Yamaha’s new YZF-R1 will appear at the Milan Show early next month and here is what we have gleaned so far from various sources:

• It will be a little larger than the current Yamaha R6 with an approximate power output of around 230bhp
• Tales of poor reliability were apparently smokes and mirrors generated by the factory
• The race project is being led by former Yamaha and BMW WSBK team boss Andrea Dosoli
• Marcus Eschenbacher is responsible for engine development
• It has magnesium wheels - which will have to be binned to race
• It has the trickest-ever electronics system seen on a road bike including anti-wheelie and launch control, and an inertial platform that will allow teams to map parameters like lean angle - also destined for the skip if you want to race it as a Superbike in Britain
• It will the Superstock weapon of choice next year as all the stuff you have to throw away to race in Superbikes, you can keep in Superstock
• Test rider Jeffry de Vries has said it has put in ‘competitive’ lap times at tracks in Japan and Spain. He is markedly faster than Yamaha’s Japanese hero Kats Nakasuga on the same bike…
• Factory-backed race teams will have them in three weeks