The 2001 YZR500 was an evolution of the previous season’s 500 machine, which had won the 2000 World GP Constructors Championship for Yamaha. Yamaha’s aim was to use the basic components from the 2000 bike to provide increased performance and reliability for the 2001 YZR 500 at each of the demanding World GP circuits. As with the 2000 YZR 500, this model adopts a highly reliable liquid-cooled 2-stroke V4 engine with YPVS and a 2-axis crank shaft mounted on a lightweight and rigid aluminium Deltabox frame. Subtle changes were also made to the appearance of the 2001 bike. Most of the external parts of the fairing were aerodynamically modified, including the windscreen and the rear cowl, to include the exhausts tail pipes. Development of the ‘01 model has focused mainly on improving power-output characteristics and transient response characteristics to achieve an even higher level of...

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