1998 1998 Yamaha YZF R1

SOLD!
SOLD

Brief

Anybody who is a fan of Superbikes, will of course be familiar with the Yamaha YZF R1.

Having long been playing catch up to the Honda Fireblade which was released in 1992, Yamaha set about a totally new design from the ground, and in 1998 the Yamaha R1 changed the face of Superbikes upon release, creating quite the frenzy at the time.
Thanks to the revolutionary ‘stacked gearbox’ design, the R1 was a much more compact design than previous models and this meant that the R1 was not only a bike with a hugely impressive power to weight ratio, but the design helped with the ability to create a chassis which could handle the power properly with superb handling characteristics.

Speaking of power – the R1 came a claimed 150bhp and 177kg (dry) weight, this meant for some utterly devastating performance figures, with one magazine timing a 0-60mph time of 2.9 seconds, and a 0-100mph time of 5.9 seconds.

Here is a chance to own a piece of 90’s superbike history, in the sought after pearl white and red colour combination.

UK bike.
Original brochure.
Recently serviced.
No modifications, other than the wheels have been finished in white.
The bike is still sporting the original exhaust, indicators, number plate holder and even the original rear reflector.

History

Body & Paintwork

The iconic and sought after Red/White colour scheme looks great.

The bike has been repainted at some point, and looks to have been done professionally.

Original screen is still fitted, along with original mirrors and indicators, the number plate holder is original with no modifications (‘cutting down’ of the number plate holders was very common) and remarkably the bike even still has the original rear reflector fitted – these were often removed and thrown away.

Overall a very nicely presenting usable low mileage example.

Interior & Trim

All trim is is very good condition.

Obviously things such as the handlebar grips are showing minimal wear with 15k miles, bar ends are unmarked, and the top yoke is showing only minor marks (often caused by keys in the ignition flapping around on to the top yoke).
Both the seats are in great condition, still being a vibrant red.

Engine

The engine runs beautifully, even from cold on choke.

No rattles at all, lovely quiet top end of the engine (these bikes can be a little noisy at the top end of the engine).
All gears engage nicely, and the clutch operates perfectly well.

The bike rides smoothly through the rev range and gives impressive performance.

The original exhaust is still fitted, so the bike gives a nice noise but nothing too loud.

Running Gear

As with the rest of the bike, the running gear is all original and in great order.

Suspension and brakes feel fantastic, with superb braking performance and handling.
The wheels have been finished in white which looks fantastic.