R GENERATION
In a period when manufacturers were undecided between following the controversial litre bike path the FireBlade had forged or sticking to the traditional WSB-rule complying 750cc capacity, Yamaha’s new sportsbike was the determining factor. It came, it saw and conquered our hearts with cutting edge design, mouth-watering power figures and a look like no other that had come before it. Here’s our guide to the R1 clan…
1998-1999 YAMAHA YZF-R1 4XV
Rumoured to be a 750, mainly as Yamaha’s WSB riders Scott Russell and Colin Edwards were both spotted testing what was to become known as the inaugural R1, the replacement to the YZF750R arrived in 1998 and cemented the death of the three quarter litre class. Developed alongside the YZF-R6 and YZF-R7 under the watchful eye of project leader Kunihiko Miwa, the YZF-R1 set the blueprint for the modern sportsbike. If you compare the basic engineering principles that the 1998 R1 has with a 2018 sportsbike they remain directly linked – it really was that advanced.
So what made it special? Yamaha built a ground-up new motor for the R1 and while it retained the five-valve head design that they had been using on
