The addition of a sophisticated traction control system takes Yamaha’s flagship to the next level
Back in the October 2011 issue of Sport Rider, SR senior editor Andrew Trevitt wrote a superb technical article on the increasingly rapid progress of traction control on motorcycles —via the patent applications filed by various OEMs that were unearthed from the vast labyrinth of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office archives. One of those patents was filed by engineers at Yamaha, describing a sophisticated traction control system that uses complex mathematical equations to help it control wheel slip. The fact that a bike resembling an R1 was used in many of the diagrams was pretty significant evidence that it was only a matter of time before Yamaha’s sporting flagship would soon be employing traction control.
Well, apparently we let the cat out of the bag, because that time is already here. As everyone basically knows by now, the biggest change noted for the new model is the addition of traction control. The unique firing order of the crossplane crankshaft used in the latest generation R1 has already made a name for itself as providing superior traction feel under hard acceleration—so would the addition of traction control provide additional benefits? A day spent riding at Southern California’s newly constructed 2.7-mile, 17-turn Chuckwalla Valley Raceway (as well as a short street ride into the San Jacinto mountain range overlooking the Palm Springs valley) during Yamaha’s recent U.S. press launch for the 2012 YZF-R1 held in Indian Wells, California, would surely provide the answer.
Photo Gallery: 2012 Yamaha YZF-R1 First Ride Review- Sport Rider Magazine
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