[visordown.com] - New R1 gets ugly treatment

[Ninjette Newsbot]

REMEMBER how Ducati had to bolt a hideous over-long exhaust to its original Panigale to sell it in Japan? Well now the same rules seem to be tripping up the Yamaha R1.

Pictures of the Japanese-spec model show it has a much longer end can than the Euro and US-market versions. The new can is made by Akrapovic and comes on all Japanese R1s, including the ‘M’ version. It’s believed to be needed to bring noise levels down to meet stricter Japanese limits.

Thanks to one of the many vagaries of the Japanese bike market, the R1 isn’t actually sold there as an official home-market model – you won’t find them listed on Yamaha Japan’s website. Instead they have to be exported and then re-imported into the country by one of the firm’s biggest dealers, Presto Corporation. It seems they’re arranging for the fitment of the longer Acrapovic pipes.

The effect isn’t quite as unsettling as the long-piped Panigale, but it’s still not as attractive as the version we get.

See more pics of the Japanese R1 here.

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