Icon: 1998 Yamaha YZF-R1

#42 1998 Yamaha R1

Where did it come from? It was a straight — if long-delayed — response to the success of Honda’s original CBR900RR Fireblade. The first Blade of 1992 caught everyone on the hop — light as a 600, nimble as a 400, fast as a 1000 — it was a genuine game-changer. Until then, big sportsbikes had been fast but heavy and a bit ponderous — if you wanted racetrack handling, you had to look to the 750 class (the Blade was originally conceived as a 750, incidentally). So it took everyone else years to catch up, and Yamaha made the best job of it with the 98 R1. It was all-new from the ground up, with a compact motor made even more compact by stacking the gearbox up behind the cylinders. That allowed a short wheelbase for quick steering, but a relatively long swing arm for good traction. 170mph flat out was fast enough and acceleration was intense — 0-60 was around three seconds if you could keep the front wheel down. It was an instant hit.

What changed?

A few modifications in 1999 and a minor update in 2000. From 2002 it was heavily revised, with a new frame and bodywork, and fuel injection instead of the original bike’s downdraught carbs.

Why do people like it?

Because it made such a big impact at the time and because it’s still a great road bike today. Still looks fresh too. Oddly, these days everyone wants a red and white one. When they were first launched it was the blue ones everyone was salivating over — dealers couldn’t get enough of them.

Cult rating 4/5

Maybe still a bit too recent for full-on cult status but a good, standard 98 R1 is now a very collectible bike.

The problem is...

As usual, finding a good, standard one. R1s attracted the kind of owner who didn’t keep things standard, either from inclination or, just as often, due to crash damage. As newer models got lighter and faster, early R1s also entered the twilight world of the has-been sportsbike, where for a while they were cheap enough to make cheap hack and trackday bikes, with predictable results.

Without the 1998 R1...

Everyone else might not have had to raise their game, and we might not have had the glut of fantastic, sweet-handling superbikes marking the next decade.

“A standard 98 R1 is now a very collectible bike”