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Yamaha Shows Track-Ready YZF-R1 with Limited Availability

We got news about a cool move from Yamaha, who thought to offer a track-special version of their new YZF-R1 machine. Iwata already has the YZF-R1M as a bike destined for closed-course racing, but its $22,000/€25,000 price is steep for smaller teams.
Race-ready 2016 Yamaha R1 1 photo
Photo: Yamaha
Teams can even get hold of the R1 machine now at a lower price because the track-specific R1 dropped everything that was not essential for track racing. The livery was discarded in favor of an all-black fairing that's ready to receive the teams' and sponsors' decals.

The mirrors, the pillion seat, the passenger pegs are also gone, alongside other bits and parts that were installed on the bike to add functionality on the road and in the urban environment.

All these modifications of the base model allowed Yamaha to bring this bike to the market for a smaller price. The stripped, race-trim YZF-R1 will first be available in Japan for just under 2 million yen, which is below what the price tag for the street R1 reads now.

A much more appealing choice over the R1M

Using Google's exchange rates calculator, we found that the 1,944 mil yen price translates to €14,500 or $15,830. If the bike makes it in these markets, which is a thing yet to be confirmed, the price will also be lower than that of the road-going R1 bikes, yet the availability will most likely be restricted to select teams, too.

Even so, for a racing team on a tight budget, this option looks quite appealing, especially considering that in such situations every couple hundred bucks matters. Not having to pay for things that will otherwise be binned or sold on the second-hand market is a plus.

The other tech features remain untouched, so regarding performance, the two machines are as R1 as it gets. Of course, having the R1M as a rival on the track may reveal that the M-suffixed bike has the upper hand, but it all depends on the level of the race and how much money are in the game.
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