Guys, I am really getting the itch for a new bike that I can not justify. DO something to stop me.
That new R1 is looking real sexy and the motor configuration is interesting to say the least. THe price tag is a little steep but I really can not keep my eyes off of that one.

Thoughts?

Go ahead and buy it! No, it doesnt make sense but since when has been buying a motorcyle a logical thing? Especailly what we ride here.. Its always based on emotion as much as we try to trick our selves we know it. IF you can afford it go ahead. Im liking the new R1 my self but I doubt I will buy another liter bike again, that is until I ride mine and say YES YES YES! Im never selling this... :)

Too late, I bought a Blue and White 09 R1 this afternoon.
So far the only thing I can tell you in 6 miles is that the bars are obviously lower, the motor sounds incredible, and the brakes feel like wood compared to the 14 ones. We are spoiled with the stoppers in the 14!!
Also, I have to spin the motor to 3500-4k to keep it from lugging off of the line. I will get used to it but it is definitely not the 14 clutch and off the line torque.
But dammit it looks good in the garage!!!

Pics coming soon. I will be on a 5 beer sticker removal project this evening! Warning stickers, tire pressur and some of the pin stripes are on my radar.

One thing that Yamaha has not done is get rid of the old 90's elf ear shaped turn signals. The 14 and many of the other litre bike have gone to integrated signals. Rigging up a rear fender eliminator will be a little more challenging but all in all, I am excited as hell!

HMFIC, Iwas sitting on the 2009 (YELLOW) R1 in the show room and I love the bikes tall stance. It just felt nice. I would love to ride one.

elf ear shaped turn signals.

This thread is now useless without pics!

Do Not Ride the New R1!

I did today and I want it! I have not been excited by a japanese liter bike in many years. That all changed today. I imediately felt confortable on the bike and was up to speed right away. The easiest bike to go fast on I have ever ridden! Love the overall feel of bike and especially the engine. I would not be suprised to see cross-plane cranks in other bikes in the near future. The only thing that is saving me from getting it is that I am way too bike for it at 6'4" and that I don't have the funds...

HMFIC, Iwas sitting on the 2009 (YELLOW) R1 in the show room and I love the bikes tall stance. It just felt nice. I would love to ride one.

elf ear shaped turn signals.
Have you seen the zx10 front turn signals. A two piece, with a light and mirror combo. Now that is fuc.ed up. Hard to mod as well. Cheers on your new bike.

I couldn't figure out the turn signals i was seeing on most of the literbikes. I think the 09 gsxr had some attractive signals on the fairing and tail. Others have signals sticking out on mirrors and rear fender. Then it hit me, these are trackbikes. Signals are one of the adaptations for the street but they were never intended to be there initially. If your a track hound you might be glad you can remove the signals easily.

Rook

Pics coming tomorrow.
I took pictures before I removed the upper fairing stickers and after.
Of course the tank warning and tire pressure stickers already went as well.
I left the ones that say R1 but the ones above with the stripe had to go becuase I like a clean look.

Also, the map selector is a POS. I rode ot away from the dealer in Standard mode but A mode is the only one for me. Although the bike now has 13 whole miles on it, I can see that the Standard mode will not be mine. She is MUCH more responsive in A mode.

Photobucket went south on me but you can see the PICs before the upper fairing stickers and after removal.

10 minutues after the outdoor profile pictuyre, the "Cross PLane i4" sticker was removed from the side as well.
I am well aware of the engine technology and do not need to advertise for Yamaha! :)

New bikes are fun!!!

I love pics . They really tell the story . What did you use to remove the stickers? There is a couple on the new sixer that must be removed.

I used a hair dryer (heat guns are too hot and could melt the sticker and F-up your clearcoat), and goo gone for the remaining residue. The hardest sticker to remove is that hideous Warning label on the gas tank. It usually comes pretty easy but the resudue is a bitch. Just take your time with the hair dryer on each sticker making sweeping motions evenly for about 5 minutes and pry a corner. Once loose, hold the sticker, pull and heat while you peel the rest.
Use the Goo Gone to finish the job.
GOod luck.

