MotoGP technologies: All the secrets of the Yamaha YZR-M1 - Evolution of development from 2004 to 2010 in detail

Yamaha motorcycle

Yamaha YZR-M1

The Yamaha YZR-M1

is an inline-four motorcycle specifically designed by Yamaha Motor Company to race in the current MotoGP series.[1] It replaced the 500 cc (31 cu in) YZR500 through the 2002 season and was originally developed with a 990 cc engine. cm (60 cu. in.). Since then, the YZR-M1 has been continuously developed through several iterations in the 990cc, 800cc and 1000cc Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing circuits.

2002–2003

2002 was the first season to allow 990 cc. The 4-stroke will race alongside the 500cc. 2-stroke. Unlike their V-4 YZR500, Yamaha designed the YZR-M1 (for "Mission One") with an inline-4 engine because the format was considered to provide the best mutual balance with the frame.[2] In addition, Yamaha wanted to maintain the excellent handling of the YZR500, so the M1 engine was designed to fit in a chassis developed from the basic YZR500 design.[2] The M1 was equipped with an electronic engine management system that controlled engine braking endemic to 4 strokes.[1] The new engine had 5 valves per cylinder, was fed by carburetors and started with a displacement of 942 cc. in the second half of the season it increased to the full regulatory limit of 990 cc.[2] The frame design was also modified throughout the season by adjusting the engine mounting position and changing the shape of the fuel tank.[2]

The M1 was tested and developed by Max Biaggi, John Kocinski, Norihiko Fujiwara and Kyoji Namba throughout 2001.[3] It was driven by Biaggi and Carlos Checa in the factory team for the 2002 season, and by the end of the season M1s were also provided by Norifumi Abe, Olivier Jacques and Shinya Nakano. Biaggi took two victories and finished second in the final standings, the same as Yamaha in the manufacturers' championship.

In 2003, the engine went from carburation to fuel injection, and the engine brake control system was replaced with an idle air control system that automatically adjusted the throttle opening on two of the four cylinders to improve stability and controllability during deceleration.[4] The M1 riders were Checa, Alex Barros, Olivier Jacques, Marco Melandri, Shinya Nakano and Norifumi Abe, and there were no victories, leaving Yamaha third in the manufacturers' championship.

The impact of Euro5 on the 2021 Yamaha YZF-R1 and R1M sportbikes

In simple words it sounds like this: Euro5. The heartless reality of internal combustion engines is this: they have exhaust. And even though we are talking about air pollution, even about noise, there are documents all over the world that prescribe the limits of these pollution - the maximum levels of noise and hydrocarbons that the device can emit. Euro5 is the most stringent framework that motorcycle manufacturers are forced to fit into today. No one, not even Yamaha, has the right to ignore this. Manufacturers typically control emissions by installing catalytic converters and other components to burn off unburned fuel, and while this does reduce pollution, it also reduces engine power, and consumers don't like that at all. What to do? Make the engine bigger.

A larger engine is absolutely not an option in the case of the Yamaha R1, which is actually a sportbike of a certain category, for which the limit is set at 1000 cc. cm. So instead of increasing the cubic capacity and new afterburning options, Yamaha focused on increasing the efficiency of fuel combustion, thereby making the exhaust cleaner in its original form.

Yamaha YZF-R1

2004/2005

Valentino Rossi signed a two-year contract with Yamaha reportedly worth in excess of US$6 million per season, a move that was described by the press as "biting off more than he could chew". Not only his critics and media pundits, but also many fans felt that even he would not be able to take the struggling YZR-M1 to the level of all-conquering. Honda RC211V. Honda's well-publicized increase in the pace of development of the machine during the winter season raised expectations that the Honda RC211V, in the hands of riders of the caliber of Max Biaggi and Seth Gibernau, would have no problem retaining the world title for Honda.

