Riding the 2010 Yamaha YZF-R1 LE

We hop on, twist the key and the instruments spring to life. A quick push of the starter button and the engine fires with an odd resonance — somewhere between an over-cammed small-block and a fighter jet. It's a lumpy-sounding idle but the engine spins smoothly under our chest. The kickstand's still down, so the guy from Yamaha who is trusting us with his bike gets in a quick warning. "Have fun with it; just don't kill yourself, OK?" he says.

He has good reason to be worried. We're about to ride away on a 2010 Yamaha YZF-R1, the company's top-of-the-line sport bike. It features a 998cc, inline four-cylinder engine that puts out 180 horsepower. Not a hugely impressive figure in the car world maybe, but consider that the engine only has to move 454 pounds of bike. That's only 2.5 pounds per hp. The Bugatti Veyron is saddled with 4.2 pounds per hp.

Even more shocking is how the R1's astounding performance can be had for such little cash. Even our limited-edition model that mimics the Moto GP race bike of ace rider Valentino Rossi costs just $14,500, or about the price of a modestly equipped entry-level sedan. For that sum, you get a bike that will annihilate any production supercar made today in a heads-up stoplight drag.

There is a drawback, of course: namely, the ever-present specter of death. But in an age when truly fun and dangerous activities are being diluted or legislated away, a superbike is like that little devil on your shoulder, daring you to overindulge.

Cranked and Packing
At the heart of the 2010 Yamaha YZF-R1 is a unique power plant that utilizes a cross-plane crankshaft, the first production motorcycle to do so. It's not only inherently better balanced, it also creates a unique exhaust burble that's more like a rumbly American V8 than a high-strung four-cylinder.

In the R1, the crankshaft offsets the crank pins (the rotating arms that connect to the piston rods) at 90-degree intervals. Conventional four-cylinder engines use a flat-plane crankshaft offset at 180 degrees. The Yamaha's cross-plane setup gives the engine an uneven firing order, making it sound lumpy, like a Harley, but it actually provides a smoother delivery of torque from idle to its 12,500-rpm redline.

But the cross-plane crank doesn't necessarily make the R1 rider-friendly, so Yamaha employs a host of electronic engine management systems to ensure it's as easy to ride as it is powerful. The computer-controlled throttle corrects fuel flow 1,000 times a second for precise control, while the adjustable intake varies the length of its funnels to optimize airflow into the engine. There are three rider-adjustable settings that can be changed on the fly — much like the comfort/normal/sport settings in some luxury/performance cars.

Fortunately, all of this techno-wizardry doesn't come at the expense of packaging or weight. The entire engine and transmission is tightly compacted into one centralized mass, allowing it to be mounted into a frame that is as small as a middleweight sport bike's. This means the R1 has all the power of a liter-bike but the chassis geometry of a 600cc crotch rocket.

Riding the Beast From the East
None of the engineering enters our mind while we're sitting atop the 2010 Yamaha YZF-R1. The riding position is definitely geared toward racing, but it's not so far off the scale that we would dread an all-day ride. The foot pegs are adjustable — 15mm up or down and 3mm front to back. For an average-sized male of 5 feet, 10 inches, there's enough room to scoot back and forth in the seat to go from full tuck to an almost upright standard bike posture.

It's terrifying to see how effortlessly the R1 gains velocity.

As we tap into the R1 throttle, the engine beats with a definite and uneven thump, thump, thump. Committing to more power turns that V-twinlike thunder into a drum roll that eventually begins to scream like an angry robot. First gear is incredibly tall, but the amount of torque from the crank is more than enough to pull the bike hard past 80 mph without your having to shift. Kick it into 2nd and even more power is available, as oncoming air is forced into the bike's airbox through an opening in the angry-looking nose.

At these speeds, just hanging on becomes difficult. Tucking in behind the windscreen is a necessity. All of the subtle cutouts in the bodywork and tank surround your limbs, melding you to the bike and making you part of the airfoil shape. With the speedometer right in front of our nose, it's terrifying to see how effortlessly the R1 gains velocity. We're told the 2010 Yamaha YZF-R1 can blast through the quarter-mile in about 10 seconds at over 140 mph. That's faster than anything we've tested. We'll go ahead and trust the estimated top speed, which is just north of 180 mph.

Better Pay Attention
Like all serious street bikes, the 2010 Yamaha YZF-R1 demands all of our attention, all of the time. The process of tipping any bike into a curve at speed requires significantly more work than cranking the wheel of your average supercar, and the R1 is no exception.

Heading into a corner, we drift toward the outside edge and pick an entry point. Then we snap the R1's throttle shut and grab a little initial front brake as we pop our head up above the windscreen. We downshift with a choreographed ballet of left foot and left hand while our right fingers are still grasping the brake lever.

With our toes on the tips of the foot pegs, we slide our butt off the seat, wedge our inside heel into the bike, relax our arms and begin leading the bike with our chin toward the apex. With the outside leg wrapped around the R1's grippy seat and the inside leg fully compressed, we pull the bike down toward the blur of pavement under our knee. Ease off the brake, trailing it lightly all the way to the apex.

At the apex, we're halfway home so we transition from brake to throttle. A slow twist of the throttle and the engine beats faster. The 2010 Yamaha YZF-R1 begins to straighten up again but we keep our body low to the ground. As we add more throttle, the bike tracks to the outside of the turn once again. We're tucked back behind the windscreen as our wrist commands more power. A deep breath, line up the next turn and repeat.

Done right, the R1 rewards you in a way that no supercar can — even if it can get around the corner quicker than a bike. Get any of those steps wrong, though, and the R1 will quickly put you in a world of hurt.

But I Want To Live To Turn Again
Knifing through turns is an absolute joy on the R1, at once instilling confidence and challenging you to push harder. But this bike is also surprisingly adept at more leisurely riding. The fully adjustable suspension can be tailored to suit a wide variety of riders and their preferences. The moderate factory setting proved too nervous for our rutted canyon roads, but softening the dampers greatly improved its real-world road manners. Adjustments are easily made with a few simple tools, and the exercise itself gives you a very precise understanding of how rebound, compression and spring preload work together to affect ride quality.

Whether the 2010 Yamaha YZF-R1 is suited for your morning commute is dependent on your body type, distance from home and tolerance before fatigue sets in. In slower traffic (and by slower, we mean under 60 mph), the heat billowing from the engine slowly roasts your knees. The seat is thinly padded and fairly flat, so if your commute involves a long stretch of flat highway packed bumper-to-bumper with cars, best to get something a little less lethal than the R1.

This is a bike for weekend warriors and track addicts. It takes the basic superbike equation and adds a little personality in the way it sounds, feels and responds to rider inputs. There are faster, more powerful bikes out there like BMW's latest liter bike entry, the S 1000 RR, but the R1 combines affordability, performance and a dash of unique technology into an intriguing package that has its own appeal. Listen to one at full scream and you'll know exactly what we're talking about.

The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.