YAMAHA YZF-R1
Niall’s R1 is coming along a-pace, but sadly a fire had left him downpipe-less!
Niall Mackenzie returns!
As with any new relationship you can never be certain what is in store with a new project. Only after the initial excitement and euphoria subsides do you get a clearer understanding of how things will pan out. I enjoy all that goes with the challenge of searching for and finding ‘the one’, but as I’ve found out in the past there’s always that risk of unexpected baggage. Thankfully, that’s not the case with my now much refreshed 1998 Yamaha R1. Aside from 20y years of grime I’ve had no real underlying surprises, so rejuvenating this machine has been a pleasure.
The motor, wiring and forks were all in perfect nick so stayed in place. However, almost everything else has been removed, cleaned, repaired and/or replaced. I’ve no experience of later R1s, but I have to say it seems quality parts and
materials have been used in abundance with the 4XV. I’ve been able to remove any corroded nuts, bolts, screws and clamps without the frustration of them rounding or breaking. There’s the odd disc and caliper bolt that needs replacing, but I feel like I’ve got off pretty lightly on this occasion. My heavily scuffed seat, mudguard and belly pan panels are now ready to pick up from Tez (Terry Chambers) at Racepaint UK in Derby.
There are plenty of decent painters out there now, but these guys kindly helped my lads keep their Motorpoint Honda 125s looking mint when they started out, so it’s always nice to give them some business. When Tez painted the tanks, seats and panels on my 350LC and RD400, they actually came back looking better than new. I say better than new as the original Yamahas left Japan with only overspray and no paint on the reverse side of most panels. Our Terry finishes the job properly! Racepaint UK has downsized their business recently, but the high quality remains. My other R1 panels are in good condition so to save cash I’ve been scrupulously cleaning and T-cutting. Fingers crossed there is no massive mismatch or a return visit to Derby is on the cards.
With only a few parts missing as in all my other restos, the wonderful Wemoto people came to my rescue. They have a huge range of handy parts, from the first 1998 4XV to the current R1M, and everything I needed was on the site. My order wasn’t huge, but after a few clicks a new chain (DID), both sprockets (JT and standard gearing), an oil filter and a full set of OEM disc bolts arrived on my doorstep the following day. This parts order didn’t break the bank, especially £1.93 a pop for the lovely original Yamaha disc bolts. It’s the little things
that make me happy! All my other nuts and bolts are in pretty good nick, but it’s always good to know they have a great stock of the nice stuff to finish things off. In the rubber department my bike came with barely scrubbed in Avon Storm 3Ds, so it’ll be no surprise the Scot in me doesn’t want to shell out for some trendy new rubber.
These Avons might not be every sports bike rider’s first choice, but I was on the original Press launch of this tyre in Almeria so I know they are damn good. A whole host or journos hammered them on BMW S1000RRS in all kinds of weather, and I can say we all left Andalusia impressed. They may not have had the ultimate sticky grip of popular Pirellis and Metzelers on the market, but that matters not a jot unless you’re looking for a lap time to impress your mates. A slight hiccup: I left my exhaust downpipes with IDP Moto at Silverstone to organise cleaning and to take care of a small welding job on the mounting bracket. Unfortunately, the Vapour Blasting Northants premises suffered a fairly serious fire and my exhaust didn’t survive the inferno (see pic!). I was honestly gutted for VBN as I know they lost a fair few lovely bikes after the adjoining building went up and spread to their premises. Luckily for me there was a good selection on ebay so I quickly found a great replacement listed by DK Motorcycles and it didn’t need any welding or cleaning. In the suspension department I’ve carried out a satisfactory bounce check front and rear so I’m confident all is in good working order.
There’s no evidence of any leaky seals and plenty of compression and rebound damping adjustment available on the adjusters. One niggle I’ve thankfully overcome was the simple act of turning on the ignition. Switching on turned into a two-minute fiddle until I found some gentle forward pressure on the key does the trick every time. I’m sure previous owner Andy had been doing this as second nature: he simply forgot to tell me. Regular readers of CMM will be familiar with Japanese classic expert and generally all-round good egg, Andy Bolas. This kind gent contacted me in December to say he had found an original, decent condition 4XV screen in his shed. Along with 4XV under trays, these are as rare as Neil Hodgson’s wallet, so Andy gave me the best 2019 New Year’s present! Should I be worried about my ebay habit? Over one week I’ve clicked ‘buy now’ for a rotary wire brush set, four normal wire brushes, Hammerite paint x two, tyre weld x two, a valve key, exhaust valve cables and a pack of 100 AA batteries. You literally think of something, click on the app and within 30 seconds it’s in the post.
It’s just too bloomin’ easy, but I can’t stop. But wey hey! Everything is now in my garage and ready for assembly. I’ll be cracking on with the build as you’re reading this and I’m confident it’ll be a straightforward job. That said, before I ride off into the sunset I’ll be investing in an hour of Daryll Young at IDP Moto’s time to give her a final once-over. For me, it’s a small price to pay for total peace of mind.