Meanwhile, Rossi wasn't the only renegade Honda had to contend with; Jeremy Burgess (Rossi's crew chief at Honda) along with most of his long-time team were convinced by Rossi to join him at Yamaha. It was a shrewd move and Rossi, in his autobiography, described it as an important tool in providing him with the solid foundation he needed to launch his attack on the Championship with the YZR-M1.

During the 2003/2004 winter testing, Yamaha came out on top, pulling out all the stops in collaboration with Rossi and Burgess. Through a systematic regime of innovation and testing, they sought to refine the M1's traditional strengths, such as good braking and quick handling (which impressed Rossi), and combine them with good balance and power delivery. Working closely with Rossi and Burgess, Yamaha engineers, under the direction of YZR-M1 project manager Koichi Tsuji, experimented with a number of engine modifications in an attempt to correct power delivery, and it was finally decided to go ahead with a four-valve design on the cylinder head. configuration (unlike the previous five-valve head) with a specially modified cylinder operating order. This transformed the straight-four engine from a traditional "screamer" engine, where the power pulses are distributed evenly (every 180 degrees of the crank) in a four-stroke cycle, into a so-called "long bang" engine, where the power pulses are grouped unevenly across the cycle (270-180-90- 180). This firing order simulates the constant kinetic energy of a V4 engine while maintaining the desired engine layout of a traditional inline-four. These developments significantly improved the engine's torque characteristics and, combined with slight changes to the engine's position in the chassis, made the M1 much easier to handle at the limit of grip when exiting corners. After a frantic winter of development and testing, the team showed the world that it had taken a significant step in the right direction when Rossi and the M1 won a BMW car at the 2004 IRTA pre-season test in Catalunya with the fastest car. open session lap (same as qualifying race).

With the traditional first race of the season at Suzuka removed from the list for safety reasons, the 2004 season began at Welkom in South Africa. In a rather remarkable race, Rossi took victory, not only silencing his critics, but also becoming the first man in history to win two Grands Prix in a row with two different manufacturers. Rossi took 8 more Grand Prix victories en route to the 2004 championship, scoring 304 points. Honda riders Seth Gibernau and Max Biaggi finished second and third with 257 and 217 points, respectively.

Thus, the 2004 season would unfold to give Rossi the opportunity he was looking for; to prove that it was his talent, and not just his bike, that allowed him to win the championship. In doing so, he also achieved one of the greatest successes in the history of motorcycle racing.

The YZR-M1 and Rossi partnership continued to dominate in 2005, with the championship won by a huge 147 points over the Honda rider. Marco Melandri is in second place. The 2005 M1 was hailed by insiders as a great race bike, showing that Yamaha, with Rossi's input, had created a race bike that beat the others quite easily. Rossi would later say that the 2005 M1 was the greatest bike he had ever ridden.

MotoGP technologies: All the secrets of the Yamaha YZR-M1 - Evolution of development from 2004 to 2010 in detail

So, in 2004, Yamaha Racing managed to create the perfect combination for a factory motorcycle in Moto Grand Prix. The philosophy behind the YZR-M1 0WP3 continues to this day. What is it and who exactly makes Yamaha the most controlled prototype in MotoGP?

MOTOGONKI.RU, March 3, 2021 - Continuation of the history of the Yamaha Mission One project in detail - read: part one

. And don’t switch, the third part will be even more interesting!

When technology was ahead of its time

As the developers found out during the 2003 season, the reason why the pilots could not realize the potential of the engine was its ... high, but poorly controlled power: in 2003, bench tests of the engines showed figures close to 240 hp. It was also possible to achieve sufficient reliability, so it was clear to everyone that the “motor race” would not stop there, and competitors would strive to find higher performance. Masao Furusawa understood the reasons for the problems of his pilots at the very beginning of the 2003 season, but decisive changes were only made to a completely new prototype, with which Valentino Rossi eventually took the first YZR-M1 title in recent MotoGP history.

