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Congrats on your purchase. Its great that you are using full gear. Keep it up.

One thing I don't understand is why do you need to keep it in 2nd gear when you are traveling 100+ kmph. What kind of RPMs are running? I ride a honda cbr 600rr and the manual recommends the following shift pattern.
From 1st to 2nd: 12 mph (20 km/h)
From 2nd to 3rd: 19 mph (30 km/h)
From 3rd to 4th: 25 mph (40 km/h)
From 4th to 5th: 31 mph (50 km/h)
From 5th to 6th: 37 mph (60 km/h)

I understand that if you follow this you will never cross 4K rpm. After 2 years of riding it, I personally don't follow that exactly. A supersport (600cc) is supposed to be a low torque high revving engine. But an R1 has high torque at lower rpm itself eliminating the need to rev it high. For the learning period, I recommend you to keep an eye on the tachometer as well along with the speedometer and do not cross a specific RPM (say 8K) till you get very comfortable with the bike. I know you will miss out some of the fun by not revving it so high. I prefer safety to fun. Also as shown in the following dyno chart the peak torque is at 9.5K RPM and the torque actually reduces after that.

2007 Yamaha Yzf R1 Dyno Copy Photo 179

Have fun.

Looks like I was listening to the wrong people. I was told that as long as I did not redline the bike and none of the dials lit up or the engine overheated I was fine. Thanks a ton for letting me know this as well, since I am sure that I was in the high range for rpm. Will keep it within 6k for the next month or so as I gain more experience

Also unlike my lower cc bike the engine which screams like a banshee if I rev it too hard at the lower gears, the R1 never complained so i did not realize my mistake. But guess all this part of the learning experience so will take it as such

First of all congrats on purchasing this beauty , She is truly a goddess, Your searching and analyzing the bikes market has certainly paid off ,She will bring grin to your face , evertime you ride it

What was the final price you bought it for?
Also what's the mileage done on it and did you get the bike checked before purchase ?


Cheers and ride safe.

I paid a little in excess of 9+ since it was a low mileage bike, only done 6k and decently maintained except for a few minor scratches. The bike was already well maintained and the owner was candid about what needed to be done, so couple of things include a brake overhaul and the usual maintenance which will be done by the end of this month.

Congrats mate on bringing the new babe home As cbr600 said The R1 can actually do 120 in 6th gear something like you do on your 220, It will take time for you to get accustomed to the riding position, but remember the right wrist has to be controlled very well.

congratulations on your purchase, its a great bike the R1
I think CBR600 already commented on the gear changes and if you were ridding 1st & 2nd only, it needs to change, take you time understanding the bike, go thru all gear changes.... even if you are at low speeds....giving it gas in different gears... it will give you an idea of how the bike behaves in different gears .... I would be a little concerned doing 180kms/hr before you get used to the bike. Things can change drastically at those speeds. Even simple change of direction on a superbike is different from the feel of a P220. I am happy that you already understand that....this bike needs a lot of respect.
The bike actually has very good grip and if you feel that it was lacking grip then please have the tyres checked, and keep checking your tyre pressure ... you will be amazed that it can make a big difference.
The turning radius is very small on the big bikes and so it seems like a nightmare but you will get used to it.
you right about having new gear and not feeling very comfortable for the first time. A lot of the gear takes a while before you get used to it and for it to take shape of your body. I am sure it will sound funny but whenever I get some new gear I wear it at home for about 10-15 mins a few time....I know you are laughing but it helps.
Hope you enjoy the rides as time goes by.

