RRW YZF-R1 LE Write Up

RRW does a test on all new liter bikes. The LE got beat by the stock R1... also of note the Marchesini wheels weigh more then the stock CBR1kRR wheels! That being said MoI numbers on the Marchis I have to believe are better. On the torque curve the LE was 7-8 less then the standard on the dyno!!!? The Marchesinis are actually 3 pounds less not 1 as claimed. Some goofy stuff... The R1 got beat by the other bikes but I still would buy one before the other brands as the R1 will still bite the face off 99.999999 of riders. If you can check out the issue I recommend it

Hi xdonniedarkox, The tests and comparos in the publications, however unbiased, depend on the track temp, tire conditions, rider skill, time of day and a slew of other variables. In my world, I cannot explore the limits of most any liter sportsbike, and I believe few mortals can - quite the opposite. The back torque limiting clutch alone in the L.E. is a great add - and the Öhlins suspension fore and aft and ride height adjustment allow for some tuning to address your riding style and the tracks or roads you travel. One fellow engineer told me "For every PhD, there is an equal and opposite PhD". Same goes for the comparison testing in a way. If you can ride a stock '06 YZF-R1 to its limits - you are one hell of a skilled rider. I will just enjoy the L.E. I purchased last week and find the bike to be outstanding. http://www.fototime.com/6A372446C9812BA/orig.jpg I read the rags too, but it is the riding that makes all the difference. All the best, John San Jose, California

Originally posted by xdonniedarkox RRW does a test on all new liter bikes. The LE got beat by the stock R1... also of note the Marchesini wheels weigh more then the stock CBR1kRR wheels! That being said MoI numbers on the Marchis I have to believe are better. On the torque curve the LE was 7-8 less then the standard on the dyno!!!? The Marchesinis are actually 3 pounds less not 1 as claimed. Some goofy stuff... The R1 got beat by the other bikes but I still would buy one before the other brands as the R1 will still bite the face off 99.999999 of riders. If you can check out the issue I recommend it The LE didn't get "beat" by the std r1. They didn't even really compare it directly to all the other bikes. They did say it performed much better on the track though. The difference in power output I would attribute entirely to different break in. I think it really goes to show how much of an effect it has. Those two motors are identical. On the LE whoever broke it in went way too soft or a bit too hard.

The LE tied for the best time on the track. Toye said if he'd had aftermarket rearsets like the other bikes had, he'd have gone even faster (pegs were scraping and limiting ground clearance).

I found it interesting that the CBR wheels weigh less then the Marchisinis. Also the weight, makes sense that the Ohlins weighs more, due to being stiffer etc.... By the way guys, I am not dogging the LE. Shit I would own one if I had the dough. I just was suprised as it seems the RRW guys were too.

Total wheel weight is not the only metric that decides performance. Total weight does affect bike weight and more importantly unsprung weight. However, it is not only the total weight that matters for a wheel, but how that weight is distributed. For example, a standard cast wheel typically has more mass far away from the center than say a wheel made from carbon fiber. Hence, consider two wheels with identical total mass, but wheel A has most of its mass near its rotational axis. Wheel B has more of its mass near the rim. Therefore, wheel A will have a lower polar moment of inertia than wheel B. So, a bike with wheel A will accelerate and decelerate much more readily than one with wheel B. Wheels with lower polar moment of inertia provide better dynamic performance. Forged aluminum is not only stronger than most cast types, but its strength can be controlled not just in magnitude, but in direction during the forging process. In order to compare fairly the difference between the R1 LE and CBR wheels, one would need to know the moments of inertia for each wheel and see which is lower. KJ

Originally posted by K.J. Total wheel weight is not the only metric that decides performance. Total weight does affect bike weight and more importantly unsprung weight. However, it is not only the total weight that matters for a wheel, but how that weight is distributed. For example, a standard cast wheel typically has more mass far away from the center than say a wheel made from carbon fiber. Hence, consider two wheels with identical total mass, but wheel A has most of its mass near its rotational axis. Wheel B has more of its mass near the rim. Therefore, wheel A will have a lower polar moment of inertia than wheel B. So, a bike with wheel A will accelerate and decelerate much more readily than one with wheel B. Wheels with lower polar moment of inertia provide better dynamic performance. Forged aluminum is not only stronger than most cast types, but its strength can be controlled not just in magnitude, but in direction during the forging process. In order to compare fairly the difference between the R1 LE and CBR wheels, one would need to know the moments of inertia for each wheel and see which is lower. KJ That is why I said the MoI is prolly different... No need to get defensive guys. I'm on your team. I just found the data "THEY" produced to be suprising, as I am sure you guys did. You can have to bikesw same type and build but chassis and engine can feel pretty different, which I base of comments J.Toye made regarding his CBR1k's dd