It seems like yesterday that we were hauling tail around Eastern Creek, hurling all sorts of positive expletives at the new 2005 R1. With monster power, phenomenal handling and brakes that would stop a truck, it is hard to imagine how the manufacturers can keep improving these bikes every two years. So for 2007 another new and improved R1 rolls out. For regular punters who ride on the street with the occasional track day thrown in, the good news is: life is going to be even better on Yamaha’s new open class monster.

In the US the average R1 rider is at least 33 years of age with 13 years of riding experience. Riding more miles every year than the average cruiser rider, it does a lot to dispel the myth that these bikes are mostly bought by irresponsible teenagers with little to no riding experience.

The big news for 2007 is the move to four valves per cylinder from Yamaha’s trademark five. Reading like a new miracle drug ad on television without the side affects, low, mid and top end power is all miraculously improved. New higher lift camshafts allow increased air intake volume while a new piston shape and improved combustion efficiency conspire to give the new engine an increase of five horsepower. It is interesting to note that the current M1 MotoGP bikes went to four valves per cylinder a couple of years ago and now the R1 is following suit. The new pistons use a higher compression ratio and the connecting rods are produced with split fracture design. This makes the match up between the pieces more precise and adds strength to the rods.

Some people might argue that the real news is the Yamaha chip controlled throttle which is the same basic system as we tested on the R6. Either way, the changes to the R1 are exciting and this new technology certainly makes the bike easier to ride. Reading changes in parameters every 1,000th of a second, when you crank open the throttle the butterflies in the throttle bodies don’t just immediately open. Responding to input from a large number of sensors, the ECU decides how much fuel and air the engine needs.

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Yamaha Chip Controlled Intake Multimedia (High-Res 15MB)

This makes for very smooth power delivery across the range and makes me feel more comfortable cranking open the throttle exiting lower speed corners. I felt like I had less chance to spin the rear wheel and, whether or not this is the case, there were no spinning or sliding moments to report.

Opening the throttle slowly and deliberately exiting pit lane I was surprised at the bump in power at 4500 rpm. Suddenly becoming more urgent it was the last real noticeable spike until the rev limiter kicked in. Later in the day when I was more familiar with the daunting Laguna Seca racetrack I did find that exiting corners at 7000 rpm wasn’t cutting it for me and to get more drive I needed to be higher in the revs. Once up into the double figures though everything is going by with such a blur you had better be hanging on. Over the course of the test there really were very few places I actually had the throttle all the way to the stop for anything other than a brief moment. There is just so much power everywhere and the bike definitely feels faster than the previous model.

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