What's The Fastest Yamaha Motorcycle Ever Made And What Is Its Top Speed?

Yamaha, the popular Japanese bike manufacturer, is known for making some really fast bikes. However, it has never held the title of the fastest bike in the world like Suzuki, Honda, or Kawasaki. Yamaha has instead focused its efforts on delivering an exceptional track and road experience rather than chasing the top-speed crown. That being said, the Yamaha YZF-R1M is the fastest bike the brand has ever made. According to Motorcycle News, the bike can achieve a top speed of 186 mph.

186mph might not seem like much compared to other liter-class bikes like the Ducati Panigale V4 or the BMW M 1000RR, but Yamaha's top speed adheres to the gentlemen's agreement of the 1990s. For those who are not aware, the EU and American governments considered banning high-speed motorcycles after the Suzuki Hayabusa's insane 194-mph top speed run in the late 1990s. As a result, the Japanese "Big Four," namely Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, and Kawasaki, took precautionary measures and signed an informal gentlemen's agreement to restrict their bikes' top speed to 186 mph (300 km/h).

The YZF-R1M is a more track-focused version of the YZF-R1 superbike, Yamaha's most powerful production motorcycle. It is powered by a crossplane crank 998cc inline-four engine that draws on engine tech from the MotoGP-spec YZR-M1. The result is an impressive 197 hp (147.1 kW) at 13,500 rpm and 83.5 lb-ft (113 Nm) of torque.

Initially introduced in 1998, the R1 has remained one of the best-performing superbikes in the world. Brainchild of Kunihiko Miwa, the R1 was inspired by Honda's "light is right" design philosophy, which focused on making machines lighter and sportier. At launch, it was the lightest and most powerful bike in its class, forever changing how sportbikes were designed.

While it may not be as fast as the Kawasaki Ninja H2R (an exception to the gentlemen's agreement) in a straight line, the R1M is currently one of the fastest bikes around a race track, thanks to technology borrowed from MotoGP. Its Öhlins electronic racing suspension, carbon-fiber bodywork, and advanced electronic aids make it incredibly capable. In other words, the R1M is the closest thing to a Yamaha MotoGP bike you can buy and one of the most demanding Yamahas to ride, especially for beginners.