In a somewhat unusual strategy that Yamaha has followed with each new generation of R1 sport bike, the 2004 Yamaha R1 is now available on US dealers’ showroom floors, before any US press ride reviews have been published.
Although Yamaha has shuffled several journalists through a press intro in Australia, most of the US-based journalists will ride the R1 for the first time next week (including a representative of this publication). The path followed by Kawasaki and Honda with regard to their new open-class sport bikes is more typical, i.e., the press rides the bikes, and reports on them, well in advance of dealer’s receipt of production units.
