Yamaha YZR-M1

The Yamaha YZR-M1 is an 800cc motorcycle specifically developed bi Yamaha Motor Company tae race in the current MotoGP series. It succeedit the 500cc YZR500 bi the 2002 saison an wis oreeginally developed wi a 990cc ingine. Syne then, the YZR-M1 haes been continuously developed intae several iterations.

2002 – 2003

2002 wis the first saison which allowed 990 cc 4-strokes tae be raced alangside 500 cc 2-strokes. In a chynge frae thair V-4 YZR500, Yamaha designed the YZR-M1 (for "Mission Ane") wi an inline-4 ingine, in order tae hae a langer swingairm an shorter wheelbase. An aa, Yamaha wantit tae preserve the superior haundlin o the YZR500, sae the M1's ingine wis designed tae fit in a chassis seemilar tae the YZR500's. The M1 wis ootfittit wi an electronic ingine management seestem that controlled the ingine brakin endemic tae 4-strokes.

The M1 wis test-ridden an developed bi Max Biaggi, John Kocinski, Norihiko Fujiwara an Kyoji Namba throughoot 2001. It wis raced in the 2002 saison bi Biaggi an Carlos Checa on the factory team, an towards the end o the saison M1s wur an aa providit tae Norifumi Abe, Olivier Jacque an Shinya Nakano. In 2003, the ingine went frae carburetion tae fuel injection, an the Ingine Management Seestem wis changed tae the Idle Control Seestem.

Biaggi achieved 2 wins in 2002, an placed seicont in the feenal staundins as did Yamaha in the manufacturer's championship. In 2003, M1 riders wur Checa, Alex Barros, Olivier Jacque, Marco Melandri, Shinya Nakano an Norifumi Abe, an thare wur no wins an Yamaha came in third in the manufacturer's championship.

2004/2005

Valentino Rossi signed a twa-year contract wi Yamaha, reportedly worth in excess o USD$6 million per saison, in a muive that wis describit bi the press as "biting off more than he could chew". It wis widely felt nae anly bi his critics an media pundits, but an aa bi mony fans, that even he wad nae be able tae bring the strugglin YZR-M1 up tae the level o the hereto aw conquering Honda RC211V. A well publicised increase in the pace o development o the Honda machine ower the winter saison fuelled expectation that a Honda RC211V in the haunds o riders the calibre o Max Biaggi an Sete Gibernau wad hae na problem in retainin the Warld Title for Honda.

Meanwhile, Rossi wisna the anly defection Honda haed tae contend wi; Jeremy Burgess (crew chief for Rossi at Honda), alang wi the majority o his lang established crew, wur convinced bi Rossi tae join him at Yamaha. This wis a shrewd muive, an wis citit bi Rossi in his autobiography as bein instrumental in providin him wi the strang basis necessary for launchin an attack on the Championship wi the YZR-M1.

Durin 2003/2004 winter testin, Yamaha stepped up tae the plate bi pullin oot aw the staps in thair collaboration wi Rossi an Burgess. Throu a seestematic regime o innovation an testin, thay soucht tae refine the M1's tradeetionally strang traits sic as guid brakin an quick handlin (which impressed Rossi), an mairy them wi guid balance an transeetion tae pouer. Wirkin closely wi Rossi an Burgess, Yamaha engineers unner YZR-M1 project leader Koichi Tsuji experimented wi a nummer o ingine modifications in an attempt tae fix the pouer delivery, an feenally it wis decidit tae gang ahead wi a fower valve per cylinder heid configuration (as opposed tae the earlier five valve heid), wi a specially refined cylinder firin order. This turned the straicht fower cylinder ingine frae a tradeetional "screamer", whaur the pouer pulses ar spaced equally (every 180 crank degrees) in the fower stroke cycle, intae a sae cried "lang bang" ingine whaur the pouer pulses ar grouped unevenly athort the cycle (270-180-90-180). This firin order mimics that o a V4 ingine while maintainin the desirable ingine packaging o a tradeetional inline fower cylinder. Thir developments significantly improved the torque characteristics o the ingine, an coupled wi slicht chynges tae the poseetion o the ingine in the chassis, made the M1 much easier tae control at the leemit o adhesion while exitin corners. Efter a frantic winter o development an testin, the team shawed the warld that thay haed made a significant step in the richt direction, when Rossi an the M1 wan the BMW car at the 2004 pre saison IRTA test at Catalunya, bi postin the fastest lap o the open session (seemilar tae normal race qualifyin).

Wi the tradeetional first race o the saison at Suzuka aff the leet due tae safety considerations, the 2004 saison stairtit at Welkom in Sooth Africae. In a quite remarkable race, Rossi came throu tae claim the victory, nae anly silencin his critics, but acomin the first man in heestory tae win twa GPs back tae back wi twa different manufacturers. Rossi wad gang on tae claim 8 mair GP wins on his wye tae win the 2004 Championship, wi a tally o 304 pynts. Honda riders Sete Gibernau an Max Biaggi teuk seicont an third wi 257 an 217 pynts respectively.

The 2004 saison wad tharefore unfauld tae gie Rossi the opportunity he haed soucht; tae prove that it wis his talent rather than juist the bike that haed wan him his championships. In sae doin, he an aa achieved ane o the great coups in the heestory o Motorcycle Racin.

The YZR-M1 an Rossi partnership continued tae dominate in 2005, when the Championship wis wan bi a massive 147 pynt margin ower Honda rider Marco Melandri in seicont place. The 2005 M1 wis hailed bi insiders tae be a great race bike, it illustrated that Yamaha wi input frae Rossi haed creatit a race bike tae beat the ithers quite easily. Rossi wad gang on later tae say that the 2005 M1 wis the greatest bike he haes ever ridden.

