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Revised version is supposed to steer better that the
'99 model, although if there is any difference it's hard to feel.
The engine is superb, loads of grunt and a liquid top end, and the
suspension gives plenty of travel with good control for mega-comfy
road use.
 Riding
position is good for 300 miles with no discomfort and the massive
torque from the motor means you can spend all day in 6th gear if
you want to. On the move the Yam feels very light and the changes
to the front end means it's a bit easier to get the bike through
chicane flip-flops, although still not in Gixer or Blade territory.
The low screen/fairing does give a fair bit of wind blast at 150+
but a flip-up screen will sort that if you don't mind losing the
low, mean look, and is essential for European blasts where speeds
tend to be a fair bit higher.
Suspension is OK for the road, quite compliant and comfy but the
front end feels a bit odd when you hustle the bike .... seems like
the front wants to wash out a little bit which may be down to poor
damping. Ground clearance is also limited, so scraped hero blobs
and exhaust can are common. Easy to deal with; remove the blobs
and fit a smaller sports can.
 Steering
benefits a little from dropping the yokes / raising the forks by
around 10 mm, plus increasing the rear shock's preload by one or
two notches off max to hold the back end up, helps turn-in and gives
the front a bit more bite. Even better would be a decent rear shock
which would probably also help calm the bike under hard acceleration
as it tends to flap about a fair bit. And one day perhaps a revalve
of the forks to sort the turning out and give the bike better feel
mid bend.
For trips abroad the rear seat has handy little nylon tabs which
fold out for strapping luggage - and you can easily take the seat
off with bag still attached to access the storage compartment underneath.
It's these little touches than make life so much more pleasant,
don't you think?
 Engine
is very civilised and produces oodles of go everywhere. Nice old-fashioned
carbs ensure there are no on-off throttle injection glitches and
fuelling is clean throughout.
Gearshift is smooth and selection is positive. Brakes are excellent
with good feel and loads of stopping power.
Don't like the welded subframe, at least a bolt-on one can simply
be replaced. Guess it's all in the name of weight saving, and the
R1 is a very skeletal bike, with absolutely everything pared down
to the minimum.
 Clocks
are good - a big analogue revcounter and digital speedo make everything
easy to see even for short-sighted old gits, and the little odometer
is jolly clever. It can be an odo, trip1 or trip2, a clock or, really
clever this, a fuel reserve tripmeter which starts counting up from
zero when the fuel tank goes onto reserve.
When you fill up the counter automatically resets and the display
returns to the odo/clock - whatever you were showing before. Very
handy idea that, all bikes should have one.
So the R1 off is a pretty good sports bike. The steering is still
not quite there and can get a little bit ponderous in chicanes but
it's a whole heap better than a Thunderarse. The motor is storming,
the suspension supple and the seat comfy. Everything you need for
the road.
 
Ground clearance is a bit crap ...
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For track use you're gonna have to spend a bit of money on fork
internals and a decent rear shock. As standard the bike is just
too soft and winding up the dampers will only solve part of the
problem as the valving is a bit basic and spring rates need upping
as well. Getting Harris / Ron Williams or any other decent suspension
firm to change the fork springs and re-valve will give you a decent
front end for the track, and better on the road too. The easiest
route for the back end is an Ohlins / Penske / whatever shock, sprung
for your weight and valved to suit. Ground clearance is a problem,
so rearsets are an essential bit of kit.
Probably the best thing is to get two R1s, a soft squidgy one for
the road and a demon tuned, race suspended nutter bastard for the
track.
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One
thing, or even three, worth considering are crash mushrooms / bumpers
or whatever you want to call them. They give some protection to
the fairing and pokey-out bits if you drop the bike, and can mean
the difference between riding home or calling the recovery service.
These are Harris ones. The left one's easy as it fixes straight
on to the engine mount. The right one is a bit trickier as the fairing
obscures the mount and things get even more awkward 'coz the mounting
bolt is 
secured
with a pinch bolt, so unless you want to drill a bloody great big
hole in the fairing to clear the bumper and leave some wiggle room,
something more inventive is required. Some mushrooms fit onto the
fairing mount (yeeuk) but Harris employ a nice shiny ally plate
which fixes to the engine mount and provides a fastening for the
bumper. Only problem is, you have a drill a 50mm hole in the fairing,
but the supplied template seems to work well so the hole winds up
in the right place. To remove the fairing panel the bumper is easily
unscrewed.
Probably
the most essential bolt-on goody for the R1 is this little chap,
again supplied by Harris, The Clutch Protector Kit. It provides
protection to the clutch arm and cover should you dump the bike
- the design of the gearbox means the casing 
around
the arm is exposed and likely to break if it hits the ground with
any force, meaning loss of lots of expensive oil and a long walk
home. The bumper projects out far enough to keep the casing clear
of the deck. The ally backplate fits behind the swingarm spindle
nut and the plastic bumper simply screws into it. You can even still
use your Abba stand, if you've got one. If you haven't then go and
buy one ....
The
2000 Yam still steers a little bit ponderously, and raising the
forks only helps marginally. The real answer is to fit yokes with
a reduced offset, allowing the front to turn more naturally and
making it easier to keep the bike on line through corners. The standard
offset is around 35mm, whereas the 2002 R1 is running 25mm, albeit
with increased trail to aid stability. These ones are a bit tarty,
though .....