The 2014 Yamaha YZF-R1 caught spy testing.

2014 Yamaha YZF-R1

The 2014 Yamaha YZF-R1 has been caught testing on camera and in fact already published by MCN Australia. The test mule was purposely wrapped with 2008 R6 body cowls to evade spy-snappers- but it’s tough to fool a trained eye, isn’t it?

The prominent visual feature is that the underseat exhausts have been done away with and now replaced by a compact side unit (similar to the BMW S1000RR). The exhaust collector has been mounted behind the engine, aiding to mass centralisation .

Coming to the most important part- the engine, speculated by numerous magazines and auto sites to be a triple pod is not to be found on the new R1. The bike retains the inline 4 cylinder cross plane engine considering that Yamaha’s recent showcasing of their three cylinder technology is a relatively new concept. It might render a prospective technological risk to be implementing something that is fresh and void of adequate testing.

2014 Yamaha YZF-R1-2

All this looks very promising for a motorcycle which once upon a time topped the performance charts, but somehow lost the battle to its own Japanese counterparts who rolled out better packages. We’re assured that Yamaha is aiming much higher than its Japanese rivals- no guessing as whom are we referring to.

So, will the new R1 succeed to topple the present performance king the BMW S1000RR? Not impossible, but not that easy either. Let’s wait and watch.

Source: Yamaha R1 Forum

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