Classic Motorcycle TV Ep3 Evolution of the Yamaha R1 in 10 bikes

In 1998 the Yamaha R1 lifted the bar that defined what a road bike should be. However, the roll call of bikes produced by Yamaha through the 1970's was in no way a pointer to the arrival of the R1. You could say that up until 1981 Yamaha's street bikes were in the main, pretty ordinary. Then it changed, first with the two stroke bikes, then in 1985 the four stroke catalogue. 14 years later Yamaha delivered the iconic R1. In this episode of Classic Motorcycle TV, we casually (and slightly opinionated) trace the evolution of the R1 from the RD250LC of 1981 to the R1 of 1998. Bikes in order of appearance:
1981 Yamaha RD250LC
1984 Yamaha RZ250 34J
1986 Yamaha RZ250 1XH
1984 Yamaha RZ500 (with a cameo appearance from our 1974 Kawasaki Mach 3)
1985 Yamaha FZ750
1987 Yamaha FZR1000
1995 Yamaha FZR1000
1994 Yamaha YZF750
1999 Yamaha YZF1000 Thunderace
1999 Yamaha YZF1000 R1