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FastestThings

Motorcycles

Yamaha YZF-R1

MCN lists 182 mph for the 2007–2008 YZF-R1. Later R1 generations are not given this figure.

Also known as YZF-R1, R1

Top speed

Published as 182 mphPublished as 182 mphPublished as 182 mph

MCN specification table for the 2007–2008 YZF-R1 lists 182 mph. Later R1 generations were not given this number. A 2015 R1M run on a track-only ECU is not the stock bike.

VerifiedMotorcycle News (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 2.8× a cheetah's timed top speedSourced · Cheetah, 29 m/s. Sharp 1997, mean of three timed runs over 201.2 m
  • A football field in 1.1 sConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)
  • London to New York in 19 h 1 minConstant · London to New York, 5,570 km great-circle

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

This list

Why it's so fast

A motorcycle is fast because the air only has to get around a rider and a fairing, not a cabin. The engine still has to stay in its power band, and many of the big numbers are factory limiters.

  1. A small hole in the air

    Less frontal area means less drag for a given speed. The rider's tuck is part of the shape. A sitting-up test is a different motorcycle.

  2. Limiters are common

    A published top speed on a modern sport bike is often an electronic cap the makers agreed to, not the speed the engine would reach with the cap removed.

The capped one people mean is the Suzuki Hayabusa.

This is how the category works. A note written for this entry appears here once it is in the database.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 293km/h182mph81.4m/s158knRanked figure

    MCN specification table for the 2007–2008 YZF-R1 lists 182 mph. Later R1 generations were not given this number. A 2015 R1M run on a track-only ECU is not the stock bike.

    Verified

Reference

Specs

Model
2007–2008 YZF-R1
Test
MCN specification table, 182 mph
Not ranked
Track-only ECU runs

Spot a wrong number?

Every report is read by a person, and corrections are dated on the page.