‘Eventually something catastrophic will happen to it, I’m sure...’
Andy Pugh’s 2004 Yamaha R1 has clocked up 126,000 miles, mostly with daily commutes — and 18 trackdays at Cadwell Park
ANDY PUGH IS no stranger to running up big miles on bikes; he put over 100,000 miles on an FJ1100. But after he gave it away to a friend, he bought the R1. “I’m sure a few other people have done big mileages on their R1s but not that many,” he says. “Most people who can afford to buy one brand new can afford to replace it when it’s older. But I like it so much I thought, ‘Might as well keep it’.”
How has Andy run up so many miles on what was a premium sportsbike? “Mainly by not having a car,” he says, firmly. “It’s my everyday transport. When I first got the R1 I had an 80-mile commute on lovely roads — RIDE had a Top Rides feature once and one of them was my ride to work — and so that was really why I bought the bike. If you’re going to do 80 miles to work and back every day, might as well enjoy it.”
But the R1 also spends time on circuit; every year for the past 26 years Andy does a trackday at Cadwell Park organised by a group of friends. “I’ve done all of them,” says Andy. “And 18 on the R1. It’s gone from being the fastest thing anyone had seen to run-of-the-mill in that time. The bike has stayed the same, the rider has got slower, and other bikes have got faster. When it had 80,000 on the clock, I had a big highside out of Barn. I was considering getting a new R1, but a Chinese replica fairing bracket and headlamp unit, and secondhand panels from ebay, had it looking pretty decent again for £600.”
The R1 also travels: “I’m in Essex but from Yorkshire, so it’s been up and down the A1 many, many times,” Andy says.
“Basically if I need to go somewhere, I take the R1. I’m going to Holland soon with it. I made a removable frame to hold a set of panniers from an Aprilia Futura (they were cheap).”
What is it about the R1 that keeps doing it for him? “I think it’s a pretty bike; I like the underseat exhausts,” says Andy. “And every R1 since has got bulkier and fatter — I think 2004 is the best looking. Which isn’t to say I won’t move on eventually to something faster,”
That will be a sad day. “But I’m not sentimental,” says Andy. “I’ve had it this long, how long can it keep it going? Eventually something catastrophic will happen but until then, it’s not using oil and is fast enough for trackdays.”
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