2 Yamaha YZF-R1
The closest most will get to a Motogp bike
Why you want one
Now four years old but almost identical to the model still on sale, a 2015 R1 is every bit as good as a box-fresh machine, but comes with a price tag that is far more palatable. And while it’s true that sportsbikes are no longer the most popular new-bike purchase, they are still very much in demand on the secondhand market. This isn’t surprising when a new R1 is over £16,000 and you can pick up a barely run-in used version of the same bike for less than £10k.
With a heritage stretching back to 1998, the 2015 version is the highestperforming of the bunch. Small (but still accommodating for taller riders), nimble and with a silhouette that apes Yamaha’s M1 Motogp bike, it is a true racer for the road.
There is no getting away from the fact they are as extreme as hell but can work reasonably well in the real world too — the wind protection is adequate with the addition of an aftermarket screen, the suspension can be tuned to absorb bumps and the build quality and attention to detail all contribute to make ownership a lovely experience.
The highlight though, is that motor. In an effort to give its Motogp racer machine more traction out of corners, Yamaha adopted a crossplane crank. This featured an uneven firing order in an effort to help the rear tyre maintain grip while on the limit and this model of R1 is the second road bike to carry the technology over.
And while that kind of thing is totally irrelevant to road riders, as is the 180bhp top-end, we all benefit from its booming, midrange-laden power delivery and organic nature that gives it more character than a traditional four-cylinder bike. In fact, it sounds so nice, you’ll never need to buy an aftermarket pipe…