Evolution of the Yamaha YZR-M1 engine from 2003 to 2006:

Since electronics to control torque and rear wheel slip did not yet exist in 2003, engineers were faced with a non-trivial task. Lowering the top rev limit meant losing peak power and speed. Given the ever-increasing productivity, this was not a solution. But it was possible to achieve smoother engine operation overall and improved torque transmission characteristics to the rear wheel by improving the chassis geometry.

Initially, the 0WM1 engine of the 2002 and 2003 models was equipped with a cylinder head with 5 valves per cylinder, three of which worked on the intake, and two on the exhaust. In the project, Furusawa also had absolutely fantastic prototypes with 7 valves per cylinder. Here is a photo from the Yamaha Museum of one of these prototypes that never became a working model:

7 valve test prototype

Increasing the number of valves made it possible to reduce the size and weight of each of them, thus reducing inertia, providing a higher operating frequency and gas exchange performance - and increasing engine power. By the way, the 5-valve engine head from R&D Yamaha Racing migrated to serial production and became an integral part of the iconic Yamaha FZ750 dragster in Europe.

But in the YZR-M1 it... didn’t take root!

Furusawa decided to return to using a 4-valve head, which immediately brought positive results. By the way, the YZF-R1 superbike also used a 5-valve design, which was replaced by a 4-valve design in 2007 - this is a consequence of the MotoGP results, as well as the result of research carried out by Masao Furusawa’s team.

Yamaha YZR-M1 engine

Today, with all MotoGP prototypes using pneumatic valve train technology, the more precise and well-controlled 5-valve design makes sense. But in 2002, Yamaha developers ran into the physical boundaries of pure mechanics.

Another detail, which was studied for a whole year, played a decisive role in this story - we are talking about the turbulence of the flow of the fuel-air mixture in the combustion chamber. When the mixture is fed, there is always strong turbulence, that is, the “jet” forms a downward vortex, spinning clockwise. At the time of using carburetors (in 2002), it was impossible to accurately control the quality of the mixture, because air and gasoline were mixed in the combustion chamber. In the 5-valve circuit, the middle of the three intake valves was responsible for the flow of air, and the two outer ones were responsible for fuel. At high speeds, the air flow was so strong that it disrupted the structure of the vortices created by the fuel mixture, and the mixing itself occurred unevenly.

Diagram of the operation of a 3-valve intake in the combustion chamber

Accordingly, the combustion quality and engine performance decreased. The first step in resolving the issue was the transition to an injection power system in 2003. But this did not allow us to completely cope with the situation. There were two options: change the valve diameters to create a balanced system, or abandon one of the valves, creating an equal, balanced mixture formation system.

As the head of the YZR-M1 engine development team, Kimihiko Kitikawa, later explained, the 5-valve circuit stopped working effectively already at 15,000 rpm: “The valve drive technology that we used then simply did not have time to work out. We had already implemented the ability to select one of two ignition maps, but programming the valve control and mixture quality [in the injectors] for the 5-valve head added significant complexity to the project. With four valves we were successful very quickly."

- said Kitikawa-san.

Crossplane is a real revolution in engine building

Plus, in 2004, one significant innovation was made to the YZR-M1 engine, which is used almost everywhere today - a crossplane crankshaft, which instantly smoothed out the characteristics of the engine.

Crossplane crankshaft operation diagram

The essence of the crossplane is to separate the shaft into 4 sections, each of which is rotated 90°, so the pairs of pistons balance each other’s vibrations without loss of performance. This also allows you to play with the order of ignition initiation in the cylinders, which Yamaha engineers played with a lot in subsequent years.

First of all, the smoothing of the characteristics occurred because the effect of the so-called “inertial torque”, when the piston can adjust (or, conversely, brake) the crankshaft, has significantly decreased. Valentino Rossi tested the engine at Sepang in February 2004, after which he called the updated YZR-M1 nothing less than “cool”.

