Just spoke with a friend from Yamaha who is test riding the NEW R1M in Japan. He would not say anything more, but not sure if its coming in 2016. Not happy abput that at all. I guess they didnt play all their cards.
That is not true. Electronically controlled suspension is fully allowed in FIM Superbike, Supersport, Superstock as well as Endurance, but only if the electronically controlled suspension is OEM equipment in the particular motorcycle model discussed. Aftermarket or prototype electronically controlled suspension is not allowed.No sanctioning body allow electronic suspension for racing
There you have it....You can't compare the stock M suspension to the stock base suspension. Racers aren't taking the M suspension off and replacing with base model. They are taking M suspension off and replacing it with better internals and adjustable rear with better internals. Also, I don't consider any bike that hasn't had suspension work done "fully race prepped"I was on the local club racing forum a month or two ago, and I was shocked to see a '15 R1, fully race prepped, in the for sale section. Was being sold by a pretty fast local racer, too. I asked around why he was selling it, and I found out that there were at that time three '15 R1s racing locally--two Ms and his base model. He was selling his completely setup base model--and taking a huge loss in the process--in order to get on an M like the other two guys.
I know we're not talking about high-level pros here, and I know it's a small sample size, but I thought it was an interesting anecdote to add to the discussion.
Personally, I didn't buy the M (for a track bike) for many of the reasons mentioned here: I didn't want to pay for carbon bodywork that was going to come off immediately, I already have a datalogger that works well enough for me, and I didn't like the idea of suspension that wouldn't be consistent on the track (figured I'd just upgrade to TTX and carts down the road). Hearing about the local racer feeling he was at a competitive disadvantage on the base model was eye-opening, although his bike was on stock suspension.
It's my understanding that Haga helped develop the mechatronic system in WSBK with Yamaha in '07 or so, and Rossi used it to win the '08 title before it was banned in GP. With the right internals, it must work quite well.