Ride report after she is breaking in:
THe R1 Revvvvs reallly fast and becomes angry in the top third of the rev range.
THe new engine design is really growing on me because you swear that you are sitting on a tiwn instead of an inline 4. The sound and feel of a twin is always there. Yamaha did thier adjustable mapping thing and on this bike it works:
Standard mode is normal, B mode slows the fly by wire throttle response by 30% but gives you full HP on top. A mode increases throttle response by 30% so the power come on quick, fast , and in a hurry. All three modes allow full HP on top.

The brakes are less bad once broken in but they can not compare to the 14 binders. Also, there is a very noticeable lack of engine braking. I thought that the magazines were full of shit but it is true. I was winding out third gear and had to bring it down quickly and got a pucker because it was all brakes and no engine. I will have to adjust my riding style to compensate.
Bumps beat the shit out of you and your ass is roasted from the undertail exhausts.

All in all, its a great bike that is growing on me and I do not regret my purchase. It will just take some time to adjust from the 14 to the R1.

* Last updated by: HMFIC on 4/23/2009 @ 6:52 PM *

Great info. Cheers.

http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/2009-literbike-shootout-88218.html?page=4

ouch! who saw that coming?

Wow, I thought that gixer was going to get the edge. You know ....The icon returns, that sort of thing. This was a shocker.

i did too romans. but popularity doesn't always sound the winner, in this instance, i guess. i think those are the same results from the 08 shootout too.

No matter, sounds like team yamaha has got the edge on most others with that new motor. Sounds like Kawi is going to make a copy in motor design in year 2010. So the gossip goes. For me that R1 just feels right. HMFIC, what do think? Have you had a chance to run the bike hard or is it still to new ?

I have run the motor hard. We saw red line at 100 miles and never looked back. I did the first oil change at 440 miles and when I return home from travel this week I will have some back road ride reports for you.
Now, compared to the 14, the torque is not as strong but everything that you read about the motor is true.
It revvvvvs quickly and goes to hyperspace anywhere north of 8k. That is not to say that is is weak below that because you can ride all day long in the 6-7k range and just rip it open and go.
I have not ridden a Zx10 since the 2005 model so I can not compare this one to a current zx10 but I have a pretty good feeling from my seat of the pants impressions ringing 5 gears to redline that this bike will give any litre bike out there grief.
Also, put the thing in A mode, which gives you 30% increased throttle response and hold on to your ass because the power comes on instantaneously. That is my favorite mode because I like the instant throttle response.

Also, I usually ride with an 08 Gixxer guy and many busas so as soon as I field test kicking thier ass, I will let you know.

One other thing, regardless of what the motor rags say, I like the R1. I like the looks, the motor, and the handling. I simply do not have the skill to find the outer limits of any of the four so my purchase was not dictated by a litre bike shootout. I bought the bike that I liked.
I never liked the Honda looks.
THe ZX10 does not have the fit or finish of a Honda or Yamaha and I am freaking sick of seeing Gixxers on the street.
Every other bike is a GIXXER.
I bought the bike that I liked becuase no matter what, someone will eclipse someone else and I love both the bike and motor.

