Yamaha YZF-R7
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| Manufacturer | Yamaha |
|---|---|
| Also called | Yamaha R7 Yamaha OW-02 |
| Production | 1999 |
| Predecessor | Yamaha YZF750 |
| Class | Sport bike (homologation special) |
| Engine | 749 cc (45.7 cu in) liquid-cooled 4-stroke 20-valve DOHC inline-4 |
| Bore / stroke | 72.0 mm × 46.0 mm (2.8 in × 1.8 in) |
| Compression ratio | 11.4:1 |
| Top speed | 163 mph (262 km/h) |
| Power | 106 hp (79.0 kW) @ 11,000 rpm |
| Torque | 72 N·m (53.1 lb·ft) @ 8,000 rpm |
| Transmission | 6-speed constant mesh |
| Suspension | Front: 43 mm Öhlins inverted telescopic forks, preload, compression and rebound damping adjustable Rear: Öhlins piggy-back, preload, compression and rebound damping adjustable |
| Brakes | Front: Dual hydraulic disc with 4-piston Rear: Single hydraulic disc with dual piston |
| Tires | Front: 120/70ZR17 Rear: 180/55ZR17 |
| Wheelbase | 1,400 mm (55.1 in) |
| Dimensions |
L: 2,060 mm (81.1 in) W: 720 mm (28.3 in) |
| Seat height | 840 mm (33.1 in) |
| Weight | 188.7 kg (416 lb) (dry) |
| Fuel capacity | 23 l; 5.0 imp gal (6 US gal) |
The Yamaha YZF-R7 or OW-02 is a race homologation motorcycle made by Yamaha in limited production run of only 500 units. It was designed to compete in the Superbike World Championship and Suzuka 8 Hours endurance races.
It has a 749 cc (45.7 cu in), DOHC 20-valve (5 valves per cylinder) inline-four engine producing 106 hp (79.0 kW) on the base model for 32k US Dollars. But Yamaha also produced two race kits for the R7 the first for 914.25 US Dollars made 135 hp (100.7 kW) when the other, unused bank of fuel injectors is activated and a pipe and ECU update. The second race kit for 12,190.00 US Dollars unleashed 162 hp (120.8 kW).
The R7 was built for racing 'out of the box', implied by the chassis, which was derived from information and geometry from the YZR500 machines of the period. The R7 was specified with Öhlins suspension components and with titanium valves, titanium conrods, a shortened Deltabox II frame and dry weight of just 189 kg (416 lb).
The intentions of the R7 were further underlined, with its designation of "OW-02" and the lack of any pillion/passenger provision. The ECU came pre-programmed with racing maps for fuel and ignition, which were unlocked when the ECU detected that the race kit's wiring harness had been installed.
Super Streetbikes magazine ranked the R7 eighth in its list,"The 10 Most Exotic Bikes Ever", noting its extraordinary $32,000 price and "top-spec Öhlins race suspension and running gear" and that the bike, "looked utterly amazing: genuine two-wheeled sex", but said it was ironic that in spite of being the "most exotic R-series bike ever", it "actually turned out to be a bit of a lemon". The problem was that the bike as sold was hobbled, at only 100 hp, and that small teams could not afford the "thousands of dollars" of racing upgrades necessary to make the R7 competitive, and when they did, "the crankshafts failed". For the sake of simplicity and cost savings, Yamaha had chosen to detune the engines for bikes imported into all countries to meet the German market's maximum horsepower regulation, partially because whatever level it was detuned to was irrelevant, given that virtually every buyer intended to modify the bike from street-legal form in order to race.
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Wikipedia