Implementation of a crossplane crankshaft on a Yamaha YZF-R1, similar to the YZR-M1

In addition to many changes to frame and swingarm geometry, installing a transverse crankshaft almost completely solved the problem of driver uncertainty and uncontrolled rear wheel stall. This made it possible to smoothly increase the power of the 990 cc YZR-M1 engine to 250 hp, and Furusawa became more involved in refining the chassis.

In search of the ideal

The goal for the next two years was to create optimal geometry and weight distribution for perfect cornering. These developments led Yamaha to dominate MotoGP for many years.

2003 Yamaha YZR-M1 chassis (with 5-valve engine)

Despite the lengthening of the swingarm in 2004, the wheelbase of the 2005 model became ... shorter, which made the prototype more nimble and improved steering. Yamaha engineers moved the engine further in the frame towards the steering column, making the frame itself more compact and shorter by almost 70 mm. Thus, the long pendulum began to be attached even closer to the center of mass of the motorcycle. Additional modifications were made during the season, thanks to which Rossi tested the best ever M1 with a 990 cc engine at the tests in Brno.

Without a doubt, the 2005 generation Yamaha YZR-M1 (0WP4) is considered Furusawa's most successful prototype since he took over as leader of the Mission One project.

An attempt to change the characteristics of the YZR-M1 in 2006, before MotoGP switched to 800 cc engines, led to failure. Deciding to make the engine spin up to 17,000 rpm to achieve 260 hp, Yamaha engineers made the engine shorter - increasing the cylinder diameter while simultaneously reducing the piston stroke. But this disrupted the stability of the chassis, so Valentino Rossi spent the entire season complaining about chattering (small, high-frequency vibrations of the chassis that cause discomfort and deprive the driver of confidence). It was not possible to completely solve the problem, despite changing tires from Michelin to Bridgestone. As a result, Rossi was unable to defend his title - a strange fall at the very last race of the season in Valencia deprived him of several valuable points, which were picked up by Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden.

2006 Yamaha YZR-M1 chassis

Further changes to the chassis were carried out mainly according to the program laid down in 2004-2005: after the transition to 800 cc engines, Yamaha developers continued to play with three indicators of rigidity - longitudinal, vertical and torsional rigidity. And the further the control electronics developed, and the engines, reduced by 20% in volume, became more and more powerful (contrary to FIM expectations), the more important the chassis flexibility indicators became.

Using the 2004 YZR-M1 as a starting point, by 2010 longitudinal stiffness had been reduced by almost 30%. Torsional rigidity was initially reduced by 10-15%, but then increased by 25%. Finally, in order to reduce the wheelie effect from the non-linear (too sharp) increase in power and torque of the “nervous” 800 cc engine, the frame and swingarm were “allowed” to flex 20% more actively than during the more linear performance of 990 cc engines:

Until 2011, Yamaha kept the 2006 frame concept virtually unchanged.

The era of control electronics

To compensate for the loss of power and speed from cutting 200 cc, the manufacturers had to raise the rev red zone. In the case of the 2007 Yamaha YZR-M1, this meant +500 rpm, but then had to add more.

And here no one could do without electronic components, the names of which we know by heart today, since they are found in almost all modern motorcycles:

Ride-by-wire

or a contactless throttle control - a necessary element in a system with electronically controlled throttle valves, when the pilot does not have a direct (hard) connection with the throttle via a flexible metal cable: the opening and closing of the throttle valves is controlled by the ECU unit through precise servos.

Traction Control

— control of torque and power transmission to the rear wheel by determining the moment when the rear wheel begins to stall. At first, everything worked by comparing the speed of rotation of the front and rear wheels, taking into account the error and a known tolerance (the rear wheel always rotates a little faster). Now control is carried out through complex calculations based on data from the inertial unit (IMU) - acceleration, position of the motorcycle in space, driving dynamics, plus comparison of indicators over a certain period of time.

