YAMAHA YZF1000 THUNDERACE (1996 - 2003) Review

Version: YZF 1000R

Year: 1996

Annual servicing cost: £75

20 years of ownership has reinforced just how well engineered this bike was. Still looks clean and engine feels smooth and strong. Brakes are sharp and handles ok. Good Plugs and quality oil pays back in spades. TLC on the EXUP a must. Decent torque and relatively low 190kg weight makes for easy ride.

Year: 1999

Amazingly dependable and capable bike. It's fast, stable, relatively comfortable, has a good range between refuel at normal speed. It's also very predictable and forgiving.

Year: 2000

Annual servicing cost: £300

Its a bit weighty moving it by hand, and feels a bit chunky compared with more modern, similar CC bikes, but it pulls like an absolute train and has no issues keeping up with anything else… I just wish my confidence handled as well as the bike does!

Buying experience: Got mine as a trade for a 1.5yr old Grom

Year: 1996

Annual servicing cost: £50

very comfortable for a sports bike. i can sit on it for several hours with no issues other than hand vibrations. a bit on the heavy side.

Buying experience: bought privately off the original owner.

Year: 1996

Fantastic value for money

Year: 1996

Lacking in the looks department and could do with a 6th gear

Version: 4sv3

Year: 1997

Annual servicing cost: £120

Езжу часто по межгороду лучше мотоцикла нет. Он легко ремантируется. Двигатель не одноразовый.

Buying experience: 3200$

Version: Black/Grey

Year: 1997

Out of all the bikes I have owned, this was my favorite bike. It was my everyday commuter/highway rocket for about 6 years. Never gave me a problem or left me stranded. My biggest regred was selling it in 2007 to buy a Harley Softail.

Buying experience: Purchased used in 2000 from a local dealer for 5200.00.

Year: 1999

Annual servicing cost: £300

I've had this bike from new and done 40k miles on it. I've still never really got my knee down though, it leans all the way and then a bit more... I've seen 155mph on derestricted autobahn and taken it up the Swiss mountains. I've toured the whole UK in a week on it and I did get a bit of a numb bum and achy wrists from sitting on it for hours at a time. I've removed the exup on mine as the flip-flap brass bit was designed too long and seized up really easily. This happened three times and then I got annoyed and ditched it - you just cant get the parts these days. Otherwise, loves Dunlops, fast as hell, and just a wonderful, wonderful bike.

Year: 2000

Pulls like a train and a fast one! Try one and you will understand what a great bike it is!

Year: 2003

Annual servicing cost: £300

Bought bike as a daily commuter with some sport touring ability and weekend fun. Super smooth - less vibration thru bars and pegs than new 2017 Kawasaki Z1000SX. I paid £2300 for a 23k immaculate bike. Valves done. Super comfortable seat and pillion. Mirrors could be in slightly better position but it's a lot of bike for the money - gets a bit hot in heavy traffic but it's ok if you can weave through. Lighter than it looks with good handling. Not a super sport but a sports tourer. BUY ONE!! (I chose this over the Kawasaki Z1000SX because of the huge price differential £2300 versus £10,600 and disappointing vibration thru pegs and bars on Kwaka).

Buying experience: Bought from Ian Bell Motorcycles near Newcastle and spent 6 hours riding it back to London just ahead of rain and a storm! Great dealer - thanks guys!

Year: 1996

This was featured in What Bike? Annual review and said it was the "fat dad of the R1". And that sums it up perfectly. I had to get rid of this before it (a) killed me or (b) put me in jail. Why? It's a very easy bike to ride quickly. I've had all sorts over a 40 year career, but can honestly say I never managed to get the throttle to the stop. You look down on the motorway thinking you're cruising but leaving everyone for dead - and you're showing 140mph. It is EFFORTLESS. Problems - watch out for those brake calipers seizing (in Japan We put salt on chip only....) in winter with the roadsalt (I must be a nutter,I remember riding mine in thick snow), the EXUP seized on me as well putting it into limp home mode, but overall, a very cheap way of going VERY fast!

Year: 1996

I've owned this bike for six years and I'm not thinking of selling it anytime soon. After graduating from a GPX250 then a CBR600F4, the thunderace is the final weapon. I've dialed in each system and it's become a Swiss watch. If you happen to be 6'3" you'll find this bike was made for you. A lot of people complain that it's too bulky, they just don't know how to ride it. You have to get forward on the bike with your eyes over the triple clamp to really understand what the engineers intended. It has an ergonomic riding position where you sit "in" the bike rather than on... and it is ridiculously nimble.

