Some offices are better than others. An office that includes a medley of 2018 R1Ms based at Portimao is a pretty sexy office, and an office that Chris has inhabited this week for the press launch of Yamaha?s latest crossplane offerings. Unveiled in a very elusive fashion at the Milan show last year, the subtlety refreshed R1 and R1M almost slipped the net?  
There are several significant updates to one of the finest track steeds available for 2018: Öhlins Smart EC2, the addition of a blipper, ?improved? Lift control and new ECU mapping. If it ain?t broke, don’t fix it, etc, although we?d like to have seen some upgraded brakes in that tech spec. After hearing about the new Öhlins kit ? damn similar to that seen on the Panigale V4 ? I was hoping for a massive step in performance and fluidity. Is it" Well, Chris has an allergy to any kind of work typing and the general approach to writing, so we used the latest and greatest technology and spoke over the phone. Here are some of his initial thoughts.

?The suspension is definitely an improvement but not a dramatic change in performance. It?s easier to use in terms of set-up, with brake support, acceleration support and mid-corner support all readily changeable via the fresh interface on the R1M?s dash. But yes, the dynamic upgrade is subtle.
?As before, the quickshifter is sharp and responsive. The blipper is smooth, although I wasn’t the only rider who suffered with missed blips/changes from second gear t...