A recent report confirms that 2021 Yamaha R1 is under development and will make its official debut in the production-ready form at EICMA 2020. The motorcycle may arrive in the concept form at EICMA 2019 but, the chances of the advancement are very thin for this case.
The first and highest chance for the update is the demand for an increase in power, with every manufacturer taking the power up to 215 HP with their upgraded engines. The current generation Yamaha R1 is good for 200 HP and with a wet weight lower than 200kg mark, it still feels great to race in front of other options with higher overall body weight.
The current design upgrade came after Yamaha considered the possibility of minimalistic facial feeling and maximum aerodynamic ability. The current generation model features two projector headlights right under the cowl and when going for the track specific model, the same gets removed for even lighter overall weight. The next generation, 2021 Yamaha R1 is expected to arrive with lighter wheels, stronger brakes and lightweight chassis, further removing unsprung weight from the bike to achieve the most agile handling ability across the litre-class bikes.
At present, the current-gen Yamaha R1 is available with an ex-showroom price tag of INR 20.39 lakh in India and the next-generation model will definitely get a price jump due to added technologies. Yamaha is expected to use the seamless gearbox from MotoGP bikes, further saving a fraction of seconds in shifting and resulting in better acceleration than ever.
EICMA serves as the most important platform for new products globally and showing a prototype this year may not be a feasible option considering the least expected changes in the design lines. The engine will be Euro-5 compliant and use the cross-plane crank. The Yamaha-specific variable valve timing and updates like the winglets can further improve the overall quality of riding through high-speed circuits.
