2025 Yamaha YZF-R1 Preview

There’s not much remaining from the 1998 YZF-R1 on Yamaha’s 2025 edition of its flagship model, except the same commitment to making hellaciously fast competition-based street motorcycles. If the Tuning Fork brand was a person, they’d be the last one to turn off the shop lights. Although not every year brings radical change, the 2025 Yamaha YZF-R1 continues a “kaizen” approach of continuous improvement over the last significant redesign, dating to 2015. There are a few important updates to last year’s YZF-R1.

First things first. As you’d expect, the 2025 YZF-R1 is joined by the higher-spec track-ready YZF-R1M, which deserves its own article. So hang tight, Yamaha lovers.

What’s been updated? Let’s start with the most visible and obvious: The R1 finally joins the wing club. The new carbon fiber winglets are said to create additional downforce for “enhanced front-end feel” when braking or cornering. And though it might not show up on the radar gun, they add a few visual miles per hour to the R1. More importantly, the fully redesigned (and fully adjustable) 43mm KYB fork behind the winglets are claimed to improve response, road feel, and chassis performance. And in the same spirit, the R1 gets lightweight Brembo Stylema Monoblock front brake calipers paired with a Brembo master cylinder. Last but not least, both rider and passenger get a new seat covering, said to improve the balance between “grip and ease of movement.” Is it grippier or more slippery? The fine press release materials don’t say which, so clearly Motorcyclist will have to let a future ride review spell this out.

What’s the same? The superb 998cc CP4 crossplane engine, largely dating to the redesigned 2009 R1, which was the first to use a crossplane crankshaft in a production model. It still comes with lightweight titanium connecting rods, titanium intake valves, and forged pistons. Rider aids are unchanged from 2024, so you still get the full electronics suite featuring traction control, a slide control system based on a six-axis inertial measurement unit, anti-wheelie, linked antilock brakes, launch control system, quick shifting, and four power delivery modes. As you’d expect, these rider aids are listed as fancy three-letter acronyms in the press release. Fun fact? The 1998–2006 YZF-R1′s used five-valve heads derived from Yamaha’s Genesis engine from the 1980s. The stacked transmission design was a game-changer, forcing everyone to get skinny with engine design.

The same 4.2-inch TFT tells you what’s what and how fast, while it all rides on 10-spoke cast magnesium wheels fitted with Bridgestone RS11 tires. It’s still one of the best sportbikes in existence that you can buy, cash on the barrelhead. The word “existence” is key here. The street-legal R1 isn’t available for sale in Europe, a victim of tightening Euro 5+ emissions rules, and to a greater extent, the shrinking popularity of inline-four literbikes in general. They’ll get a track-ready R1, for what it’s worth. But here in America, the party hasn’t stopped yet.

The 2025 Yamaha YZF-R1 comes in Team Yamaha Blue or Matte Raven Black. They’ll arrive at dealers in November with a $18,999 MSRP.