2006 R1.... Yowser!

[outrace]

If the bike comes in at $15k, I'll wet myself. Yes, there are only 500, and Yamaha's dealers total somewhere around that number. Some dealers won't order one because they're in Kansas or SD..... and I doubt many of them will get more than 1 or 2.

I've bought a few bikes and a couple of YES plans in the last two years from these people, so I only have to call them up and tell the owner I'm sending a deposit check.

If any of you other guys are interested, you might wanna put one on reserve.

Rumor says product delivery isn't expected until the end of Q1 '06.

 

[Warchild]

If the bike comes in at $15k, I'll wet myself.

Me, too.... hard-pressed to believe it will come in much below $17K-ish. I mean, forget about the slipper clutch, the new brakes, yadda-yadda.... if the bike retails for $11K right now, another $4K isn't going to enough to fund those monster Ohlins forks, that awesome racing-spec Ohlins rears shock, and those tasty (and spendy!) Marchesini forged aluminum wheels....

OTOH.... we really won't know till they post the final specs/prices on Sept 28th....

 

[GalaxyBlue]

THis bike has everyone :dribble: on it! All the people on our local forum are going totally nuts for this bike!

Hmm. If was a little smaller...... :haha:

 

[Randy]

The rumor train continues to roll.....

Approx $18.5K price tag

PDP with $5K down

Pure speculation and not a very reputable source, but, you never know.

 

[spine60]

Not having a real good knowledge of sport bikes, can I ask how does the R-1 SP compare with the other sport bikes? The suzuki GXS-R, and the the Hondas of the world? Would this SP be considered the top dog amongst the others or are each of you just very pro Yamaha? With all due respect, I'm just curious, the bike does look awesome to me as well? Thanks. Greg

 

[Randy]

Until the full details are released, I don't think we'll know. However, when you look at some of the componentry put on the LE, you will see that it is not just a stock R1 with some nice stickers on it.

It has a fully adjustable Ohlins front end that also includes high and low speed compression damping as opposed to just the standard compression damping provided on other bikes.

Same with the rear - fully adjustable Ohlins shock with high and low speed compression damping.

While it has high Marchesini wheels on it, they're aluminum and not the uber-light magnesium Marchesini's that are popular in the superbike circuit.

The slipper clutch will also be a nice feature that is also found on the GSXR and the new ZX10.

The horspower is already up there with the other big bikes, so, if the new suspension bits work as designed, that will definitely give them a leg up on the competition.

I think it's going to be the top dog of the liter-class sportbikes.

 

[outrace]

Yamaha certainly has the power to establish a PDP for the LE. They DO NOT have the power to tell their independent dealers that there is a $5k customer deposit on a bike. Establishing terms like this would turn Yamaha into a retailer and the complications would have diminishing results.

From a practical standpoint, the PDP has proven to be mismanaged by the dealers, hated by the customers, and counterproductive for Yamaha.

From a racing standpoint, these machines MUST be made available to the general public and they MUST sell, otherwise "homologation" isn't achieved and they can't enter Ohlins equipped "stock" bikes in AMA SuperStock classes for 2006.

If I had a dealer that demanded 5k in cash to order a bike, I'd tell the dealer to get his floorplan loans from his banker. Then I'd drive my turnip truck to another dealer and see what's possible.

 

[outrace]

Not having a real good knowledge of sport bikes, can I ask how does the R-1 SP compare with the other sport bikes? The suzuki GXS-R, and the the Hondas of the world? Would this SP be considered the top dog amongst the others or are each of you just very pro Yamaha? With all due respect, I'm just curious, the bike does look awesome to me as well? Thanks. Greg

The SP in Europe and the LE in the US will put high grade suspension components, a slipper clutch, and potentially other options into the realm of "stock" bikes.

With the exception of Ducati, no other manufacturer has done this in order to win "stock" class racing. Similarly equipped Ducatis run the price gamut from $22K to "Oh my!" pricing. However, these Ducatis, regardless of price, would fall far behind the R1 in every category except sex appeal (and even that is a matter of opinion).