After the lessons learnt on my 1^st ride, on my 2^nd ride I decided to use all the gears, maintain the RPM within the 4-6k range and drive only in the mornings especially on the Gurgaon expressway which is close to my place. So I take the bike out and drive out till the Manesar toll booth (it’s mostly a straight road for about 20-25 kms), once I reached the toll booth, I had to take a U-turn and return home for a good day, but the bike stops at the U-turn. I assume that I haven’t given enough power on 1^st, but the bike was no longer starting. I assume maybe I had overheated the bike and decide to let it cool, but the temp guage was only in the 80’s so am starting to get a bit worried. 2 rides and is this bike already a lemon. 20 mins later and the bike still won’t start, the lights all come on and the fuel pump engages, but no start and I am in full blown panic mode.
Stuck on the highway, nearly 25 kms from my house at 6 am in the morning with a bike that weight just short of 2 tons. My prospects weren’t looking so good. I decided that the bike needed to firstly get parked somewhere, so luckily saw a hotel on the service road which even more fortuitously had a locked underground parking. My fervent request to the hotel staff that this is a expensive bike which cant be parked out on the roads seemed to finally melt their hearts and they let me roll the bike into their parking.
Now I starting making phone calls, first to the owner, then to a SBK mechanic he had given me the no. for, lastly to my friends. But at 6:15 on a cold delhi morning, the world seemed to be in consensus that I needed to be ignored. Finally decide that there was no point in waiting any longer and since the bike seemed to be parked in a safe enough place, I decided to head home, so at 7 in the morning sitting in a shared auto wearing full riding gear I definitely looked out of place.
Finally at 10, I get an opportunity to talk to the previous owner and the SBK mechanic, both of whom are in consensus that it is most probably the battery and the electricals based on my description of the problem (google search had also revealed the same cause). The SBK mechanic who has a full time job suggested that I remove the battery and give it to him for charging in the evening, so a quick lesson in removing the battery from youtube and I proceed with removing the battery and taking it to the mechanic. When I finally met him in the evening and showed him the battery, I am in for my 1^st shock of the day – the battery is not for a R1, it’s an ordinary Exide battery, someone had switched the original for a duplicate which did not even fit in the slot (When I had removed the battery I had wondered why there had been a lot of thermocol padding, but since I had never seen a R1 battery I did not think much of it). The SBK mechanic proceeded to show me the damage that a ZMA battery in a BUSA had done (he had the starter relay, the battery and ECU for a Busa, where the owner had used a ZMA battery in an emergency situation). Now I was furious, while the owner denied all knowledge and blamed this on the 1^st owner (I would be wary of any dealing with him going forward), I knew I was to blame as well. The 1^st rule after buying a used vehicle is to take it in for servicing. But since the vehicle had been working well I hadn’t thought too much of it…..BAD IDEA
We decided that he would try charging it overnight and if it got charged then we would use it to atleast bring the bike back to my place. But the next morning the news only got worser, the battery was a goner and was refusing to charge as well. So here I was stuck with a bike parked somewhere and no options, frantic calls to Mahalakshmi, KRP and Delhi Scooters and I kept drawing all blanks. The only one who said they sell the battery was KRP and they said they had sold the last 2 the previous day and were expecting the next order in 10 days. I even called up Planet DSG and asked them if they could send one overnight, but no luck. Just when I thought my luck had run out and I called up various tempo services to tow the vehicle back home, I got a call from KRP saying that since mine was an emergency situation, they had repurchased one of the batteries they had sold the previous day back. (since the other person didn’t mind waiting for the next batch). Thanking my stars I went to KRP and waited with baited breath for the next morning. My worst fear was that the faulty battery earlier may have damaged any of the other electrical systems

Multiple viewings of the battery assembly and disassembly on youtube and I was ready to fix my bike and magically after 3 days of heartache and pain, the beast roared back to life. After profusely thanking and apologizing to the hotel staff (thanking them for keeping the bike and apologizing since the noise of the bike in an underground parking lot had woken up more than one guest ), I brought the beast back home

Lessons Learnt:
Always, Always, ALWAYS have a SBK mechanic’s no in the back of your pocket or stored on your phone.
Learn the art of simple fixes, and even more importantly get comfortable with your bike. Superbikes are finicky creatures and one really needs to understand their nuances to get accustomed to them. So getting your hands dirty will be sometime cheaper and more useful for longer rides
When purchasing a pre-worshipped beast, always, always do a full service, would cost you a bit, but would save you a lot of heartache in the long run like in my case. (Visual inspection and even running the bike had been misleading in my case, worse still even experienced riders would never know that the battery had been switched unless we opened the bike up) (Will update this to my earlier thread as well)
MOST IMPORTANT, never lose your cool when the bike stops, while a million thoughts were running through my head, my decision to first find a good parking place seems like the right decision. Cause it gave me the time and more importantly the peace of mind to figure everything else out

Below are the pics of the thermocol padding (I had taken this during initial disassembly so I would remember the exact placement of everything when I put things back, the pic is blurry but the shiny part is the thermocol), the difference in the size of the battery that was in there and the original battery can be noted in the next couple of pics. Finally on a lighter side, since my bike was parked miles away, I had to console myself by looking at my model for atleast 3 days

All is well that ends well. I told you KRP will help you in all possible ways. Both the brothers there are helpful. I would say get the servicing done from them now.

Yup! Appointment booked with them only

Hi, Sandman....i can so much relate to your post. Having entered the sbk scene some 7-8 years back when these were even more rare a specie than they are today, i have had my share of anxiety when i kept moving up the cc ladder and having to get stuck at the oddest place with " god knows what is wrong with the bike" . In your case since the fuel pump was priming and lights were working you could have tried to jump start the bike, even when i bought my first sbk it came with a battery straight out of a UPS. My suggestion to you is ride your bike in your local neighborhood before you start moving to the highways, this would not only bring out the hidden "gremlins" in the bike but also get you used to the bike...

congrats for your R1....side safe.

Congratulations Sandman ! Ride safe !

The funny part is the highway is part of my local neighbourhood So it is very tempting since it is easier to drive the bike in a straight line. You tend to get a false sense of confidence. Over the last two days however I have switched to rounds around my neighbourhood, which has been a real nightmare and leaves the engine in the high 90's on account of the insane amount of speedbreakers, vehicles which are travelling even at odd times of the day, and most of all by stray dogs. For some reason every dog in a 5 mile radius seems to sense my bike and decides to chase it and since I drive slower now, due to the insane twists every 50 yards, with roads not being tarmac, a lot of them catch up as well. But the one advice that I have received constantly is to keep driving so thats what I am doing

By the way, one of the issues I seem to be facing is that the clutch and brake levers are too far away, for some reasons it seems either my hands are too small compared to the factory conditions or it is my riding style. Is there a way to remedy these or are a new set of adjustable levers my only option?