For almost 3 years I used my 2015 R1 as a commuter in Southern California. Other than a major repair bill very shortly after buying it where I had spun a bearing.

I am a bit older at 40, long commutes tended to be a bit uncomfortable. My average commute of around 25-30 minutes was no issues at all though.

It was legal to lane split/filter there though.

In the higher engine maps on the 2015 (before you were able to adjust the engine braking), the bike wouldn’t be fun at anything less than 55mph, anything above that was fine.


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Thanks, that's just what I wanted to hear! Did you find the high gearing on the R1 annoying? I suppose you wouldn't go out of first gear a lot...

 

Get the bike you want. You'll regret any other decision. I dont see a problem commuting with a r1...what the toughest part is knowing you have so much hp below you and no where to use it. Lol

 

Absolute truth!


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Hi Betalon, The day I picked up my R1 from the dealers was during Christmas holiday time ,had to ride it from Brisbane to home at the Sunshine Coast.Peak tourist traffic meant 90 km of max speeds of 60km/h In 30 degree heat.No fun at all,wrists and neck pain,engine temp soaring,constant clutch work.That was nearly 3 years ago ,still have the R1 and love it,but I only pleasure ride it.In your situation I would live my dream and buy the R1, but also buy something designed to commute , stretch your budget another 4-5 grand for the commuter and it will pay for itself with low running costs over a few years as clocking up lots of miles on an R1 costs heaps.

 

Thanks, fellas, that made the decision much easier. I still have my cruiser to commute if I have to due to cold or hot weather(but I don't want to because the economy sits around the 22L / 10.7mpg).

At the moment, I have two options to get one. The ones at the dealer are around $27k. Used ones with under 10k kms are around $22k (MY18,19). I understand there was a rework on the 2020MY; Is it worth saving a bit of money and going down the path to buy a good, low km used bike? I know myself, and it doesn't end at $27k driveaway; it will go straight to SC-Project in Perth for exhaust and flash, tail tidy etc., so there is still more money to be spent. Most used bikes here have all that done already.

 

I commute in LA in worst traffic on 17 R1M. 21,000 miles on the odometer. 75 miles a day. I ride both my 03 Gsxr1000 which has over 170,000 miles. Both bikes have aftermarket clip ons which relax the ride. Attack performance dynoed my bike which made it a million times better than stock. Also have the fan set to come on earlier to deal with So Cal heat.
ive ridden sport bikes since the 80’s with Gpz’s, Ninja’s. I love the way these bikes look and not so much the looks of the nakeds. Just bought new chain and sprockets. Went with 1 tooth bigger in rear on both bikes. Truth be told the Yammie lacks a lot of grunt off the line compared to gixxer.

 

I was stationed at MAFB while in the Air Force and loved being able to split traffic (riding the lane). It's not legal to do that in FL, but people don't know how to drive here and you'd be dead in no time anyways. Commuting on an R1M, I LOVE IT!!!!!

On a side note, 170k on a Geezer is impressive. How many valve adjustments does that equal?

 

It’s really only needed 3 adjustments. The last adjustment was at 100,000 miles.
It burns some oil. Around a quart every 1,000 miles . Kinda like what a Harley does new😂😂😂

 

I’m all for you getting your dream bike; I had the same dream and bought a ‘20 R1. It’s lived up to the dream and more. I just don’t think you’ll enjoy commuting on it in the conditions you described. Get your R1, but definitely keep your cruiser for commuting. BTW, I also have an MT-10 which is so much more at home on the street. Both will be cooking your lower half in those temps and slow moving traffic.

 

2016 R1M here. I don't commute in it and live in the greater Phx area. Just a weekender up to the mountains basically for me. I still wouldn't trade it for anything out there. Put a 1/2 Akropovic exhuast, removed the cat, and popped a fender eliminator on it. The bike is a dream. I would go for it.

 

It really depending on dealer. When my 2002R1 had transmission issue, dealer was so helpful. It also depending if the dealer know you, how you ride...Yamaha shipped a new transmission within couples weeks. That didn't fixed it. Dealer went back and far with Yamaha. I end up totaled in in the track and that was the end of it.

As much as I do not like the 2016R1, the worse compares other years R1 i owned, it is still quite comfortable. I would use it to commute if I have to.

 

I have about 15k miles on my 2020 R1 and I really couldn't be happier. Once i got a new seat for it! Uploaded pics will answer question pertaining to shitty roads whether or not she is a track bike.

I went about a half mile down a wash and decided to turn around only i spent a lil over an hour picking up the back tire and scooting it over about 10 degrees each time!

 

any motorcycle not a good commuter unless you live near the equator. weather get you all the time. i commute for years on a bicycle (illinois). worse is heavy cold rain; i have to pick and install the right rain gear, takes extra time and effort. pedaling bike makes you warm, but riding motorcycle can make you very cold.

there's a reason people use car to commute

 

Southern California sees like 12 inches of rainfall a YEAR…

I rode everyday for 2.5 years and got caught in the rain twice while commuting.

Humidity is the biggest factor there. A 35 degree morning in San Diego feels VERY different than 35 degrees in Washington DC.


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I am late to provide my opinion but here is mine. I am 57, short, a little porky at 200 when I should be 175-180 but my '17 completely changed with Heli-bars, I believe they are 1" higher and 1.65" further back. My other bikes in order from October 2019 after a 36 year layoff: Ninja 400, Ninja 1000SX, ZX14R, KLR650, Duke 690 and my current R1. I only have the ZX and the R1 now, I started trackdays on the ZX this year and then bought the R1 which is a 90/10 track/road bike and love the combination of these two.

The ZX while a bit heavier, wider and lower is much more comfortable around my mid-size college town simply due to the torque and effortless starts.

I would commute on my R1 but in my opinion it needs at least a -1, +2 or both and I will probably go +2 just for the limited around town rides I take. If it was my daily definitely a -1 and +2.

It's not a direct comparison but the Duke had much more torque and horsepower than my N400 but damn it lugged with the stock gearing. I went -1 and it helped a lot, if I had not traded it for the R1 I would definitely have gone +2.

My opinion is worth everything you paid for it LOL



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