Now, a similarly equipped GSXR or ZX10 would be approximately(?) the same price, but neither would be legal for "stock" class racing because the bikes aren't homologated (meaning there aren't 500 of them available for sale to the general public with the high-grade equipment list as original equipment).

One little oddity of the rules is..... retrofitting a lower grade bike is generally allowed in order to elevate it to the new higher equipment standard, but only after the higher standard is homologated.

Thus, sales of these 500 bikes will allow upgrades / refitting of existing bikes to SP/LE levels under most US club racing rules. ('m not sure about AMA rules.)

So if you're the average racer, once the bike is homologated, you can add the slipper and the Ohlins to your existing 2006 and go race it in stock classes under the common equivalency rules.

What does this mean? It means that the top level club racers will be itching to ride a 2006 R1 with the upgrades. One of these SuperStock bikes will be very very close to a SuperBike in speed and handling, so in the right hands, a good racer could own one bike and win in two money-paying classes.

This could be a powerful tool against Suzuki's stranglehold on SuperStock and SuperBike classes in the US, but it will have to be backed by a very serious contingency program from Yamaha. We'll have to see what follows.

(Honda's already a dead fish in SSt and SB club racing in the US due to their inferior product and inferior contingency programs.)

Did anybody besides Panthercity understand what I'm trying to say?

 

[Randy]

Not so fast, Outrace. I'm not so sure about your oddity unless I missed something in the rulebooks. Just because a part is on a homologated bike doesn't necessarily mean you can retrofit your similar bike with parts off of the homologated bike. As the rules go, if it doesn't say that you CAN, then you CAN'T. Shocks can be replaced on supersport bikes, but, forks can't. If you have an Ohlins front end on your '06 R1, you better be able to prove it's an LE.

 

[panthercity]

Now, a similarly equipped GSXR or ZX10 would be approximately(?) the same price, but neither would be legal for "stock" class racing because the bikes aren't homologated (meaning there aren't 500 of them available for sale to the general public with the high-grade equipment list as original equipment).

...From a racing standpoint, these machines MUST be made available to the general public and they MUST sell, otherwise "homologation" isn't achieved

Which is it?

[SIZE=8pt]That'll teach ya to drag me into this conversation...[/SIZE] :bleh:

 

[Woodstock]

Now, a similarly equipped GSXR or ZX10 would be approximately(?) the same price, but neither would be legal for "stock" class racing because the bikes aren't homologated (meaning there aren't 500 of them available for sale to the general public with the high-grade equipment list as original equipment).

...From a racing standpoint, these machines MUST be made available to the general public and they MUST sell, otherwise "homologation" isn't achieved

Which is it?

[SIZE=8pt]That'll teach ya to drag me into this conversation...[/SIZE] :bleh:

I thought it was something else entirely to acheive "homologation". :haha:

 

[outrace]

Not so fast, Outrace. I'm not so sure about your oddity unless I missed something in the rulebooks. Just because a part is on a homologated bike doesn't necessarily mean you can retrofit your similar bike with parts off of the homologated bike. As the rules go, if it doesn't say that you CAN, then you CAN'T. Shocks can be replaced on supersport bikes, but, forks can't. If you have an Ohlins front end on your '06 R1, you better be able to prove it's an LE.

The AMA, CCS, and WERA have different philosophies concerning "if it's not - you can't". This discussion isn't important enough for any of us to do research trying to find the relevent passages in each and every rulebook.

From a practical standpoint, unless there are different VIN codes for the LE and your Tech Inspector knows what they are, it would be painfully easy to fake an LE for track use. Remember, racebikes have aftermarket bodywork and nobody knows what's in the clutch basket without a teardown.

