If we were in a famous movie, someone would say “there will only be one left” commenting on the news of the forthcoming departure of the road version of one of the most iconic and striking sports bikes of the last 25 years: as happened in 2020 with the R6, the Yamaha YZF-R1 will be available from 2025 for track use only and no version will be developed or marketed that can exceed Euro 5+ homologation standards. The press release doesn’t mention it explicitly, but we obviously believe that it refers to both the R1 and the R1M, the even more refined and racing configuration equipped with electronically controlled suspension
In a press release, Yamaha Racing stresses that production of the bike globally will not stop: a road version for Europe simply won’t be produced, given the fact that riders’ tastes and choices are oriented towards other segments. However, the R1 continues to be developed in everything related to its suitability for circuit use, including the marketing of the GYTR and GYTR PRO parts, of which the wonderful R1 GYTR Pro 25th anniversary produced in a limited series is one of the highest, most refined and most effective manifestations.
The R1 will remain on the market wherever regulations allow, as has already happened with the other great absentee in Europe Suzuki GSX-R 1000, the United States in the lead which continues to be a kind of haven for sports bikes and where we also find many GSX-R 600s and even GSX-R 750s on sale.
The disappearance of the R1 from Yamaha’s list of European road bikes is – we imagine – the result of several circumstances: on the one hand, the volumes of the hypersport market are increasingly limited and motorcyclists prefer Crossovers or, at most, a Hypernaked bike for fun in the corners or on the circuit, bikes that now have a performance that has nothing to envy in terms of usability to the 1000/1100 cc sports bikes which, on the contrary, have become increasingly difficult to ride on the road where they cannot express their qualities. A major upgrade, the Euro 5+, is in this sense poorly justified from the point of view of the investment needed to achieve it and so, much to the chagrin of fans, the R1 remains from 2025 onwards confined to race tracks, even those in the World Superbike championship where the R1 won the title in 2021.