2006

Valentino Rossi's 2006 Yamaha YZR-M1

The 2006 saison proved a wee mair problematic for Yamaha, wi the M1 sufferin frae chatter frae the very first race o the year. It wad be a recurrin problem for aw Yamaha riders in the first third o the saison, an wis thoucht tae be a function o three major winter saison developments; namely a signeeficant hike in ingine pouer, a new stiffer chassis an a new construction o Michelin tyre wi an even stickier compound an revised profile. Acause aw three developments occurred almaist simultaneously, the uisual meticulous testin o ane development at a time wis compromised an it wad tak much o the early saison tae unnerstaund an owercome the problems.

This setback for Yamaha an the YZR-M1 wis lairgely responsible for Valentino Rossi's mediocre saison stairt in 2006, manifest bi poor qualifyin performances an a brace o misluck, he an aa suffered a wrist injury mid saison, which addit tae his woes. In the feenal third o a memorable saison, the M1's problems wur virtually eradicatit, an Valentino Rossi turned in a string o performances that wad close doun a lairge pynts gap on Championship leader Nicky Hayden aboard the Honda RC211V. It wis anly in the feenal race o the saison that the M1 an Valentino Rossi war beaten bi juist five pynts an Yamaha relinquished the Championship back tae Honda in the haunds o Nicky Hayden, who anly wan twa races that saison. Hayden wad later state that Rossi deserved tae be champion, but luck an DNF'S cost him the championship. Valentino Rossi wad win 5 races in 2006 tae Nicky Hayden's 2, a fact that wis well played durin the aff saison.

2007

Regulations again changed for the 2007 saison wi the capacity o MotoGP machines reduced tae 800 cc in an effort bi the FIM tae reduce the ever increasin speeds o the 990 cc bikes (capable o well in excess o 210 mph (340 km/h)); tharefore the YZR-M1 wad continue in 2007 in 800 cc fairm. In post-2006 an in 2007 pre-saison testin, the new 800 cc equipped YZR-M1 (alang wi ither 800 cc MotoGP bikes) haes been paradoxically quicker straucht oot o the box than the 990 cc version o the M1. This is bi virtue o later, harder brakin, quicker haundlin, heicher corner speeds, an mair controllable traction, an as the 2007 saison got unner wye, the 800 cc YZR-M1 wis expectit tae get quicker as its development continued.

The chatter that plagued the early 2006 YZR-M1 haes been eliminatit in the switch tae 800 cc. While the Main sponsor for the Offeecial Factory Yamaha Team haes switched frae Camel wi thair distinctive yellae an blue livery, tae that o The Italian Motor Manufacturer Fiat. The team will run ineetially in a blue an white colour scheme an haes hinted at the unusual intention o runnin a variety o colour schemes throughoot the saison.

2008

The 2008 YZR-M1 wis regardit as the best aw roond bike in MotoGP. Rossi wan the 2008 Championship bi a record margin an dominated podium feenishes aw saison. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo managed a first ever Rookie win on the M1 at the Portuguese GP an haed 6 podium finishes. Mony alang wi Rossi hae said that the YZR-M1 wis the best bike o 2008 season, something that wis well proven durin the heatit battles Rossi haed wi Casey Stoner on the Ducati.

Successes

5 Warld Championships wan:
Valentino Rossi in 2004, 2005, 2008 an 2009
Jorge Lorenzo in 2010

62 races won:
2002 Biaggi 2
2004 Rossi 9
2005 Rossi 11
2006 Rossi 5
2007 Rossi 4
2008 Rossi 9, Lorenzo 1
2009 Rossi 6, Lorenzo 4
2010 Lorenzo 9, Rossi 2

Specifications

Yamaha YZR-M1 (2010) Specifications
Ingine
Ingine type:	Liquid-cooled, in-line, 4-cylinder, 2-stroke wi 16-valve DOHC
Displacement:	800 cc
Igneetion:	Magneti Marelli wi adjustable mapping - NGK spark plugs
Fuel Seestem:	Fuel injection
Lubrication seestem:	Wet sump - Motul Oils
Data recordin:	2D
Maximum pouer:	Aroond 147 kW (200 bhp)
Maximum speed:	In excess o 360 km/h (220.1mph)
Transmission
Type:	6-speed cassette-teep gearbox, wi alternative gear ratios available
Primary drive:	Gear
Clutch:	Dry multi-plate slipper clutch
Feenal drive:	Chain
Chassis an running gear
Frame type:	Twin-tube aluminium delta box frame, multi-adjustable steering geometry, wheelbase, ride heicht, wi aluminium swingarm
Front suspension:	Fully-adjustable Öhlins inverted telescopic forks
Rear suspension:	Braced aluminium swingarm wi single Öhlins shock an rising-rate linkage
Front/rear wheels:	16.5 inch front, 16.5 inch rear, available in a variety o rim widths
Front/rear tyres:	Bridgestone slicks, intermediates, wets or haund-cut tyres. 16.5 inch front, 16.5 inch rear
Front brake:	Twin 320 mm carbon discs wi radial mounted fower-piston Brembo calipers
Rear Brake:	Single 220 mm ventilated stainless steel disc wi twin-piston Brembo caliper
Wicht:	148 kg, in accordance wi FIM regulations
Fuel capacity:	21 litres, in accordance wi FIM regulations

Freemit airtins

• The current YZR-M1 Archived 2008-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
• Yamaha Explains Uise o Carburettors on M1
• Yamaha Spills the Beans on YZR-M1 GP Racer