It looks like the new Yamaha YZF-R1 is all set for the launch, and most of the media is expecting the house of Iwata to unveil the new superbike at the EICMA 2014, in early November in Milan, Italy. Still shrouded in secrecy, the new R1 was caught testing earlier this year, but apparently dressed in older R6 fairings and catching a lot of people on the wrong foot.
However, Yamaha has started dishing out teaser videos (episode one after the jump) in a manner not unlike that of Kawasaki Ninja H2 campaign. The biggest question is how extensive the changes will be. Is the new R1 machine arriving with only minor changes, most of them related to restyling, or we might get to see the 230 hp superbike about which rumors emerged in late July? After about 5 years of virtually the same YZF-R1, we really hope that Iwata will come up with something really neat at the EICMA…
The teaser shows upside-down, racing-looks forks, large calipers, a single-sided swingarm, but that’s about everything “new” we get. The voiceover also mentions “the beginning of a new era”, which might be only marketing crap, but it might as well be not… and something tells us that Yamaha will unveil a heavily upgraded machine in Milan.
At the same time, it looks like Iwata is also making firm steps towards a comeback in the World Superbike series, after the 2011 withdrawal. The return to WSBK is rumored to occur in 2016, with Yamaha delivering the production version of the R1 one year ahead and allowing it to “sink in” and pass the rigorous test of consumers using in in real-life conditions, revealing the aspects which might need improvement. And if Yamaha wants to taste the 2009 glory Ben Spies brought when he won the series… things must be really good.
In fact, it appears like Yamaha has asked their MotoGP star Valentino Rossi to swing a leg over the new R1 in a private test at Suzuka, scheduled after this weekend’s Japan round at Motegi, and before The Doctor flies to Australia for the second race of the overseas triple-header.
Some say that Rossi will retire from MotoGP after his renewed contract expires at the end of 2016 to engage in some WSBK action, but we’d leave this for the fun side of news rumors for now.
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