this time: the Iwata Superbike incorporates an unprecedented setting of the engine brake on the one hand and can modulate the action of its ABS (depending on angle) on the other hand.
The chassis also receives its – small – batch of modifications: the front brake pads are changed, the fork is reconfigured while the rear shock absorber is tuned accordingly, the steering shock absorber is in "tuning fork"…
Finally, the most obvious change to perceive on the R1 2020 (and the "top" model R1M) is of course the redesigned fairing! The face gains in width, in height but also in volume in order to better slice the air and better protect its pilot.
The maximum speeds reached on the circuit would also be higher compared to the previous model. As an indication, Site saw 282 km / h displayed on the – unchanged – screen of its 2020 R1 at the end of the second straight of the Jerez circuit. Full test on next page.
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