launched in 1998 the yamaha yzf-r1 was a sports bike that took a

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LAUNCHED IN 1998 THE YAMAHA
YZF-R1 WAS A SPORTS BIKE
THAT TOOK A SMALL BACKWARD
STEP IN CUBIC CAPACITY FROM
THE THEN CURRENT OVER ONELITRE NORM AND A LARGE
STEP FORWARD IN CHASSIS
RETHINKING IF NOT OUT AND
OUT DESIGN.
While the other three Jap manufacturers
had continued to stick with the conventional transverse inline four-cylinder
DOHC layout that was still recognisable
from the days of the Kawasaki Z900, Yamaha had
trod a different path down the same road with the
forward slanting FZ750 engine since 1984, a format
that also pioneered 5-valves per cylinder and
downdraft carburettors.
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“NONE OF THAT RACE-BRED
TECHNOLOGY REALLY MATTERS VERY
MUCH WHEN YOU GO AND STICK A FOOT
LONG OVERSTOCK SWINGING-ARM AND
A 300MM SECTION REAR TYRE IN IT...”
The R1 also had an engine format that also allowed the
motorcycle to have a relatively short wheelbase, the engine
itself being considerably shorter than a convention upright
transverse inline four due to the fact that in the traditional
motorcycle inline engines the crankshaft, gearbox input and
output shafts are parallel in a flat plane, while within the Yamaha engine
with its 45-degree forward sloping engine the shafts form a triangle. Having
successfully pioneered the sloping engine layout with its 5-valve heads,
downdraft carbs (in addition to later refinements such as the EXUP exhaust
valve), someone at Yamaha had the bright idea to stick this new 6-speed,
998cc 150bhp motor (that was also 23lbs lighter and 3.2in narrower than the
existing 1003cc YZF1000 engine), into a chassis that was the size and weight of
a contemporary 600 rather than one befitting a one-litre motorcycle. Thus the
R1 was born and it kept Yamaha at the front of the pack for near enough the
next five years before the opposition caught up with their own lighter, brighter
600-sized contenders in the one-litre arms race.
But as if to counter the likes of the Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Kawasaki
ZX-10R that were launched in 2003 and 2004 respectively, Yamaha fitted the
R1 with an innovative fuel injection system in 2002 that worked similar to
a normally aspirated intake operation by employing a CV carburettor slide
controlled by vacuum created by the engine, and although the power output
remained much the same a new more efficient cylinder head, a lighter
crankshaft and a new exhaust featuring a twin EXUP system allowed the
engine to rev higher, faster and for longer. And if that wasn’t enough the 2004
R1 had an all-new engine with 20 more ponies, a ram-air system that actually
increased the BHP at high speed and a close ratio gearbox that would propel
the bike to 107mph in first gear for fuck’s sake... Also the lighter new frame
no longer used the engine as a stressed member and ran over the engine as
opposed to around it, while the latest ‘06 model has 183 nags at the crank,
a longer swinging-arm and some MotoGP inspired mods to the frame to
increase rigidity. Although none of that race-bred technology really matters
very much when you go and stick a foot long overstock swinging-arm and a
300mm section rear tyre in it...
Hard on the heels of the Hayabusa in the mine’s-bigger-than-yours
competition that typifies the current custom sport bike trend in the land of
the free and the home of the mighty Yankee dollar; the louder the paint, the
shinier the chrome, the bigger the rear tyre and the farther your arse is from
the rear wheel spindle the more likely your efforts will be appreciated by the
sort of people who think that bigger is always better. Bob Fisher is an AMA
racer who appreciates what it takes to make a motorcycle behave itself at
180mph on a racetrack, but at Roaring Toyz he builds bikes that cater to the
contemporary fad for lookin’ good on a race rep as opposed to riding it fast
enough to scare yourself shitless. While Bob knows that the loooong swingingarm and fat tyre scenario effectively castrates a finely tuned adrenaline pump
like a Yamaha R1, when the people with huge amounts of disposable income
are lining up outside his door to have their bikes chromed, lengthened and
fitted with a rear tyre the width of a wildebeest’s arse, he’s hardly likely to try
and talk them out of it now is he?
Building houses in Florida is a profitable business because every couple of
years a hurricane blows them all down again, so when contractor Mark Sollitto
commissioned the boyz at Roaring Toyz to do the business on his 2004 Yamaha
R1 he didn’t just want a quick paint an’ polish with a mile long swinging-arm
poked in the back - nope Mark wanted a full cosmetic rebuild, million dollar
paintwork and a mile long swinging-arm poked in the back. And this is what
he got, a full house custom job that’s just about a long as one and cost nearly
as much. The entire bike was stripped down to the last Nipponese nut and
bolt (‘cept for the motor), and everything that wasn’t destined to be custom
painted or made out of rubber was chromed, yep shiny, shiny C2 everywhere,
even the windscreen - that also doubles up a handy mirror for checking your
just-off-the-bike doo before swaggering into the burger bar. A coat of what the
paint guru, Ryan Hathaway, at Roaring Toyz calls ‘true flames’ was expertly
laid over a red candy base to compliment the much chrominess on the rest of
the bike along with a few RT billet aluminium (and chromed), accessories such
as the adjustable sidestand (as the bike is 3in lower than Yamaha made it),
trick flamed pattern mirrors, handlebar grips and chainguard as well as one of
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