BRUCE ON TRACK – 9TH

It’s mad to think the CP4 R1 hit the scene six years ago, and it’s even crazier to think that after a pretty comprehensive rework for 2020 the latest version didn’t take more ground from its rivals. Power and weight aside, it’s always been a great track bike and that theme continues with this latest iteration. The tech was always one of the R1M’s greatest strongpoints and it still offers some of the best functions in the business, including wheelie and slide control, alongside all the more common trimmings. The Yamaha is a very focused bike to ride, standing out for its compact, aggressive 250GP vibe that makes you lay low and long across it. That doesn’t do much for road comfort, but on a circuit it makes good sense… just like the motor. The cross-plane inline-four engine is a corker. No, it’s not the most potent, but it drives like a beast and finds traction in places other bikes don’t. You might be surprised with how low it revs, but it doesn’t take long to calibrate your mind to the job, aided by the booming exhaust note that never seems to suggest the bike’s working that hard… even though it is. Is it quick? Yes, but like a few of the other older bikes on this test, it was shown up by the latest and greatest when it came to its sheer kinetic competence. Another area it was shown to be lacking was in the braking department. The old R1’s brakes were wooden and weak, and that’s the same way I’d describe these. How can Yamaha build such an epic bike and then get something this simple so wrong? On track there were several occasions when I bottled my corner entry speed because I couldn’t be sure the brakes would haul me up in time. The real kick in the balls here is the R1M’s corner entry abilities are up there with the best of bikes, but without the confidence to go ploughing into corners, knowing the brakes would slow me when needed, I couldn’t exploit the chassis’ brilliance. Braking issues aside, there’s a lot of good bits to this Yammy, so don’t go overlooking it.