Why are pre 90 model 1000 better race bikes??

[sbutler]

I have been doing a lot of research over the Xmas break, & I have come to the concluion the 9re 90 FZR 1000s seem to be better race bikes??
I know they have a cradle under the engine, non USD forks & a different swingarm. But wouldnt time suggest thet as the model moved along Yamaha would have made it better?

To me the first FZRs were real Superbikes, & as the model traveled along its path, they seemed to softern it year by year.
I know the later ones had the EXUP, even that sort of gave them more low/mid power but very little in the way of improvment.

In the first few years the FZR won that many production races I lost count. In fact they were unbeatable for years in most types of racing. But then seemed to drop off the radar somewatt.

Yamaha seemed to be making it a better road bike & a less sporting bike.
Am I off track here, or did Yamaha mean to do this , or infact, are the later FZRs better then the early models as far as racing goes??
Someone inlightern me please.

[hotcam]

I think there's a few factors at work.

Remember then, the 750s were for light, fast, responsive handling,
but hadn't the sheer grunt. And the 1000s were fat heavy rockets
whose frames flexed under the strain but reached great speeds in
a straight line.

The original Genesis 87-88 models were the fastest production bike ever
at the time. The Genesis frame concept was the first alloy beam frame
on a widespread production bike, so the handling was great for racing
too. I can't think of anything else in that category which combined both
the light good handling, with the sheer engine power.

Early slab-sided GSXRs? Big, loop-framed, and air/oil cooled. They
were pretty good if you made a 7/11 job out of them, but otherwise
not the same combination of handling and power. Just one OR the other.

Kawasaki had the GPZ900R still (aka ZX900 Ninja), which was still
being sold in Aus for many years, despite being a 5-year-old 1983
design with a steel frame and around 25% less horsepower.
It was also supported by the GPX750 (light, but steel framed and
with less power) and the ZX10 which was a more
powerful but heavier expansion of the GPZ900. A beam frame, but
a steel one. Heavy.
Honda's CBR1000F (the 'big' Hurricane) was more of a sports-tourer
with its weight and bulk and steel frame and lazy comfort. Meanwhile
the CBX750 was also quite comfortable and practical, rather than racy.
VFR750 were a good size, but not the horsepower of a 1000.

Later on there were other bikes released that changed the goalposts.
For example, the early Fireblades weren't quite as powerful but were
more nimble and lighter. Manufacturers copied the beam-frame concept
quite quickly in bikes such as the RF900 and ZXR750. At the same time,
the FZR remained largely unchanged, allowing the other machines
to "catch up" although not surpass the FZR technology.

Later Superbike racing came to my notice more, although
it may have already been popular around that time.
So in 750s, although FZR750 was replaced by YZF750, the
GSXR and ZXR-Ninja became also very serious
contenders. I think at the time, Honda were drowning in the mess
caused by the failure of the NR750 "oval"-piston. Fortunately for them
the VFR750 continued as an increasing success, once it had
left behind the disreputable camshafts of the VF750 series.

So overall I think that at the time the FZR1000 Genesis was released,
most other 1000cc bikes with comparable horsepower were fat
and heavy. 750s were the choice for handling, but didn't have the
grunt. Most bikes of comparable physical size were much less power.
All suffered from frames that weren't as good.

But soon the other manufacturers caught up and although the
EXUP was an improvement and later EXUPs were slightly better in
brakes and forks, Yamaha mainly kept the bike the same and
were overtaken by new-release bikes that were better (at least
for racing use).

[stan]

by the early 90's the FZR 1000 was being promoted as a sports tourer,

if you wanted a Yamaha race bike you needed to go the ow01 route, in line with the current superbike rules. By 92/3, the YZF had made it appearence and became the mainstay of Yamaha's racing effort for the next 5 or so years

stan

[hotcam]

Yeah, I wasn't sure but is that the time when racing was pretty much
750cc only, there wasn't much of a category for any litre bikes?

[sbutler]

So in reality the FZR 1000s were pretty much that same bike right through the range.
I know the first GSXR were hamstrung by their crappy suspension, & the FZR 1000s were flogging everything all the time. But by the time the 90s came along the FZR seemed slower/less animal.
I raced a 89 GSXR750 & dont ever rememeber the FZRs being any sort of threat.
This is me in 89 at oran pk. Not an FZR in sight?

I do however rememeber Wayne Clarke riding the FZR 750 pretty well in 89.

[hotcam]

heh wot a great classic pic.

[sbutler]

Thats the right hander heading up onto the bridge. God Im gonna miss that place.