yamaha R1 heavy bikes

Yamaha’s headline feature for the updated for 2012 YZF-R1 is a new traction control suite. Yamaha have already used traction on their Super Tenere adventure-touring machine but the updated R1 is the tuning fork brand’s first foray into Superbike-level traction control. And they’ve gazumped the field at their first outing with the six-stage system more intuitive and progressive than anything else on the market. It is overwhelmingly smoother than the system used by BMW’s S 1000 RR and also more efficient than Aprilia’s or Kawasaki’s latest efforts - and of course with four-cylinders rather than two, it is always going to be smoother than Ducati’s, the pioneers of road going sportsbike traction control, DTC system.

At a very wet private road circuit north of Sydney we rode the R1 in pouring rain. Not the best conditions to test the outright speed of the bike, but fantastic for getting a good feel of the traction control system.

On standard Dunlop Sportmax Qualifier II rubber and a maximum setting, the traction control was so responsive the slip was imperceptible, other than the flashing light on the dash, which also illuminates when wheelie countermeasures are deployed from the R1’s now comprehensive electronics suite. It was definitely getting a workout, with the light blipping away as the digital speedometer was showing speeds in excess of 200km/h on the straights, such was the level of constant precipitation.

Reducing the traction control to level four from the maximum of six, deactivates the anti-wheelie component of the system while enlarging the parameters of allowable slip. The difference was immediately noticeable.

At one particular part of the loop where I had found it was most easy to get some slip and wheelie happening, without requiring extra-large doses of testicular fortitude, on level six the light would flash and the slip was imperceptible before the front started lifting and the wheelie control also activated. At the same point of the circuit on level four, the back slipped ever so slightly before being reigned under control in an incredibly smooth fashion, permitting the R1 to rear its head on exit.

Such were the conditions that I only briefly experimented with the traction control at a reduced level, and that was only for scientific purposes as, in the conditions, level four was simply brilliant and was where I felt most comfortable. I revelled in the smoothly controlled rear wheel slip while also enjoying the deactivation of the wheelie control system. For those of you who are thinking well Trev, that’s because you ride like an old woman, which is somewhat correct, I should mention that 2010 FX Supersport Champion Rick Olson went out on an R1 shod with wet-weather racing tyres and only briefly went down as low as traction control level one before also settling on level four as best for the conditions. Then to back that up, two-time Isle of Man TT winner Cam Donald came in from a session on wets and also stated that he favoured level four in the conditions. So there…

In dry conditions level four will be too intrusive for most experienced riders but for riders just graduating to the ferocity of an open class sportsbike the value in the features of the system can’t be overstated. The traction control modes and three variable engine power maps are all selectable on the fly. An electronically controlled steering damper also features.