Engine Brake

- Engine braking control, which is the use of engine inertia to slow down the rear wheel, allowing for smoother and more effective braking along with aggressive braking by the front wheel. EB engagement is controlled by electronically controlled slipper clutch stiffness, altering or disabling ignition and power. Also, to prevent engine blocking when downshifting is not too careful, automatic re-throttle (blip) is activated.

Launch Control

— control system for excess torque when starting from a standstill. The main idea is to give the pilot the opportunity not to think about how wide the throttle is open, but to provide him with the smoothest and most efficient start without the risk of falling into wheelie. The increase in torque is controlled by the ECU, the level of opening of the throttle valves is provided by servos - the throttle handle is usually fully open at this moment. LC mode is automatically disabled the first time you brake or release the clutch.

Wheelie Control

- a system that detects excessive growth of torque, which leads to a shift in the center of force application (from the center of mass of the motorcycle to the axis of the rear wheel). With such a displacement, the balance in the chassis is lost, and the motorcycle begins to rotate around the rear wheel. This leads to a huge waste of power and loss of efficiency in acceleration dynamics. WC cuts the ignition or reduces the amount of fuel to reduce torque to an acceptable level. IMU indicators are taken into account.

Valentino Rossi, Yamaha YZR-M1 (2006), French Grand Prix

All of these systems were fully introduced and tested in the 2006 YZR-M1, and were further refined over the next five years.

Victory is hidden in the smallest details

The 800 cc engine of the 2007 YZR-M1 turned out to be quite good and quite reliable, the chassis characteristics remained practically unchanged (that is, they were excellent by default). But one important amendment to the MotoGP regulations had an impact on the results of the season - the reduction of gas tanks to 21 liters. Taking this into account, engineers had to conduct development, looking at the efficiency of the entire system. The slight advantage of the Ducati GP07 allowed Casey Stoner to leave Yamaha without the title: the Desmosedici engine turned out to be better optimized, had less internal resistance in the CPG and, as a result, provided more economical operation. In other words, where Valentino Rossi had to switch to the “ECO Mode” of the power system, Stoner continued to fry at full strength.

Casey Stoner and Ducati took the titles from Yamaha in 2007

Conclusions were made by Masao Furusawa's team immediately, and during tests in Brno Rossi received a new engine that showed better performance and was taken as the basis for the 2008 model. They tried to implement it in 2007 already in San Marino, and the update brought Rossi victory at the Portuguese Grand Prix, but it was no longer possible to catch up with Stoner.

But in 2008 and 2009 the YZR-M1 took off. First of all, the power of the 0WS5 engine was increased by 10% due to total optimization of the entire system. The pneumatic valve drive system, which has become a new trend in MotoGP, has been constantly improved, and in 2008 it was immediately lightened by 40%. The design of the CPG was improved (the cylinder diameter was slightly increased, the design of the pistons and oil rings was changed), which made it possible to reduce friction costs by 14%.

Valentino Rossi wins his 9th world title on a Yamaha YZR-M1 (2009), Malaysian Grand Prix

Rossi won his 8th and 9th world titles, both by stoppage. And in 2010, after Rossi’s injury, the Yamaha banner was proudly carried through the championship by Jorge Lorenzo.

All three seasons brought triple crowns to Yamaha, but also some disappointment. At the end of 2010, tensions between Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo reached a breaking point, leading to Rossi's emotional departure to Ducati. In addition, in the wake of tension, Masao Furusawa also decided to retire. The project leader could have stayed in the company for another 3 years, but without Rossi he saw no point in continuing this work.

Kuichi Tsuji, Yamaha Mission One project leader from 2010 to 2019

Furusawa's closest associate, lead developer Kuichi Tsuji, was appointed the new leader of the Mission One project.

Tomorrow: Kuichi Tsuji talks about the secret behind the YZR-M1

First part: Mission One as a struggle for a place in the sun

.

Characteristics

What's new in the 2021 Yamaha YZF-R1 and R1M?

