Post Sale Update: This R1 sold for $6,550 after 11 bids on eBay.
The Yamaha R1 took the sportbike world by storm in 1998, finally taking the Fireblade down as reigning king of supersport motorcycles. Yamaha’s creation ended up becoming a class-defining motorcycle that still is produced to this day.
The basic specifications are 150 horsepower, 419 pound dry weight, and a 2.96 second 0-60 time, per MCN. Those are all impressive numbers, but the design of the drivetrain is what made it all possible. Yamaha was able to make the drivetrain much smaller by vertically stacking the transmission shafts. Further space was saved by putting the water pump inside the engine cases (just hope it doesn’t fail or you’ll have a hell of a time replacing it). The packaging let Yamaha shorten the wheelbase and still lengthen the swingarm. It felt like a 600cc bike, but it had 1,000cc power. For more on the R1 and what made it special, check out this article on Sport Rider. Or for a buying guide geared towards used R1s (with notes like it’s “getting hard to find a clean one.”), check out this article on Motorcyclist magazine.
This example (VIN: jyarn02e4wa000504) has just under 10,000 miles and while the seller notes that it isn’t perfect, he feels quite confident about it: “Is it super clean and probably the nicest one for sale in the country today? Yes.” Everything is said to work but there are a couple of modifications that were popular when this bike was new, including a tail tidy and flush mounted turn signals. The seller estimates that for $300 you could basically have this back to stock. There’s only one noteworthy cosmetic flaw – a small paint crack on the left side of the tank. The bike has an Ohlins steering damper and it comes with a few sweet accessories: a large poster used in dealerships, a sales brochure, and the OEM seat cowl. The seller was a Yamaha dealer for approximately 20 years.
Find this R1 for sale in North Richland Hills, Texas with bidding up to $6,300