Braking power from the new six piston caliper set up is as expected. The lever is easily adjustable with a small wheel to suit the size of your digits, and then it is just a matter of bravery when it comes to how hard you pull it toward the lever. Instantly retarding progress, without being abrupt, the more you pull the faster you stop with very little movement needed to perform the hardest braking manoeuvres. The rear brake is an afterthought on the track but it has some useful stopping power before smoke starts coming off the rear Pirelli.

It is no surprise to find the suspension hasn’t been left alone and the new 43mm KYB fork now runs 25mm of offset, compared to 30mm. Increasing the trail to 102mm has been done to compliment the weight reduction down at the front wheel to get the bike to turn quicker. All the fork internals are changed with lighter components, and rigidity has been increased. Apart from some weird experiences over the bumps, the forks did a wonderful job and gave no trouble under some of the hardest braking I have done on a racetrack. I was lifting the rear wheel slightly into turn 12 and a little extra compression would have helped but nothing to complain about for sure.

Attaching to the new truss style swingarm, which is 16mm longer, is a new Soqi rear shock. Featuring both high and low speed compression adjustment as well as the usual pre-load and rebound, it has a stronger spring rate and an easy nine step ramp system of adjustment for the pre-load. The bike was set up for my 80kg weight and the only other adjustment I made was to add some high-speed compression damping to help keep the front end down.

The sleek bodywork, styled somewhat after the R6, comes in a choice of three colours: Yamaha Blue, Midnight Black, or Competition White. The windshield is 10mm taller and uses no screws for attachment purposes for a cleaner look. Functional gauges live behind it with an analogue tacho and a digital speedometer. The shift light is bright and helpful when trying to make fast progress and all the usual functions are where you would expect them.

The previous generation R1 had some bum warming problems from the under tail exhausts but during a cool weather track test there was no chance to see if this had been addressed.

It doesn’t look as if there is much room to put your sandwiches under the seat as you head out to work either. The good news is that with a theoretical top speed nudging 300kph, a braking and technology package that has just taken litre bikes into new previously uncharted territory, with all the time you save getting to work early the overtime will pay for lunch.

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