2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 reviews

• 2009 Superbike Smackdown VI Street (Motorcycle-usa.com)

  

  Model(s) covered: 2009 Ducati 1198, 2009 Honda CBR 1000 RR, 2009 Suzuki GSX-R 1000, 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1, 2009 Kawasaki ZX-10R

  More than anything riding a contemporary liter-class sportbike is an exercise in restraint. Whether it be keeping yourself from using all 150-odd rear-wheel horsepower at every given opportunity, or controlling the desire to wheelie past every other vehicle you see on the road, if you wish to live a long prosperous life aboard a sportbike you simply must show restraint. And for 2009, the ability to control one’s self while at the controls of new 1000cc superbikes becomes more difficult than ever when the usual suspects from Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha are at your disposal.

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• MORE OF EVERYTHING (EXCEPT TOP SPEED) (Motoring.co.za)

  

  Model(s) covered: 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1

  It's long been known that V-twins (and, to a lesser extent, V-fours) don't spin their rear wheels as easily as inline four-cylinder bikes because the tyre has more time to recover between the (admittedly bigger) power impulses – the so-called "Big Bang" effect.
  
  But straight fours make more power and in some applications – such as GP racing - that's more important.

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