Well put. 2nd that

Ok,
here is the first ride report:
I went out on a ride by myself this afternoon to field test some of my favorite roads withour distraction.
I normally clip these roads at a relaxed pace on my (ex)ZX14 at 85 mph through the curves. On the R1, I was riding 10-12 MPH faster on the same curves without even trying. THis thing handles like a dream. 3rd or 4th are your all day long back road gears. Either one will suit you and you will have plenty of drive and torque for anything that you want or need to do. Be lazy similar to the 14 and just ride. I did 120 miles and it was surprisingly comfortable. I am 5'10" and the bar reach is perfect without too much weight on the wrists. I can sit upright, one handed and roll when I want and be comfortable.
The motor flat rips and when you are singing above 7k, the motor is sewing machine smooth with no vibration at all.
Get the RPMs into the 9-12,500 zone and you are in hyperspace drive.
There is very noticeable heat on your ass from the undertail exchausts and when you speed up and run for 20-30 seconds in the last third of the RPM range, there is a VERY NOTICEABLE amount of additional heat cooking your ass. You would think that running triple digits would dissipate the heat but you feel it warming up your ass quickly at those speeds and RPMs.
I would guess that aftermarket pipes and mapping will help there (I hope) similar to the cool down in piped and mapped ZX14's.
Make no mistake...this is no ZX14. I do miss the Saturn 5 rocket booster of a motor and the all day comfort but the R1 is a good choice if you decide to jump into the litre bike arena. I have always ridden slightly larger bikes (ZRX 1100, Yamaha Gen1 FZ1, and the 14 to mention a few)and I have always been able to keep up with the smaller, better handling bikes. At some level, I want to prove to myself that all of my years of heaving heavier bikes through turns will pay off with a top notch litre machine. So far so good! :)
I have a ride scheduled with my normal crew tomorrow morning and I have a Gixxer 750 and Gixxer 1000 on my radar. They have targets on their backs. Also, I wanna do some high speed pulls against the Busa boys in the group to see where the R1 fares there. I will give you all an update on that ride as well.
Anyway, so far so good! No regrets but I do miss my 14 already. If I were rich, she would have stayed in the garage because I have a deep love for her as well.
Peace! :)

Ride report:
Ok, I had a full Saturday ride with the R1 and my riding buddies and I can tell you for sure that the R1 can hang with anything out there speed wise. Obviously it can corner with the best of them but it is no slouch in straight line runs.

Now I have been riding the bike in "Standard" mode which is situation normal mode. Great performance, great mapping and the only hint of funkiness comes in very slow speed throttle control. It feels like an on off switch below 10mph. Anything above 10mph and it is spot on.

My bike is killing the busa boyz becaue it can hang with them up top. They hate it but I think it is funny as hell.

Now for the wicked part..."A Mode". Holy Shit. "A Mode" transforms this bike into a monster and it is definitiely not for the inexperienced rider. I will not ride a back road in "A Mode" because a good bump could deliver you a shitload of unwanted power...quickly. A Mode is what everyone always feared about the flies out configuration on the ZX14; however, the ZX14 was just a tractable, easy to ride, torque monster with the flies out. An R1 in A Mode is a freakng beast. You get 30% quicker throttle response for the first 50% of the throttle twist. It feels like a wild bronco in A Mode. If you want to wheelie or drag race, A Mode is the one for you because power comes on in a hurry.
They should have put a parental lock on that mode! :)

The devil definitely comes out to play. Standard feels like a 1000cc bike and A Mode feels like a hot rod....ready to roll and definitely capable of becoming a rider swatter in the wrong hands.

Any questions.....?

* Last updated by: HMFIC on 5/4/2009 @ 6:15 PM *

Now for the wicked part..."A Mode". Holy Shit. "A Mode" transforms this bike into a monster and it is definitiely not for the inexperienced rider. I will not ride a back road in "A Mode" because a good bump could deliver you a shitload of unwanted power...quickly. A Mode is what everyone always feared about the flies out configuration on the ZX14; however, the ZX14 was just a tractable, easy to ride, torque monster with the flies out. An R1 in A Mode is a freakng beast. You get 30% quicker throttle response for the first 50% of the throttle twist. It feels like a wild bronco in A Mode. If you want to wheelie or drag race, A Mode is the one for you because power comes on in a hurry.
They should have put a parental lock on that mode! :)
The devil definitely comes out to play. Standard feels like a 1000cc bike and A Mode feels like a hot rod....ready to roll and definitely capable of becoming a rider swatter in the wrong hands.

DAMN YOU, HMFIC! DAMN YOU!

-Matt