Race-Spec 2009 R1
Full Carbon
Auto Blipper
Built Motor
Dirt Bars
Fat-Tire 2012 R1
360MM Rear
Wild Wheels
Supercar Exhaust
With a light touch of the...
With a light touch of the brake lever, the auto blipper spikes the revs while you clutch in to downshift.
At the core of every Uncle Sam advertisement and politician’s election speech is that all-powerful word: “freedom.” We live and ride here because of the abundance of choice and when it comes to building custom bikes, that power of choice means we can do whatever the f$%k we want. Like’em long, low and wide or do you prefer them short, trimmed and lightweight? Whether it’s chrome and flashy or carbon, titanium and race-ready, the market is diverse enough to support any vision imaginable.
Which brings us to this tale of two R1s that share little more than their bloodline and manufacturer’s badge at this point. In one corner stands a lightweight track-ready monster with function placed before form. And in the other, a wide-tire roller that’s as clean as it is eye-catching. The kicker? We had the owners of each bike swap keys for a street ride to experience the other side of the coin and report back about what they thought.
While you likely fall into one of the two categories it’s our hope that you can still appreciate both sides of the sport. So sit back, pick a favorite and enjoy a face-off between two R1s that couldn’t be more different.
Rocket Science Special
2009 R1 owner, Dr. Steve Stone, is a real deal rocket scientist. While his day job includes classified documents and cracking aerospace algorithms that’d make Rain Man sweat, he’s just like any other dedicated enthusiast when it comes to bikes. But he’s also a serious perfectionist.
“It’s natural being in my line of work that we like cutting-edge technology, especially sportbikes,” Stone said. “I used to have an old Kawasaki GPZ900 (think Tom Cruise in Top Gun) that I loved to ride when I was younger, but I eventually parked it and when I wanted to ride again I realized it had been nearly 20 years.”
Brembo braking and carbon,...
Brembo braking and carbon, o’ so sweet.
Stealth LEDs adds flavor to...
Stealth LEDs adds flavor to an Ohlins shock.
Case savers and Ti-bolts are...
Case savers and Ti-bolts are a safe bet for style.
With a light touch of the...
With a light touch of the brake lever, the auto blipper spikes the revs while you clutch in to downshift.
It was early 2009 when Stone was again bitten by the bike bug after seeing how well the R1 was performing in superbike racing. He had no idea how far he’d take his addiction to customization when he bought a spankin’ new R1. His decision that it needed an Akro system right away was the first indication of what was to come. “I wanted to ditch the stock exhaust because it was quiet and expelled tremendous amounts of heat, it was only the beginning of a long-road to where it sits today,” Stone said.
The quirky stock fueling was Stone’s next bone to pick and a Dynojet PCV along with a custom map fixed the low-speed stumbles. Since Stone has a history of automotive road racing it was only a matter of time before the performance mods really started to roll.
“Lightweight wheels do wonders for a car on a racetrack and I thought the same principals would apply to a motorcycle, so I made the swap to the carbon wheels and it was a night and day difference. I’d say the wheels made more of a difference than any other mod.”
No cheap knock-off rollers here, just pure cheddar in the form of BST carbon fiber five spokes filled with ceramic bearings and wrapped in Michelin’s ultra lightweight Pilot Pure hides. The high-buck rollers only fed Stone’s obsession and before long a host of Brembo Nickel-Cad Superbike braking components made their way into the mix along with BrakeTech CMC rotors and Öhlins fork internals along with a matching rear shock. “The combination of the wheels, brakes and suspension made a huge difference during turn-in since it not only dropped weight, but it also made the heavy R1 handle a lot better,” Stone said.
"This doesn't look like stainless...
"This doesn't look like stainless steel." Want a rotor that quickly dissipates the inferno of heat generated by big bite binders hauling a street beast down from triple digits? Look no further than the lightweight Braketech Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) rotors. Stealth fighter tech trickled down into the creation of these babies.
The bike wouldn’t be complete until it weighed 400-pounds and made 175 HP at the wheel. Lofty goals but with enough cash anything is possible. “The bike started between 460-470-pounds and made high 140s at the rear wheel, but after lots of hard work it now weighs 402-pounds with a half tank of gas and makes 176 HP at the tire,” Stone added.