This Is The Most Expensive Yamaha Bike You Can Buy Today

Yamaha has a lengthy history of producing some truly impressive bikes, which is one of the reasons it's so easy to forget the several other products Yamaha makes besides motorcycles. From 1963 to 2021, the Japanese manufacturer achieved 517 competitive motorcycle racing victories spanning across all the varied classes, according to Yamaha Racing. Fortunately, you don't have to be a pro moto racer to experience Yamaha's superbike, but it does come with a hefty price tag.

The YZF-R1M is not only the brand's most costly currently available motorcycle at $27,699 (plus $625 destination charge), it also tops the list of the fastest Yamaha motorcycles ever made. With a 998cc CP4 engine and an exceptionally low wet weight of just 452 pounds, this bike can rocket from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 2.6 seconds. But, with a starting price more akin to a new car, what makes this motorcycle so expensive?

While the YZF-R1M may not look drastically different from the less expensive R1 model, it features a number of enhancements to boost performance. For one thing, the entire body is crafted from carbon fiber. This material is not only lightweight, but it's also strong, helping to provide structural advantages over aluminum. 

Another addition to the R1M that increases the price tag is the included GPS system in the onboard Communications Control Unit. Essentially, this technology allows you to log lap times and map out your course while on the track. Data is automatically gathered by the GPS and then can be viewed on a smartphone app. For those who are serious about improving and tweaking their bikes' settings for faster times, this feature is critical. If you've ever wondered, here is what GPS stands for and how it works.

Yamaha's top-of-the-line superbike caters to the very experienced rider, who is either an enthusiast or races in track events. With nearly 200 horsepower, the R1M is incredibly powerful, and certainly only for those not faint of heart. One reviewer quipped that the acceleration was so fierce, they struggled to hold on. With a stiff, track-based suspension, and forward leaning riding angle, this superbike isn't designed for long distance travel. In fact, we recently put together a list of the most comfortable motorcycles you can buy according to owners, and unsurprisingly, none were sport bikes.

If you thought Yamaha's top-tier superbike featured an eye-opening price, a search for classic models up for auction delivers an even greater blow to the bank account. Desirable vintage models can sell for significantly more, and at the time of writing, one eBay listing for a 1978 Yamaha RD400 sits at $29,000, For those familiar with this bike, there are some legitimate reasons why it's so pricey.

By the late '70s, the RD400 was a dying breed of sports bike that featured a two-stroke engine. A push to reduce emissions prompted motorcycle manufacturers to start adopting four-stroke engines, which ran cleaner, but initially lacked the robust capabilities of their 2-stroke counterparts. In fact, according to a 1979 CycleWorld review, even after some modifications to reduce emissions, the RD400 effortlessly wheelies to the point that anything other than a deliberately modest twist of the throttle will lift the front wheel off the ground.

The RD400 is also one of the coolest looking Yamaha motorcycles ever made, due in part to famous martial artist Bruce Lee. Lee rode the bike in his last film "The Game of Death," which became a bit infamous as it wasn't completed before the stars untimely passing.