When Yamaha announced the 2021 R1 and R1M, they didn't even nominally increase their power. These litrosports are pure monsters in their current form, and tuning manufacturers offer various ways to squeeze out a couple more horses, so by paying all the attention to a cleaner exhaust (and therefore, a detailed study of the timing phases, flares, fuel maps), the engineers did not go wrong.

In fact, it only sounds simple: the cleaner exhaust required modifications to the cylinder head, where the intake ports were shortened and the volume increased by 12% after the throttle valves. The injectors have moved to the top of the throttle body, and the atomized fuel follows a more direct path to the intake valves. The injectors themselves are now of a different model, with 10 holes instead of 12.

For effective heat removal, the coolant channels at the outlet windows are enlarged. The new shape of the rocker arms ensures more stable timing operation at high speeds. This is also achieved thanks to a new camshaft profile with the same valve stroke and phase overlap figures. After air enters the engine and burns fuel, the exhaust gases enter the exhaust section, where the catalysts are located closer to the engine and reach operating temperature earlier, burning the exhaust faster and more efficiently.

Inside the engine, the oil pump impeller has become 2 millimeters narrower, reducing the load on the engine (its efficiency is more than enough, especially at high speeds). In the crankcase, the oil channels were slightly reduced, as was the piston cooling nozzle. In the crankshaft, the oil channel was also slightly reduced (by 0.5 mm), but the liners, on the contrary, were increased by 3 mm. This improves lubrication and reduces the likelihood of oil starvation, especially when abruptly closing the throttle from high speeds - such as, for example, when braking before a hairpin.

Good luck

These results are accurate up to the 2021 Portuguese Motorcycle Grand Prix.

• World Championship titles
  :

Constructors: 5 (2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015) Riders: 7 (Valentino Rossi 4 times 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009; Jorge Lorenzo three times 2010, 2012, 2015) Teams: 7 (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 2004, Team Gauloises Yamaha 2005, Fiat Yamaha Team 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 2015)

• Races won: 116
  :

2002: Biaggi 2 (2 total) 2004: Rossi 9 (9 total) 2005: Rossi 11 (11 total) 2006: Rossi 5 (5 total) 2007: Rossi 4 (4 total) 2008: Rossi 9, Lorenzo 1 (10 total ) 2009: Rossi 6, Lorenzo 4 (total 10) 2010: Lorenzo 9, Rossi 2 (total 11) 2011: Lorenzo 3, Spies 1 (total 4) 2012: Lorenzo 6 (total 6) 2013: Lorenzo 8, Rossi 1 ( 9 total) 2014: Rossi 2, Lorenzo 2 (4 total) 2015: Lorenzo 7, Rossi 4 (11 total) 2021: Lorenzo 4, Rossi 2 (6 total) 2021: Viñales 3, Rossi 1 (4 total) 2021: Viñales 1 (total 1) 2021: Viñales 2 (total 2) 2021: Quartararo 3, Morbidelli 3, Viñales 1 (total 7)

• Poles: 114
  :

2002: Biaggi 4, Checa 1 (5 total) 2004: Rossi 5, Checa 1 (6 total) 2005: Rossi 5 (5 total) 2006: Rossi 5 (5 total) 2007: Rossi 4, Edwards 2 (6 total) 2008 : Lorenzo 4, Rossi 2, Edwards 1 (7 total) 2009: Rossi 7, Lorenzo 5 (12 total) 2010: Lorenzo 7, Rossi 1, Spies 1 (9 total) 2011: Lorenzo 2 (2 total) 2012: Lorenzo 7 (7 total) 2013: Lorenzo 4, Crutchlow 2 (6 total) 2014: Rossi 1, Lorenzo 1 (2 total) 2015: Lorenzo 5, Rossi 1 (6 total) 2021: Lorenzo 4, Rossi 3 (7 total) 2021: Viñales 5, Zarco 2 (total 7) 2021: Zarco 2, Rossi 1, Viñales 1 (total 4) 2021: Quartararo 6, Viñales 3 (total 9) 2021: Quartararo 4, Viñales 3, Morbidelli 2 (total 9)

Full MotoGP results

(key) (leads to bold

indicate the pole position;
leads to italics
indicate fastest lap)

*The season is still ongoing.

