Ignore the stickers and the Graves R1's profile is that of a stock bike - which would be the purpose of the Superstock class, right?
A nice pair: It's good to be Graves Motorsports and Yamaha in Superstock.
An office with a view. Notable features are the adjustable brake lever (controlled from the left grip), the lap timer, the fork caps for the Ohlins fork internals, and Graves clip-ons.
The only difference between Supersport and Superstock modifications are slicks for the big bikes. Given the power the R1 generates, this is a good thing.
Engine side covers are allowed to be changed for more durable items - as long as they're no lighter than stock. The red piece immediately to the right of the Graves cover is a support for a bike lift.
Oogle the Graves left side engine cover, bike lift support, Graves rearsets, and the way cool quickshifter plugin for the Power Commander.
While the front end requires stock fork external components, the shock suffers no such restrictions. You can order this Ohlins shock with the proprietary Graves valving directly from Graves Motorsports.
If you were to look closely, you'd find the stock wiring harness - complete with connectors for removed components - as per class rules. The silver box just above the muffler's leading edge is for the data acquisition system which must be removed before races.
During the lunch break, Gobert and Graves staged a two lap sprint race. The bikes finished in numerical order with Gobert astride his number one bike. Money was won and lost amongst the journalists.
A man and his mount. Is the number one plate as heavy as some claim? Only this season will tell.
'My philosophy has always been to bridge the gap between the haves and the have nots in racing. Thats' how we actually got started with our company. We try to make everything that we race for sale...to make it available to the general consumer, so that the other guy, the privateer, has the opportunity to race and be competitive.'
The tinted visor hides the fear in my eyes as I take my second lap on Hacking's bike.
Although Graves said the difference in the clip-on settings were only slightly different, I immediately felt more comfortable with the more traditional tucked in settings of Gobert's R1.
The tinted visor hides the delusional expression as I convince myself I can handle a machine of this caliber.

Just two short years ago, Yamaha invited the moto-press to ride Damon Buckmaster's Graves Motorsports Formula Xtreme R1. Since then, a number of major changes have taken place in AMA racing and under the blue Yamaha tent. First, FX bikes are now 600s. Second, Yamaha has filled the place formerly held by FX R1s in its racing lineup with Superstock R1s.

Although the rules governing the modifications to Superstock bikes are significantly more restrictive than those in the former FX class - compare half of a page to over nine pages, if you like - the same factors ultimately control how the bike performs. When asked how much money was invested in the parts used on his Superstock R1s, Chuck Graves, owner of Graves Motorsports and accomplished tuner/racer, thought for a minute and said, "Roughly $6-8,000." (Yep, that'd be one-tenth the monetary investment his company had in a FX R1.) He followed up by pointing out that all of the parts his mechanics have installed on the R1s can be purchased directly from Graves Motorsports. Now, before you go and get all excited thinking you can build a class winning Yamaha R1 for a mere $8,000 over list price, stop and consider what won't arrive on your doorstep in the arms of your friendly UPS driver: specifically, the collective knowledge contained between the ears of the Graves Motorsports team of mechanics, not to mention Chuck himself. While you can buy the same parts as the pros, eventually, you - or someone you hire - will have to know how to use them to achieve the same results.

When asked about which class he prefers, Graves naturally said he favors the FX class because it is a builder's class. Still, getting the best out of a Superstock bike within the limits of the rules presents its own set of challenges. As with any race bike, one of the primary focuses is power delivery - but not necessarily peak horsepower. According to Graves, "We think that drivability with a liter class bike is more important than actual brute horsepower." (This statement shouldn't be a surprise to those who read about Graves using carburetors on the FX R1.)

The areas Graves is allowed to optimize the power-plant in Superstock are few. A Graves titanium exhaust system gets bolted on. A Power Commander handles the mixing of the VP Racing Fuels MR9, which, according to Graves, "has the best energy of all the fuels that are out there today." Compression can be adjusted by changing the deck height and using different gaskets, but even those modifications are limited by the requirement that stock pistons and combustion chamber shape be used. Cam timing can be altered with adjustable cam sprockets on the OE cams, and mechanical ignition timing adjusters can be used. Clutch plates can also be replaced. That's it. The results? How does 180-ish peak horsepower (tuners are always so coy with their numbers) with a big, flat power curve that starts in the mid-range strike you?

