Was thinking of getting a 2013 or 2014 new old stock R1. Anything I should be aware of ? Thanks for your help.
What's its purpose? Streetbike? Just fine. Racebike? Oh hell no! FatPig! Trackdays? Would be OK, but better options out there, like a gsxr.
I raced one. It's a terrible terrible piece of crap. Get anything else. Down on power. Traction control on it is terrible (I rode with it off completely) because it's wheel speed based any change in gearing would make the TC freak out. The front end wallows under load and you have no idea what the front is doing. It's heavy. Just no.
Haha, put a few hundred g's into it and I bet the folks in this thread would have liked it better......
He rode the ever living crap out of it! His team just made it work... I love watching the 2009 WSBK review!!
I know what he did on the bike, and granted Ben was never the overly emotional type, but you said he seemed to like it. I'm asking did he actually like it or did he just do what he had to do on it. I don't recall him hopping off the bike mentioning that he really liked it. In fact I thought I read rumors that he hated it (maybe that's why he left WSBK after only 1 season on it )....could have just be rumors of course.
I've been racing one since 2010. Pros- Killer drive out of the corners, it's very easy to ride since getting on the gas early is so easy with the crossplane. Top shelf brakes. Even though its heavy you can still murder people on the brakes. Cheap parts (minus exhaust systems, those are not cheap) The bike gets great starts, even against new bikes and their fancy launch control. (Second row, closest to the camera. ) The motor is really fun and very smooth. It sounds awesome. Would make for a great street bike. Cons- Down on power, if you race on short tracks it does pretty well. Long tracks you will get eaten alive down the straights. It's a tank, it doesn't change directions easily. It has aerodynamics of a barn door, you will get drafted by. It runs very hot. You will have to manage that very closely after each race. It seems to go through brake pads quickly, I'm sure that has to do with having to stop the weight of a tank.
Get a new one. Or wait a few months for the new GSXR!!! Like everyone said, the old one is a big, ugly, heavy pile of shit. Spies did well on one with HUGE factory backing, and Graves did well with theirs with a budget higher than pretty much the entire rest of the field combined. Outside of those few bikes, the thing is junk.
I haven't read the other responses, so this has probably already been covered, but you should be aware of spending thousands of dollars on a frozen turd. When they first came out, even the Graves Yamaha team had less than stellar results with them. Then when they started winning, everyone jumped on the bangwagon. You started seeing R1's all over the place. ...at the end of the season, they were on eBay. Short of having a Graves type budget and expertise to throw at them, they are overweight, underpowered turds.
Never knew Ben, met him very briefly at the Miller round in 09 during the pit walk through. He probably wished he didnt have to work/ride at 102%...but he liked the results (wins/title). I think that R1 helped him come to grips with the M1 faster. I think if it was a perfect bike, he still would have gone to MGP in 2010...he always wanted to ride the top level bikes against the best in the world. I dont think he would trade multiple titles in WSBK for his brief time in GP. Assen in 2011 or a different win might have not happened. He was special and injuries took him off the grid too soon. Back on topic...the R1 will be harder to make it work around a track for the normal racer and budget.
Comparing the WSBK R1 Ben rode to what the OP is looking to purchase is about like comparing a Chevy Impala from the local dealership to a NASCAR Impala. When you are allowed to change/build/modify/brace/etc the motor, frame, swingarm, linkage, triples, brakes, wheels, suspension, gas tank, electronics, etc...then the base motorcycle you started with becomes essentially irrelevant.
Throw (a lot of) money and R&D at anything and in SBK trim, it will be good. A lot less money will get you further on a different platform.
Babuska was at Jennings last weekend on a new R1. Not sure the lap times he was putting down, but man it looked fast and sounded great. Wheelies anywhere, anytime.
Exactly. A 2015 R1 in bone stock form will be a better motorcycle than a 2014 R1 with $10k worth of mods thrown at it.
I just came back in here to say how much I hated racing that bike and that its a rolling pile of shit. I didn't believe you could feel the frame flexing, well you can and I did. The only other bike that I rode that was worse than that thing was the 05/06 ZX10 where rear shock mount was made of a jello and it might as of well have had a single drum front brake.
You forgot about changing the Crew Chief...Houseworth. This thread was going in the wrong direction just fine....and you had to jump on in with facts. Thanks so much Robert "Bobby" Boucher Jr!!