Photo: Catalin Garmacea
Papers emerging from the California Air Resources Board indicate that the new Yamaha YZF-R1S got a green light and will make it into the US market as a 2016 model. However, this particular bike remains a mystery, as the opinions are split as far as where will it slot in Iwata's ranks.
Some people believe that the S suffix stands for "street" and the R1S will, therefore, be a more streetable version of the Yamaha superbike. Obviously, this means that the R1S should arrive with lower tech specs, most likely less expensive wheels and braking components and most likely, more casual suspensions.
In a way, the R1S could be similar to the R6S, the less "vicious" version of the older YZF-R6, a bike that came with traditional telescopic forks instead of the upside-down ones, and other differences from the base model.
The YZF-R1M was also street-legal, but was offered as a limited-run motorcycle, and this meant that only very few lucky guys or racing teams could get hold of it, if they had the money and booked it in time. A higher-spec R1 that can do well both on the track and in the city while being available in bigger numbers is definitely a possibility we cannot discard that easily.
After all, we had SP-suffixed editions back in 2008, even though they weren't exactly as different from the base R1 bikes as the Panigale R is from its stock siblings.
And basically, this is exactly what the R1S is believed to be, a souped-up machine that could introduce certain higher-spec components to shave off some weight.
However, until Iwata decides to shed some light as to which direction they plan to take the R1 platform before adding the S badge, it's still more or less anyone's guess.
In a way, the R1S could be similar to the R6S, the less "vicious" version of the older YZF-R6, a bike that came with traditional telescopic forks instead of the upside-down ones, and other differences from the base model.
What if S stands for "special" or "sport" ?
Despite the fact that Yamaha has already delivered a higher-tier version of the R1, namely, the R1M, some believe there is still room for a sportier flavor of the basic liter-class machine.The YZF-R1M was also street-legal, but was offered as a limited-run motorcycle, and this meant that only very few lucky guys or racing teams could get hold of it, if they had the money and booked it in time. A higher-spec R1 that can do well both on the track and in the city while being available in bigger numbers is definitely a possibility we cannot discard that easily.
After all, we had SP-suffixed editions back in 2008, even though they weren't exactly as different from the base R1 bikes as the Panigale R is from its stock siblings.
And basically, this is exactly what the R1S is believed to be, a souped-up machine that could introduce certain higher-spec components to shave off some weight.
However, until Iwata decides to shed some light as to which direction they plan to take the R1 platform before adding the S badge, it's still more or less anyone's guess.
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