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Zombie thread... I know, but I just had to say that I couldn't disagree more with the OP's overall review.
I just upgraded to a 2012 Yamaha R1 from a Suzuki SV1000 (Which I still have), and I absolutely love almost everything about this bike. I've never been so happy or filled with joy from any vehicle or purchase I've ever made in my life as I am with this thing. I'm not sure what kind of bike the OP is coming from prior to getting the R1, but I actually found the compression braking on this things to be very minimal compared to what I am used to... then again, I have very little experience with other inline-4's except for two or 3 occasions where I've ridden R6's that my friends had for a quick little rip around the block. I find the motor to be extremely smooth at all RPM's and the bike is amazingly intuitive to ride. I often go on 3 or 4 hour rides with no stops other than fuel fill-ups and there has been no vibration-related discomfort that I can report yet. The traction control system is also fantastic and does a great job of keeping things sorted out without being invasive... which so far has only really factored in with wheelie control. The clutch is a bit uneven with it's biting action from a complete standstill, but I've discovered that this is more noticeable when the bike is not yet fully warmed up and doesn't seem as bad after a few miles of riding. I'm no Valentino Rossi, but this thing is incredibly well balanced and I'm very impressed with how it handles despite it's chunky weight as listed on paper. I don't really notice the weight at all when riding or even when walking it backwards out of a parking spot. The fit and finish is marvelous and the exhaust note is absolutely mesmerizing. Riding on a crossplane R1 with Arkopovic pipes makes me feel like there is a NASCAR engine underneath the seat and it sounds orgasmic at all RPMs. The motor is just as happy at 3000 RPM's as it is at 10K and the power delivery is very linear up until 8 or 9K where it really starts to kick you in the a$$ and come alive.
My biggest complaint on this bike is the heat from the exhaust (I knew about and expected this going in based on research) and one very specific issue that I have with the headlights. I do a ton of night riding and the headlights are fine when riding on typical roads at night, but they are absolutely terrible when taking highway on and off-ramps at heavy lean angles or other very long and sharp, sweeping corners. The crisp and sharp cutoff line of the headlight beams is fine when upgright but points almost directly to the ground when you are in a lean and you can see almost nothing more than 8 to 10 feet in front of you until you start to return to the upright position. High beams don't even seem to help that much either with this problem. This worries me in particular when riding in areas that I'm not that familiar with because I may not know that there is a pothole or manhole cover coming up in the middle of the ramp, or the possibility that there could be some animal hanging out on the road on the ramp or road debris that won't be seen until it's too late.
Other than that... I wish I had more hands, so I could give this bike 3 thumbs up!
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Originally Posted by boosten lebaron
