VIDEO: Riding the Champ’s Yamaha R1

This year’s MotoAmerica Superbike championship came down to the wire. Entering the last race weekend of the season at Thunderbolt Raceway in Millville, New Jersey, factory Yamaha teammates Josh Hayes and Cameron Beaubier were separated by just 18 points. Cameron came out on top, securing his right to run the #1 plate on his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 next season. (Click here to see the MotoAmerica season finale race results.)

The day after the races though, the team had already applied #1 decals to the stunning black-and-yellow 60th anniversary livery on 22-year-old Cameron’s R1 superbike. I was fortunate enough to be there to witness it first hand, and shortly afterwards I had the rare opportunity to wrap my hands around the grips on the champ’s bike and rip it around the Thunderbolt circuit for a handful of very intense laps.

Weighing in at just 370.5 pounds (the class weight limit is 370.0 pounds), putting down somewhere around 200 horsepower, and carrying a six-figure price tag, this is one focused, uncompromising version of our 2015 Motorcycle of the Year.

What was it like to ride? Watch the video below to find out.