Yamaha R1 1000 GYTR R24 2024 — Specifications

Put your illusions aside, the road-going saga of the R1 is coming to an end. After a quarter of a century flirting with the white line, the sportbike from Iwata bows to the Euro5+ guillotine and, starting in 2025, shifts into a universe strictly reserved for the track. This 2024 vintage therefore represents the homologated swan song, and Yamaha takes the opportunity to unveil a version that clearly signals the direction of the future. The R1 GYTR R24 is no longer a road bike disguised as a track weapon, it's the reverse, openly assumed.

The GYTR acronym, for Genuine Yamaha Technology Racing, is a polite way of saying that the engineers opened the competition catalogue and helped themselves without restraint. The 998 cc Crossplane, with its 79 mm bore and short 50.9 mm stroke, retains its distinctive sonic signature. However, it is now treated to more aggressive camshafts, reworked intake funnels, a blanking plate that neutralises the AIS system, and an Akrapovic line whose Track Day pipe keeps the volume below the level permitted on circuit. The claimed 220 horsepower clearly exceeds the 200 of the standard bike, a cavalry that a GYTR ECU and its dedicated wiring harness aim to make exploitable in every phase of riding. A Windows interface cable and an emulator to bypass the ABS round out the package, all activated by a simple on/off switch.

What really justifies the 42,500 euros asked is the standard-fit Öhlins FGR 251 pressurised fork in Ø 43 mm, with 120 mm of travel. Let's say it straight away, we're talking top-shelf kit, a front end you typically encounter on World Superbike machinery in the paddock. The feel becomes surgical, the feedback allows the rider to place the bike to the millimetre on corner entry. The carbon front fender lightens the nose and adds a premium finish, while the Bridgestone R11 tyres in 120/70 and 190/55, the aviation-spec brake lines and the GYTR radial calipers on 320 mm discs sharpen the tone further still. The drivetrain runs through a 520-pitch racing chain and a 15/42 sprocket combination, enough to shorten the gearing for tight layouts.

Against the competition, the positioning is unique. The Ducati Panigale V4 R remains a homologated electronic monster, the BMW M1000RR plays the total engineering card, and the Aprilia RSV4 Factory seduces with its chassis maturity. The R1 GYTR R24 takes a different line. It cannot be registered in this state, it leaves the crate with a raw white fairing ready to receive paint and sponsor stickers, and it is sold only through a restricted network of Yamaha GYTR Pro Shops. The target audience is nothing like a Sunday rider. We're talking about the well-equipped gentleman rider, the French Cup competitor, the private team looking for a solid base for a national campaign.

The drawback is the budget. At 42,500 euros to start, not counting consumables, transport and additional preparation, you enter a segment where the entry ticket quickly climbs beyond a Panigale V4 SP2 or a CBR1000RR-R SP. Yamaha knows this, and indeed offers to climb higher still via its GYTR department, right up to full-blown Superbike level. For fans of lap times and organised track days, the R24 ticks every box. For those who still dreamed of taking their R1 up to the mountain pass on the weekend, this edition sounds the end of the game. The road, that was before.