Yatsushiro's YZF-R1 Impressions

I took a test ride on Ben Spies’ 2009 YZF-R1 which showed awesome speed despite the fact that the machine was new to the fiercely competitive WSB, and won the rider’s championship at Algarve Circuit (Portugal) in the final round of the WSB season.

The first thing you notice when you hop on Spies #19 machine is that the riding position is flat and long. The handlebars are positioned to suit Spies who brings his upper body forward and low with his elbows sticking out to the sides. The brake and clutch levers are set to a wide position, the off-road style handlebars are slanted down so low that I had to extend my fingertips downwards in order to latch onto them. Once holding tight onto the handle bars and placing my fingers on each of the levers, someone small like me will automatically be pulled forwards, and I hardly ever got in contact with the seat stopper at the back. Riders like the tall Spies can stay low, as though he is almost lying on the tank. It is a riding position unique to Spies, who can shift his weight on the machine as he wishes.

The new engine with its crossplane crankshaft delivers linear response as soon as the throttle is opened, even at low revs. The bike revs up easily during acceleration with an irregular type of pulse. Compared to the 2008 YZF-R1, where a smooth crank produced progressive acceleration, the 2009 model uses the traction produced by its irregular pulse to accelerate as though the machine is kicking off from the track surface. Good traction and sharp riding through the mid-speed range cannot be attained in any of the inline fours. The rev limiter would probably activate around 15,000 rpm, but since the 2009 YZF-R1 has great traction and fast revving, the front tire always lifts off the track just as you pass 12,000 rpm, so I had to up-shift before the indicator lit up. Aggressive body weight transfer is required for maximum utilization of the engine’s power.

Sharp cornering, which is one of Yamaha’s advantages, was also present in the 2009 YZF-R1. Suspension settings were set so hard that I could not dive the suspension, but the bike felt light when leaning it into a curve and has good initial turn-in capability. With the new engine that responds linearly to the rider’s input, high exit speed from the turns can be obtained.

There is no doubt that Spies’ extraordinary riding sense was a big factor in winning the title in this debut season. Despite this, one can also tell that the 2009 YZF-R1 has gone through a development and maturation worthy of a championship machine, as we did not see any dramatic improvements from its competitors near the end of the season.