2006 From Raptors To Rockets

[panthercity]

I just called my dealer and ordered an LE.

biiiiiiiiiiiitch!

 

[Canes]

The price on thr R1 LE that is being bantered around on the bike blogs is $18,000 to $20,000.

It is a nice bike, but for that kind of money I can make my bike have better suspension, better wheels and with more power.

 

[outrace]

The price on thr R1 LE that is being bantered around on the bike blogs is $18,000 to $20,000.
It is a nice bike, but for that kind of money I can make my bike have better suspension, better wheels and with more power.

Which is exactly why Yamaha is going to have to work extra hard to get these things to sell. $20k for a stock bike with only $6k worth of improvements seems preposterous and they won't sell (and I won't buy). But if the price comes in at $16 - 17k, then it starts to make sense.

If it's possible to get better suspension components than Ohlins, maybe you should let the factory teams know where you're buying your suspenders. I'm sure they'll be interested in getting an edge.

Certainly there are lighter wheels than the Marchesinis, but there are very few that are:

1) worthy of a factory warranty (and YES plan)

2) AMA legal

3) Street safe

Quite honestly, it's possible to take almost any bike and make it a performer with the application of cubic dollars and cubic hours. Panthercity can tell you I've done that before. While it was fun at the time, I'm too involved in other things to spend the hours of R&D that I once did in the pursuit of speed.

After all, why build a Ruf Porsche if you can simply buy one and save yourself the pain? You could take the time and buy / install the parts, but it would never have the pedigree of a real Ruf Porsche. By the same token, a copy of an LE will just be a copy of a replica of a factory AMA Superbike. In most places, that's just called a fake.

Now, with that all said, I ORDERED the bike. I haven't paid for it, and might not if the value isn't there in the end. I took advantage of a situation that allows me some flexibility, but I don't have to write the big check until all the facts are in.

The jury might be out, but I hold the keys to the jail.

 

[Canes]

Don’t get me wrong Outty, I would love to have the gold wheeled yellow beauty in my garage, and I do not disagree with you with the value of the extra candy. However, I still think 18-20K is too high of a price.

As far as the Ohlins, they would be my first choice also, but ones installed by me for my weight would be better than the ones set up for the average skinny arse rider Yamaha will have installed.

The R1 remains the sexiest bike out there. Yamaha just needs to price it right.