The second area that receives the bulk of the tuning attention is the the suspension. While the fork internals may be changed, the original external components must be used without alteration. So, a Ohlins "Factory" kit quietly slipped inside. Out back no limitations are made on the shock (although the OE linkage must remain intact), so you'll notice that distinctive gold color of an Ohlins shock lurking on the base of the frame. Both the fork and shock received Graves-specific valving and can be ordered directly from Graves. The only differences suspension-wise between the two bikes on hand for the journalists to ride at this event were preload settings and a click or two of the adjusters as dictated by Gobert and Hacking's personal preferences.

With the exception of the data-acquisition system, which can only be used during testing, the rest of the modifications to the R1s follow what you'd expect when converting a street bike to a race bike. The OE bodywork is nixed for lighter and easier to remove Sharkskinz items. A Zero Gravity wind screen gives the riders something to tuck behind. Graves clip-ons and rearsets cut weight and are easily replaceable. A Graves fairing bracket usurps the stocker. Folding levers help crash survivability, and the remote brake lever adjuster is a must for a pro race bike. The stock instrumentation is augmented with a lap timer. All hoses are converted to braided stainless items while the brakes themselves stay stock except for Ferodo pads.

Although Yamaha PR guy, Brad Bannister, wasn't telling us that a crash meant an end our journalistic careers, like he did at the FX event, this knowledge did nothing to lessen my fears when I threw my leg over Hacking's #2 bike. First, the bike felt about six feet taller than the stock R1 I'd been warming up on. Even when the bike was taken off its rear stand, I still stood on my tip-toes, despite my 32 inch inseam. The way Hacking prefers to have his ergos set was foreign to me. The clip-ons felt awkwardly wide, and I seemed to be riding right on top of the front wheel. Before I was even up to speed pulling out on the track, I could tell that this bike steers extraordinarily quickly, immediately translating my tentative inputs into really terrible lines. As I got up to speed, this quick steering was really appreciated and allowed me too pitch the bike into corners with lightning speed. Similarly, mid-corner corrections were almost telepathic.

The fuel injection was spot on from the bottom end all the way up to red-line. The most noticeable feature of the power curve is its linearity. The Graves team has beefed up the mid-range so much that the top end doesn't provide the expected "hit" of power. That's not to say that there isn't more power on top. Just that the percentage of increased power in the middle dwarfs the percentage of increase in the top end, delivering a flat, wide power curve. However, it was impossible to ignore how much quicker I arrived at the next corner and how much more speed I had to scrub off when I got there. Despite the fact that the brakes were stock, save for the braided lines and Ferodo pads, the stopping power and ease of modulation worked so well that I found myself overbraking for the first few corners I approached at speed. Once I became accustomed to the sensation, trail braking into the corners was simple.

The suspension settings on both Gobert's and Hacking's bikes were exceptionally stiff. Even though I'm significantly heavier than both riders, my pace was far enough off that of the Yamaha boys that I never had the opportunity to truly sample the suspension setup. Still, I wasn't the only one who was surprised by the suspension. The stiffness of the ride was a topic of much discussion in the pits with even riders lapping at five to six seconds faster than me saying they experienced the same results. One of the lighter, jockey-sized journalists said the suspension was almost unusable for him - and he still smoked me. Nevertheless, I found myself altering a couple of my lines to avoid bumps that I wouldn't hesitate to hit in a softer suspended bike.

Twice, once on each bike, I experienced some headshake exiting corners. On Hacking's bike, the excitement started on the exit of turn two where the track goes from banked to slightly off camber. As I got on the gas, the bike started to wag its bars but only required a slight modulation of the throttle to calm it down. Later in the day, on Gobert's number one bike, I was feeling much more confident, thanks to ergos that were more to my suiting. Suspecting that I was about to turn my quickest lap of the session, I got on the throttle a bit earlier and harder exiting turn nine. I was rewarded for my efforts with massive headshake. Feeling my berries, I decided to ride it out and not back off of the throttle. (I'd started to believe I was a hero as I'd grown accustomed to bombing down the hill from turn six to eight with the R1 doing that high-speed straight line acceleration twitch that looks so cool in the races on TV.) About halfway down the front straight, with the edge of the track getting ever closer in my blurred vision, I lost my resolve and backed off. I'd blown my last hot lap.

Once I returned to the pits, we had a chuckle at my expense. Mechanic Josh Alverson dialed in a couple more clicks on the steering damper, and I was sent back out for a couple more sympathy laps. I promptly clocked my best time of the day and returned to the pits satisfied with myself. The tractability of the power delivery was simply amazing and was, I'm certain, responsible for me feeling as comfortable as I did on the bike. Graves pretty much summed up how I felt after I got off the R1s, when he said, "This really proves how good the manufacturer's product is when you're limited in the changes you can make."