Notes

1. ^ a b c d f g gram
   The number without parentheses refers to the quantity accumulated for the motorcycle, and the number in parentheses refers to the total quantity accumulated for the season.
2. Due to tobacco advertising, the team was known as Yamaha Factory Racing for the United States and the Valencia Grand Prix.
3. The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP riders scored 198 points, but the team was deducted 20 points after failing to comply with MSMA technical change protocols.[9]
4. Yamaha scored 254 points as a manufacturer, but had 50 points deducted due to failure to comply with MSMA technical change protocols.[9]
5. Garrett Gerloff initially replaced Valentino Rossi in Round 12 and competed in two practice sessions on Friday while Rossi awaited the results of his COVID-19 test, but was pulled from the race when Rossi was declared fit to race after testing negative for COVID -19.
6. Petronas Yamaha SRT riders scored 285 points, but the team was deducted 37 points after failing to comply with MSMA technical change protocols.[9]

Yamaha R1M

Yamaha R1M 2020

The Yamaha R1M features more carbon fiber, updated electronics, and the latest Öhlins ERS electronic racing suspension. Like the base Yamaha R1, the M was not radically updated, but became a development of the current version. It features the latest edition of Öhlins' NPX ERS fork with updated algorithms and a gas reservoir in the fork body - a first on a production motorcycle, according to Yamaha. Like the standard R1, the spring rate is slightly reduced from 21 N/mm to 20 N/mm. Structurally, the NPX fork is not much different from conventional forks - springs, sets of washers, valves, but the valves here have a real-time electronic drive, which makes the fork semi-active. The ERS monoshock has also been slightly retuned to match the fork, with a new compression piston, different valving settings and a 4mm increase in spring preload for a slightly higher rear end lift.

As before, the standout feature of the Yamaha R1M is the Communications Control Unit (CCU) , which allows the rider to change the R1M's settings using the YRC app and see how well (or poorly) it rides using the Y-TRAC app, now available on iOS. The CCU records data from the GPS, inertia measurement device and engine ECU, allowing 16 channels of telemetry to be analyzed from each lap of the track - essentially providing a watered-down version of the data a race team needs to help their driver go faster. If you ride with a faster mate on another R1M, you can compare data from both sportbikes and highlight the strengths and weaknesses of both riders.

The Yamaha R1M also received a new front fairing, fender, side hood and tail - all made of carbon - emphasizing the exclusive appearance of the M version, and the emblem on the airbox is now numbered.

Recommendations

1. ^ a b
   "History of the 990cc".
   Yamaha Racing
   . Yamaha Motor Company. Archived from the original on 2008-03-22. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
2. ^ a b c d
   "YAZR-M1 (0WM1)". Yamaha Motor Co. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
3. "Mission One: Introducing Yamaha's Amazing YZR-M1." Crash.net. 2001-05-14. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
4. "The Evolution of the YZR-M1 - Part One." Crash.net. 2006-11-19. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
5. Birt, M.: Yamaha Chatter Is Over Archived 2007-02-25 at the Wayback Machine motorcyclenews.com
   , 2007-02-21.
6. "Rossi defeats Motegi, MotoGP Championship." Crash.net
   . Crash Media Group. September 28, 2008. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
7. Irishman, Oliver (14 April 2008). "The exciting Lorenzo continues his upward trajectory." The keeper
   . Guardian Media Group. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
8. "MotoGP Changes for 2012". motogp.com
   . MotoGp News. December 11, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
9. ^ a b c
   "Yamaha took a penalty, it did not affect the rider's points."
   MotoGP.com
   . Dorna Sports. November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.