RoadCarver Motorcycle Reviews
Yamaha R7 Review
Seven Heaven.
At the end of 2000 Yamaha pulled their sublime pairing of Noriyuki Haga and the R7 superbike out of the World Superbike Championship. Haga stepped up to the 500 GPs and the R7 was left to handle domestic series like the Japanese and British Superbike championships. Ever since I first saw the Yamaha R7 I knew I would do almost anything to get a ride on it. As I am not a professional racer I’m never going to get offered a contract to ride one in the British Superbike championship so I was forced to get on the phone to Devil Contracts Inc. to ask if my soul was worth enough for a ride on an R7.
Some while later, with the help of the Beelzebub himself, Yamaha UK’s press officer, I became one of the first mere mortals ever to ride the R7 superbike both on the road and on the track.
The Yamaha R7 OW-O2 has just one purpose in life, to win races. It might be in the Yamaha catalogue with lights and road gear but these have only been added to gain homologate the bike within F.I.M. regulations. Only 500 are being made making it one of the rarest production bikes ever to leave a Japanese factory, and nearly every one of them will end up being raced.
The R7 is fuel injected but without any ram air ducting. The engine bristles with racer-tech, including ultra-strong, ultra-light short-skirt forged pistons, with plated crowns, 24 titanium valves, an ion-nitrified crankshaft and ‘H’ section titanium con-rods.
The wet multi-plate clutch features a back torque limiter to prevent to prevent lock up during aggressive down-changes. The tri-axis gearbox is a six-speed close-ratio racing set up. Yamaha claim to have based the R7 chassis as closely as possible to the two-stroke GP bike’s own chassis.
On the road
I had a brief ride on the 105bhp road legal version before the track test. To say my appetite was whetted would be an understatement. The bike was faster than a ‘restricted’ bike should be and pulled hard in any gear at any speed, like a tourer. The handling was sublime, though a little hard for the bumpy country road we were riding on. Even without a damper and on brand-new road tires the bike felt very stable. I came away from my few miles aboard the standard bike thinking one thing: Get me on the race version, now!
On the Track
If I thought the standard road version was good, what would I make of Virgin Yamahas British Superbike version? In the paddock, as the mechanic warmed up the multi-thousand pound machine, my knees must have been visibly knocking. Was I capable of doing this bike justice? As the mechanic peeled off the tyre warmers I realised I was about to find out.
Out on the track I had to take it easy for a few laps, partly to get some more heat into the tyres but mainly because I was feeling light headed at my good fortune. Was I really riding this fantastic motorcycle or was I dreaming? The bike was just so easy to get around the corners. My skills, or more likely my courage, ran out long before the R7 was out of tricks.
Whatever lean angle I achieved it seemed to laugh at me and dare me to lean five more degrees. No matter how hard I used the incredible race-specification brakes the bike stayed absolutely stable and just stopped. Into or out of corners the bike was ready with just as much traction as I wanted. Even trailing the brakes clumsily into a tightening right hander after missing my braking point didn’t threaten any drama. The bike just shed speed and stayed firmly on line.
The engine on the R7 is an absolute gem. Just the intake sound it makes at lower revs made it worth signing that contract with Old Nick. Then, when the revs build - and they build fast, it starts screaming at you - I think it was saying “I’m faster than you, I’m faster than you...”
The motor happily picked up from as low as 3,000rpm and screamed it’s way onto the rev-limiter at 14,800 like a demented rocket. The surge of power is relentless with just a small step at around 8,000rpm, no doubt there to warn you that things are about to go mental. The only thing more impressive than its speed was its tractability. Mr Miwa San, designer of this engine, you are a genius and Mr Honda wants a word with you. The Devil, on the other hand, wants a word with me. Gulp!
YZF-R7 OW02 Technical Specifications (road version)
ENGINE
Type Liquid-cooled forward inclined, in-line 4-cylinder 4-stroke
DOHC 5-valve
Displacement 749cc
Bore & Stroke 72mm x 46mm
Compression ratio 11.4:1
Maximum power 106 bhp (78.1 kW) @ 11,000 rpm
Maximum torque 7.36 kg-m (72.1 Nm) @ 9,000 rpm
Starting system Electric
Lubrication Wet sump
Carburation Dual Electronic Fuel Injection, two injectors per cylinder
Primary reduction ratio 1.872
Secondary reduction ratio 2.529
Clutch type Wet, multiple disc with back-torque limiter
Transmission type Stacked 3-axis transmission, constant mesh 6-speed
Gear ratio 1st 2.235
Gear ratio 2nd 1.895
Gear ratio 3rd 1.667
Gear ratio 4th 1.435
Gear ratio 5th 1.292
Gear ratio 6th 1.174
Final transmission Chain
Generator Rare earth metal type
CHASSIS
Overall length 2060mm
Overall width 720mm
Overall height 1125mm
Seat height 840mm
Wheelbase 1400mm
Min. ground clearance 120mm
Dry weight 176kg
Frame type Aluminium Deltabox II
Caster angle 22.8°
Trail 95mm
Fuel tank capacity 24 litre aluminium tank with internal pump
Front suspension 43mm Öhlins upside-
down fully adjustable telescopic forks
Rear suspension Monocross system with extra-long GP-type box-section aluminium swinging arm and fully-adjustable piggyback-type Öhlins
shock absorber
Front wheel 17xMT3.50
Front wheel travel 120mm
Rear wheel 17xMT6.00
Rear wheel travel 138mm
Front brake Dual 320mm floating discs with lightweight R1-type one-piece 4-piston calipers
Rear brake Single disc, 245mm diameter
Front tyre 120/70-ZR17
Reviewed by : Glen Le Santo
