Yamaha YZF R1M
Hi again folks, I've got another motorcycle here for you. The R1M!
I do have a soft spot for Yamaha bikes. I've been lucky enough now to have owned three. I've owned an R6, and two R1's. And I've never crashed a Yamaha neither, so I consider them to be lucky!
My last one was a white and red 2007 R1. It had a Blue Flame racing exhaust system on it taking the bikes output to 200 bhp. It only weighed 180 kilo so It was like a missile!
The YZF has evolved a lot over the years since my 2007 model. In 2008 the bike undertook a make over and a cross plain crank shaft was introduced allowing the bike to accelerate harder in the mid engine revs, rather than the ridiculously aggressive high revving exup power valves the previous models had incorporated. It immediately was announced top of it's class by all bike tabloids. It was however terribly ugly with big emission friendly exhaust cans and headlights that resembled Dame Edna Everage's glasses. I didn't really warm to it until I looked at a few examples with aftermarket exhaust systems and custom parts.
That guise of the R1 remained the same till it's successor was unveiled at the 2015 Birmingham NEC bike show. I have to admit that I wasn't won over by it's looks at first niether...
The kit is the Tamiya 1/12 kit of Yamaha's new flagship sports bike. It is the track focused version of the new R1, it has 200 bhp as standard and will set you back £20,000. It's lightweight carbon fibre body work coupled with the sophisticated electronics and Ohlins suspension make it a very forgiving rider friendly motorcycle. But also make it a really, really fast motorcycle.
It comes to life around a racetrack and will effortlessly beat any older sports bike, as well as hold it's own with the other manufacturers flagship models of a more expensive Italian origin.
The bike is fully road legal however I opted to build a track bike and left off the mirrors, indicators and registration plate. But it's all there in the box if you want to pass your MOT. The only modification I made to do this was use a bit of putty to fill the holes in the front fairing where the mirrors were meant to go. I used the carbon fibre decal kit from Studio 27, but apart from that it is out the box. I also drilled out the brake discs and painted the can matt black.
I don't really like the new ultra quiet emissions friendly exhausts these days. I would definitely get an aftermarket exhaust if I bought this bike.
When Yamaha first unveiled their new R1, I'll be honest I didn't warm to it with it's futuristic looks and it's big alien insect like eyes. After watching more and more youtube reviews of everyone singing it's praises though, I've sort of been won over by it. I even really like it's big forehead and googly eyes now, I'm sure the design is sculpted by science but it looks vastly different to any other sports bike available. And the carbon fibre on the R1M model is just a work of art! I would love to own this bike one day!
Well the kit is a new release Tamiya, I don't really need to say much more about the quality, but if you have any questions feel free to ask.
Cheers for looking! 🙂
In a word: Superb !
Cheers mate, much appreciated!
Outstanding work, Richard. It looks like a real person could get on it and zoom away! To me, it looks like it's doing a hundred miles per hour sitting still! (about 160 kph)
Bravo!
Thanks very much Jeff! 100 mph on an R1 doesn’t really feel like you’re going quick. A bit quicker than stationary but effortless!
Richard, you're getting better all the time!
The way you paint your bikes clearly expresses the materials the parts are made from and that's the highest level of modelling. Praise praise praise!
Thanks very much mate, that means a lot!
I think bikes are my favourite subject to build, It's exciting customising them to your own specifications. And probably the closest I'll ever get to owning some of them!
Primo work Richard. Keep ‘me coming.
Cheers Matt! I've got nothing else right now on the bench but it certainly won't be the last.
Another great motorcycle model from you Richard, well done, ------ here's a technique I've just developed to take the kinks out of Tamiya tubing !
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Cheers Allan. I've got a kink in the back brake cable I need to get out, I'll give that a go cheers. What is that exactly? Is it just flexible wire?
And the front reservoir hose, I see these pic's are still being squared, it's solder wire, soft and flexible, I need to retro fit to my older models also !
Got some in the post as we speak. Cheers for the tip!
Got those kinks out mate! Thanks very much!
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Fantastic build Richard, I am a Yamaha fan myself, great job, Love it.
Cheers mate, thanks very much!
Truly superb. I swear that you get better at this with every machine. Next you’ll be making Hondas look sexy...
Really superb work, so cleanly built it looks like you made it in a clinical laboratory. Beautiful mix of technical excellence and artistry.
‘Liked’
Cheers mate, thank you very much! Nah, just made it in my man cave. It had beer spilt on it and all kinds! ?