A tractor, a lumpy four stroke race engine, and a Bulgarian javelin thrower with a cold. What do they have in common? Well not much really but if you combine them you get a rather unattractive slow moving mechanical she-man. Not something you’d want to wake up in bed with after a drunken night at the local club. Anyway…

What this unusual combination would create is a very cool sound. This is what the 2009 Yamaha R1 sounds like. You start the R1 and for a brief second you think you’re on a tractor as the engine thumps away with its unusual lumpy idle. As you move away it goes through a period of javelin thrower cough sounds then coverts into an incredible sounding wail that must be truly incredible with race pipes. This sound left me pondering the bigger picture.

What’s the most important aspect of superbike design? I used to think it was power and handling; not anymore. As much as it shames me to say it, I believe it’s actually styling and sound and maybe not even in that order. Now don’t panic I haven’t lost my mind. It’s just that all superbikes handle and go better than any mortal human can deal with so it’s the uniqueness that separates them now. This is probably the first Superbike review that focuses mainly on sound…



Here’s my point. Ducati for many years have made the best sounding and sexiest looking superbikes. This has helped make them massively desirable. In recent years Japanese bikes started to give them a run for their money in the styling department but they still fall miles behind in the aural excitement area. Not any longer. Yamaha’s cross plane crank for all its high tech power delivery has given them something they probably didn’t even think they needed. Cool.