For Panthercity, the "and they must sell" is simple economics because the bikes must number at least 500 and they must be available for purchase. Creating 500 LE's for the sake of letting Graves Yamaha use Ohlins forks and a slipper clutch, without actually selling the bikes, would be prohibitively expensive and would never keep the stockholders happy. 500 units is a significant percentage of total production that couldn't be absorbed by adding $10 to every standard unit to pay for the ruse. I don't believe there is anything in the rules that say "they must sell", so you're probably right in pointing out this discrepency in my writings. However, I believe I'm vindicated by the rules of fiscal responsibility.

For Woodstock and a few others. I see a common "comedic" mentality that makes me wonder if you should be more worried about homoPHOBation.

 

[Woodstock]

For Woodstock and a few others. I see a common "comedic" mentality that makes me wonder if you should be more worried about homoPHOBation.

Yea, I apologize. I have no excuse for my 14yr old male sense of humor, except, maybe, being the father of a 14yr old male, and having been a 14yr old male at some indeterminate time in the past.

 

[Randy]

From a practical standpoint, unless there are different VIN codes for the LE and your Tech Inspector knows what they are, it would be painfully easy to fake an LE for track use. Remember, racebikes have aftermarket bodywork and nobody knows what's in the clutch basket without a teardown.

I only brought this up because I remember some people raising a ruckus in the early 90s for people using YZF750sp parts on a standard YZF750.

Now, assuming that the tech inspectors and officials will look the other way, sure, they won't be able to see a slipper clutch, but, they'll be able to see Marchesini wheels. And regarding the Ohlins front end...I wonder if there will be a way to differentiate the LE Ohlins forks and any other Ohlins forks?

When you factor in the cost of Marchesini's, a slipper clutch, and an Ohlins front end and shock, you'll wish you would have poinied up the bucks to just buy an LE. I'm sure it will cost a helluva lot more to retrofit a stocker.

 

[panthercity]

When you factor in the cost of Marchesini's, a slipper clutch, and an Ohlins front end and shock, you'll wish you would have poinied up the bucks to just buy an LE. I'm sure it will cost a helluva lot more to retrofit a stocker.

But there will always be that small but determined group out there who can't pony up all the $$ for an LE right now, but just know that as time goes by, they can mix and match parts well enough to get their well-deserved shot at fame and gory...

 

[outrace]

....and I expect that an Ohlins front and rear without a slipper and with stock rims (because those are your 'cheap race rims') will be much much cheaper than an LE.

Roadracing World says "individually numbered"...... but that probably just means a plate on the upper triple.

 

[spine60]

The SP reminds me of this Ninja. There is a ninja like this one for sale near my home, any opinions on this bike???

 

[outrace]

It's a good looking bike and I only know of 5 basic problems with it.

1) It's big.

2) It's slow.

3) It's heavy.

4) Unlike the FJR's minor ticking issue, these things sometimes roast a crank bearing because of a designed-in oil supply issue.

5) It's a Kawasaki.

If you can make sure that particular unit doesn't have ANY of these problems, it would be a great bike.

(Seriously, they're good bikes.... no real complaints, but it's not a ZX10, GSXR, or R1.)

 

[Warchild]

2) It's slow.

Oh, no, it's not... the big Kwak is extremely fast, though it may not be quick-fast, like you want a bike to be in the hard-core twisties or the racetrack. Obviously, it's no R1, 'Blade, etc

But it's heap big fast bike, up there with the Blackbird and the 'busa.

Still a Kawasaki, though.... :lol:

But seriously, it's a killer ride, but a true "sportbike", it ain't (neither is the XX or the Havabrewski, in this regard). These are hyper-sport-touring rigs.

The big 12R's are also known for eating rear tires like nobody's business. Cam-pitting has been a problem in many early models. Along with some fairly noteworthy vibes across most of the powerband.

 

[Canes]

Slipper Clutch = $1000.00

Front end = $2000.00

Back end = $1000.00

PC + tune = $500.00

How much do the wheels run?

Just trying to figure out how much it would cost to have a Shift Red LE.