Even if most of it is just manipulating pixels, we are big fans of the work being done by the guys at Holographic Hammer, as they are bringing something fresh and unique to the industry, which is always a good thing.
That being said, we wanted to take a minute to talk about one of HH’s recent pieces: a café racer design based off of the Yamaha R1M superbike. The idea is sort of out there, but yet also makes a reasonable amount of sense.
Yamaha’s paper craft creations are always amazing pieces of work, and each one seems to surpass the prior, which is certainly saying something. The latest creation from Yamaha features the company’s crown jewel: the Yamaha YZF-R1M.
We cannot imagine the patience that goes into creating a paper 1:5 scale model like this, but artist Nobutaka Mukouyama must certainly have it in spades.
Yamaha calls Mukouyama-san’s latest creation an “ultra-realistic” version of the R1M paper craft, and warns that it is no small-undertaking to complete. We believe them.
Photos of a completed paper Yamaha YZF-R1M are after the jump, and if you want to tackle this project yourself, you can download the necessary files right here.
If any A&R readers finish one of these bad boys, please send us photos of your work!
When Öhlins announced that it was recalling certain aftermarket shocks and steering dampers earlier this year, the obvious question was whether it would affect motorcycles that were equipped with the Swedish suspension from the factory, namely the new Ducati 1299 Panigale and the Yamaha YZF-R1M.
While a recall was expected for both machines, so far we only have word from Yamaha USA that the R1M will be recalled to replace the Öhlins shock. The recall only affects 350 units for Yamaha, a figure that likely indicates the total number of R1M motorcycles in the USA.
It’s tough cookies if you want to order a Yamaha YZF-R1M in the European Union right now, as what is shaping out to be the superbike of 2015 has sold out in every European country.
This means only those riders who pre-ordered an R1M online, on Yamaha Europe’s registration system, will be able to get a 2015 model — perpetuating the saying from the translated French: “you snooze, you lose”.
To rub salt into the wounds, all European customers of the R1M will get to join Colin Edwards and other Yamaha racing staff at an upcoming Yamaha Racing Experience events in July. Schwing!
While the 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1M was being debuted in Milan, Italy at a star-studded press event, Yamaha Motor USA invited a group of journalists down to southern California to experience the new liter bike first-hand — Asphalt & Rubber was among those attending.
For anyone who has been up-close with the Yamaha YZR-M1, Yamaha’s MotoGP bike, then there are obvious design cues that you can see carried over to the new street bike. The airbox cover is gilled, the air intake is squared, with the pointy nose slightly covering it, making it look like a collapsed pentagon.
Indeed, Yamaha is trying to draw distinctions between the new R1 and its sophisticated M1 race bike. The electronics package on the latter has certainly helped in developing the 2015 Yamaha R1, taking the Tuning Fork brand as having one of the least sophisticated superbike, to now one of the most sophisticated.