With sportbikes becoming more oriented for life on the racetrack it’s becoming surprisingly difficult to find a sport motorcycle that you can live with day in and day out on the streets. After rolling over 500 miles across California enroute to this year’s Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, we’re starting to think the 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 sportbike might be that ideal street bike - with some simple modifications that is.
So you’re probably thinking, “What’s up with these Motorcycle USA guys?! Didn’t the R1 come in last in this year’s shootout? ” True, we did beat it up in both our street and racetrack Superbike Smackdown VI evaluations earlier this year. In fact, the R1 slotted dead last in both tests. On the street, its biggest problem was the excessive amount of heat emitted off the twin undertail mufflers which made riding borderline painful on warm days.
We addressed the exhaust heat problem by ditching the stock titanium mufflers for a pair of slip-ons from the boys at FMF. We fitted its $999 Apex pipes finished in carbon fiber with titanium end caps. The mufflers are simple to install and can be done at home with only a basic set of metric tools. (For a full in-depth review check out the FMF Apex Exhaust Review.) And what a difference! Not only do the Apex mufflers look way better than stock, the sound that emits out of them is so awesome that just thinking about it as I type gives me goose bumps. The roar is unlike any other motorcycle I’ve heard in my lifetime, sounding like the deep snarl of a fast, high-revving V8. It’s so loud that even wearing ear plugs has little effect on the outright volume inside your helmet.
Anyone planning on logging more than one fuel tank’s worth of time within its seat will quickly learn that the R1’s stocker is literally a sore point. Thus a swap was going to be a prerequisite for our trip. Originally we had opted for another aftermarket seat, as we weren’t that impressed with last year’s Yamaha accessory Comfort Seat. But the Tuning Fork guys assured us they had reworked it for improved performance, its price having increased $50 as well to $239.95. Visually, it looks nearly identical as the seat of old; however, internally it uses a foam core replacing to the previous gel design. Installation is as simple as loosening both bolts under the rear part of the seat and then swapping it out for the new one and reinstalling the bolts.
Lastly, one of the problems that plague almost all new sportbikes is their short windscreens that aren’t effective at diverting wind up and over the rider. So we swapped out the stock one for a Yamaha accessory Raised Bubble Style Windscreen. Like the seat installation it’s a no-brainer. Also new for this year are the accessory luggage made by AXIO. A $189.95 tank and $149.95 tail bag are both offered. Each bag is constructed from a tough plastic polycarbonate material and finished in a faux carbon fiber, which perfectly complements the Yamaha’s new look. The front bag easily attaches to the R1 with its built-in magnetic strips on either side of the bag, while the rear bag affixes to the rear seat with a strap. Now that we’re properly accessorized it was time to hit the road…