These days, it’s difficult to know which Yamaha M1 we’re talking about…
We currently find a profusion of them in the boxes of Valentino Rossi, Maverick Vinales and Johann Zarco and, between 2016, 2017 and pre-2018 models, a cat would not find her kittens there, especially since each year, several Frames were built, offering different front and rear rigidities, different engine heights, and different weight distributions.
So it is not a question here of going into deep detail about each machine, but rather, even if it means simplifying to the extreme, of knowing, at a single glance, if it is a 2016 used by Johann Zarco this year (with the exception of the Valencia tests) or a 2017 having been used by official drivers throughout this season (with the exception of the Valencia Grand Prix).
Visually, the main difference between a 2016 and 2017 comes from the seat-tank assembly.
The 2016 still has the rear light at the end of the saddle while a 2017 has a completely pointed saddle, the rear light having been transferred under the saddle.
Another difference is that the top of the 2016 saddle is made up of several elements whereas they are combined on the 2017.
There you have it, even if in practice all this is not so simple, it will certainly allow you to know what year is Katsuyuki Nakasuga's motorcycle which appears today in Valentino Rossi's box during private testing at Sepang (photo cover)…
