2018 Yamaha YZF-R1M
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The Bike
Yamaha have spend the last 20 years making improvements to their flagship bike, the YZF-R1. In this time, numerous enhanements were made, both in looks and performance. This latest version has an 'm' on the end, making it stand out to the standard R1 in having improved Ohlins suspension and a bespoke paint job, along with additional electronics specifically designed for the track. Having spent a lot of development time with the MotoGP YZR-M1, it's no surprise that this is viewed as a road-legal track bike.
The Model
The model is built from the Tamiya 1:12 kit. Most of it was built standard, but I did deviate a bit to add extra's. At the time of building this, there was only the front fork set from Tamiya, but Decalcal released a screen for it as I was close to completing so I picked one up and added that. I attempted to add a tint to this using film from a 1:1. Due to the complex shape though, this wasn't an easy application. Other parts I used were just generic, like photo-etch bolt heads, turned metal rivets and additional wiring. Kit wiring was substituted for more accurate diameter wire I had, along with a few extras like the ABS lines. I swapped out the main brake lines for braided wire. As is normal for me now, there are no visible screws on the build. The fairing screws were substituted for neodymium magnets and PE bolt heads covered some of the screws I used to fix the engine to the frame. Paintwork was my own custom design that wasn't fully planned. All I knew was I didn't want to go box colours and wanted it to stand out a bit. Once the clearcoat was cured it was flattened back and polished to a high shine. Lastly, I modified the kit exhaust, removing the ugly catalytic converter from underneath to replace with a straight-though pipe. The rear silencer was modified to represent an aftermarket version. .
Completed March 2019
