Yamaha R1 Forum: YZF-R1 Forums banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Best year of R1 and why?

90K views 106 replies 72 participants last post by  stan1 
#1 ·
I hope to be in the market sooner than later this year to get an R1 to add to my stable, and was curious on your thoughts/opinions on what year is the best and why?

I hope this doesn't start a flame war or anything, I just genuinely want to know.

Thanks all,
Dustin :rock
 
#2 ·
2008 R1. the best because well... i have one. lol jk but i mean i guess newer is better? idk every year or model change they always add new stuff or fix stuff to make it better. so every year it gets better and better. now to anyone without an 07 08 im not saying your shit sucks at all not even close im just saying as far as technology is concerned newer is better.
 
#8 ·
#9 ·
In all honesty, every year is great. I've had a '99, '02, '05 and '06. I have ridden an '07 with a corrected ECU and it was impressive, but not much different IMO from the '06. The earlier models have much better bottom end torque and are great street bikes. Styling wise the '04-'06 are the best looking bikes. You can also get them for great prices. Either way, you can't lose.
 
#10 ·
depends on who you talk to and what they own. Every year gets "better" in someone's opinion, that may differ from yours on what is "better". But everytime the bike gets better there is a chance of something new going wrong with or to work out the bugs. I havent heard too many bad things about the 08-except maybe your ass still roasts.
 
#11 ·
i had an 01... didn't like messing with the jetted carbs all the time.

my 05 is awesome. love the handling, power, and everything about it.
only thing i disliked is the extra heat from the cat. but now that is replaced with a boz bros exhaust and no problems now.

from what i hear about the 07-08 is the handling is a little better but the electronics have some problems. ecu's have to be replaced.
 
#16 ·
Just about everyone who answered the question replied with the year bike they own. I think you need to ask yourself "What do I want out of the bike?" '98-'01 was a ground breaking monster in the class. '02 got fuel injection. '04 and up got the underseat exhaust with taller gearing and more HP. Anything '03 and under has massive low and mid range power out of the box without mods. If you want more on top less on the bottom {stock bike} go with '04 and up.
 
#20 ·
it depends on what you want the bike for. just cruising on the streets, the 02-03 might be the best bet out the box. To me the 04 and up, are the better looking bikes. My 04 has me going wow, so I can only imagine what the 07-08 can do. If i could afford it, I would love to have an 08 raven.
 
#21 ·
Yeah I REALLY like the 04-06 bikes in Black. Just wanting to make sure one wasn't a HUGE downfall over another like my V-Max. 92 and earlier the brakes were horrible, even more so than the later bikes if you can believe it, with a few other things. Ya know, just trying to get some of the ins/outs of 'em.
 
#25 ·
as a semi-sane street bike the 1998-2001's kick ass. killer midrange, enough power for the street IMO (130hp to 140hp +/- depending on mods) and, of course, sexy looks.
 
#26 ·
It's looking like I'll be leaning towards the 98-01 for a few reasons. The main one is the expense, and that I'm not afraid of carb work. So the hunt is on for me, anything I need to look for on these bikes that may give me fits if overlooked? Or am I looking at another bike for the obvious things?
Also, with carb work, header, pipe what's a good hp/tq number to get out of one? How much of a hit if nitrous is acceptable on a stock motor? Weak links in them other than gapping rings for nitrous on a rebuild if required?

Thanks fellas!
 
#27 ·
IMHO the best R1 is the first one in 98 is it? My only reasoning is b/c it's the bike that started it all. The whole "R" name instead of YZF or the FZR1000 at the time. Without the success of the first R1, none of the others would be as good as they are today.

At the time the first R1 was a bike built with similar dimensions to the YZR500 bike.
 
#28 ·
I love my 2000, and if you ride the bike and not let it sit for 2 years then you won't have to work on the carbs. For street riding the old gen.'s are probably better but for the track the new ones are the way to go. The new bikes aren't perfect either just because they're newer; just search ecu problems from the '07's and heat issues with the undertail exhaust. Lastly, older R1's will be less expensive with lower insurance costs.
 
#30 ·
First off I've owned several R1's started with 01, 04, 05 and now a 07. But i would have to say the best one is the first one, 98. Reason being is that it set the litre bike craze in motion and was the benchmark for every other bike manufacturer. Its is styling is still second to none but it lacks the power of some of the other litre bikes and in the last few litre bike shootouts and various magazines have held the R1 has yet to out right beat the competition. I loved all my R1's and wouldn't have changed them for anything else on the market but I cant wait for Yamaha to make a R1 that once again claims litre bike supremacy. Especially since I'm surrounded by all these damn Kawi fans who love them god awful looking ZX-10's.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top