Older R1s, '99-03

[Slorider]

I quite like the look of these models vs the ugly underseat muffler and painted frame jobs of newer ones.More importantly they are within my financial reach at 5k-ish.Any tips to a prospective future buyer as to which model is better and why or are they much the same performance/build wise for these years...........Im not a hard core rider but do enjoy speedy bursts on straight bits and am definatly swayed by the R1's sporty stance-only other bike I like is a gixer but headlight design isn't as appealing,guess id get over it!

[BigAl]

Good choice of older sports bike, I've had my 01 for 3 yrs and it has plenty of go with looks to match.
Most examples will have done a few k but the motor is extremely reliable as are most jap engines to be fair and are usually crashed before failing.
Gearing them down helps as they have a very high 1st gear.

[tigertim20]

the 99-03 are all right around 150 hp at the crank if you follow the manufacturers quoted figures. they ones you have mentioned are much of a muchness. the weigh does fluctuate but only by a few kgs.
The 02-03 are the first of the injected so that might be worth considering if thats important to you.

Ive ridden all three models between these years (1st gen 98-99 2nd gen 00-01, 3rd gen 02-03) and they do have slightly different characteristics to ride in anger. I might be biased but I still rank the 01 as one of the best bikes i have ever owned, and I just cant imagine anyone ever being dissapointed with it.

Ive since upgraded to an '08

[R1madness]

The first generation R1s are fantastic. they have no real faults. You can tour on them easily, i did heaps of ks with a pilion on mine.
Actually i might go looking for a first model Wite and Red one.... They will be collectable one day

[AndyR1]

I have my RN01 since 1999 and until today no problem at all even after 36,000km....I will always keep her because the low-midrange power is still amazing even it's already more than 14 years old...pretty competitive even without any additional electronics at all....just be aware of that punch all the time!

I will find out soon, how a 2013/2014 superbike performs compared to The Real One ... got me a new toy

[bigreddog]

I bought one in the UK when they first came out, it was a bit of an animal and shook its head under hard acceleration on bumpy roads.
Was hideously uncomfortable too....mind you I racked up about 30k on it after fitting bar raiser kit.

also got clocked by French police at over 250kmh,kin expensive trip that one!!!!