They delayed the current R by one week so they could release it with a higher price on the same day that the price cap was raised, which was quite a coincidence. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it happen again.
Wouldn’t you be a bit cramped on the Honda?
With the way that you like to have the bike it’s going to be higher priced than most. HP4 Race territory?
I road the Honda in the previous iteration before the recent updates…i loved the seat and tank and overall riding position, but the foot pegs were a complete no go…also the power delivery was ridiculous…nothing below 8k RPM then utterly manic when you hit 8k RPM.
They corrected a lot on the new bike though…the bars are higher and further back and the pegs are much lower. They also added variable intake manifolds to make the power delivery linear and shorted the gear ratios.
RoadRacerX has every bike you can imagine…From V4R’s to Alpha Racing BMW’s to R1’s and the 2025 updated Honda. When i asked him what liter bike i should get for track use, he asked some very intuitive questions.
One that i thought was very interesting was him saying that you can really divide track riders into two groups, one that prefers a bike with better front end feel or one that prefers a bike with better back tire feel. Has to do with style of riding.
100% I’m a back tire guy, I don’t dive the bike super hard into a corner on braking relying on front end feel like Toprak…I like to use the rear wheel to turn the bike and get out of a corner fast and am starting to get a little bit proficient at spinning that back wheel with control and confidence.
He said the bike with the best connection between the throttle and rear wheel and rear wheel feel is the R1…but they also have over heating issues and is a platform that Yamaha is sunsetting out.
When I watch racing I can’t even imagine doing what Toprak does with his braking and corner entry. It’s just not my style of riding, but I can imagine doing what Gagne did with his R1 on corner exit when he was in his prime dominating the field that way.
So I’m certainly considering a built R1 solely for my riding style.
But the Honda still has a very good throttle to rear tire connection and with the HRC software (which is phenomenal) a non tech guy like me can intuitively adjust throttle response from the dashboard between track sessions. You can literally adjust throttle response BY GEAR track side through the dash on that bike. And with the HRC ECU and wiring wiring harness the bike gains close to 30hp so it’s a ripper in the right tune.
He said the front end on the Honda is about the best out there in liter bikes so I can adjust the throttle response in great detail very intuitively to get the rear end feel I want, and I’m thinking that phenomenal front end may help cover some weaknesses in my riding style.
And then there’s the dominance of the Honda in Superstock all over the world.
Still though, there are some weaknesses in the Honda I can thing of…that make the GYTR R1 compelling to me too…
The engines in both bikes are completely different, the Honda’s firing order doesn’t lend itself to smooth rear end feel on acceleration off an apex whereas the R1’s engine makes that type of off apex acceleration sublime. It’s almost the entire strength of the platform. But then there are potential reliability and longevity issues with the R1 and less power than the Honda engine unless you do a full engine build on the R1.
RoadracerX has me thinking of these bikes less in terms of brand loyalty or over all spec on paper…and more like getting the right helmet. The best helmet in the world might not be right for you because of the helmet shape, you need the best helmet that FITS YOUR HEAD SHAPE.
And so too, the bike should fit your riding style, capabilities, and where you want to go with your riding, which means the best fit might not be what you think, or the bike with the best cache or specs on paper.