Year: 1996

I've owned this bike for six years and not thinking of selling it anytime soon. After graduating from a 250 then a 600, the thunderace is the final weapon. I've dialed in each system and it's become a Swiss watch. If you happen to be 6'3" you'll find this bike was made for you. A lot of people complain that it's too porky, they just don't know how to ride it. You have to get forward on the bike with your eyes over the triple clamp to really understand what the engineers intended - it's ridiculously nimble.

ended up buying a thunderace because im young and daft as a brush... i was knocked off my CBR400rr which was an amazing bike, by a van (the old 'sorry mate i didnt see you'). i rode that bike near enough to its limit! i had my knee down at every corner, every roundabout and even in a straight line! i thought long and hard about what bike to get next considering im only a baby and it was the insurance i had to worry about. the average sport bike quote was 10k+ so i thought id challenge myself and see what its like to ride a 1000cc! my reasoning was if i can ride that hard being a big heavy lump i can ride anything! iv had her nearly 3 months now and im still dragging knees but its a lot less 'responsive' than my little 400, which is understandable as i used to outhandle more or less everything on the road. the power delivrey is fantastic. once i got a good set of tyres and tweaked the suspension i fely much more confident riding this monster machine. the only thing im struggling with is low speed manouvers and walking the thing backwards as iv only got little legs and the bikes way to heavey to be flying round tiny tight bends. apart from this the bikes great, hasnt really let me down as yet although they all burn a fair bit of oil when you tater them a little! all in all, id deffinately reccomend it to most people. its not great for racing but it certainly keeps up. im looking at trading it in for a k8 GSXR750 next year though as i find it much more comfortable for how i ride however anyone who's ever ridden my Ace has mentioned how comfortable it is. i dont find it all that comfy to be honest? must just be me :)

Had my Ace 11 years now and LOVE IT !Great bike once suspension sorted. If you can ride no worries keeping with newer faster bikes

I have had this bike for 1 year, 1370 quid from ebay(P reg with 24k), took a chance and im glad i did! burns no oil, looks great in red/black and sounds even better with the Scorpion exhaust. Only downside is the exhaust rotting, i was lucky to be able to weld mine so look out for this before buying.Im 18stone and ive been for a 300 mile journey with full panniers and the Mrs and bike returned 50mpg. Compared with a brand new Speed Triple 1050 which i test rode this is more fun and looks better...although the triple was good i just couldnt justify the extra cost. Buy one!!!

superb bike, fantastic 20 valve engine, and comfy, A +++

A little more than a year ago, a friend crashed my beloved CBR1100XX into a wall, and I was left without a motorcycle. This went on for several months and in the Spring I could stand no more! Just about that time I found a 1997 YZF1000R for $700! It had bee layed down, and had alot of cosmetic damage and was missing the turn signals, also it neaded tires badly, but it ran well and rode as it should, so I jumped on it. I used it for the summer and found it to be an enjoyable motorcyle, especially considering the cost. I never had any mechanical issue with the bike, and it always fired up faithfully and easily, suprising for older carburated bike. The handling was okay, I could tell it was lighter than the XX, but it wasnt as confidence inspiring. It rode okay too, but couldnt really be called smooth. The brakes were very good. The 5speed tranny was okay, and I never wanted for a 6th gear. The motor was strong, and at high RPM had the same "instant transmission" effect as the CBR, and any number of big modern bikes, though it wasnt as flexible, wouldnt be lugged. My time with the bike came to an end recently. Someone stole it, made it ~400m then crashed, destroying both himself and the bike. I now have a 1995 CBR1000F, which for the record, is not nearly as good as the Yamaha. The ThunderAce was made as a more street oriented and cheaper alternative to the R1. I dont think Yamaha did enough to differintiate the two, as the difference between th Busa and the Gixxer, or the Fireblade and Blackbird is much greater. If you want a big, fast comfy road bike go with the CBR1100XX, GSX1300R etc. If you want a race bike get an R1 etc. Not that the YZF1000R is a bad bike in isolation, its just in a no mans land between genres and you can do better on either side.

Just bought an Ace three weeks ago. Born again biker, well sort of, so was a bit worried about buying such a powerful bike but it kept on cropping up as a good buy in the reviews and it ticked all the right boxes. What a bike! Comfortable, ridiculously fast, looks good (and looking better each day), amazing MPG, got mine for well less than £2k, a 97 with only 14k miles on the clock! What more can you ask for? Would agree with some of the other reviews, it is an easy bike to ride and would suit beginners as long as they are physically capable of riding the bike. HOWEVER... if you're anything like me you'll quickly find that the national speed limits seem very slow. The bike loves to go fast and it's so smooth and planted that you don't realise just how fast you're going (that's my excuse anyway). Tame enough to ride around town but twist it's neck and it's like the Millenium Falcon making the jump to light speed. I use mine for a 60 mile commute on A roads and through town, it eats it up. Can't wait for some long trips in the summer with a tent strapped to the back. If you're thinking of buying one, just do it. You will have no regrets, just watch you're speed - like I said, it just loves to go fast (Note to self - read this review before riding my bike).

Just bought an Ace three weeks ago. Born again biker, well sort of, so was a bit worried about buying such a powerful bike but it kept on cropping up as a good buy in the reviews and it ticked all the right boxes. What a bike! Comfortable, ridiculously fast, looks good (and looking better each day), amazing MPG, got mine for well less than £2k, a 97 with only 14k miles on the clock! What more can you ask for? Would agree with some of the other reviews, it is an easy bike to ride and would suit beginners as long as they are physically capable of riding the bike. HOWEVER... if you're anything like me you'll quickly find that the national speed limits seem very slow. The bike loves to go fast and it's so smooth and planted that you don't realise just how fast you're going (that's my excuse anyway). Tame enough to ride around town but twist it's neck and it's like the Millenium Falcon making the jump to light speed. I use mine for a 60 mile commute on A roads and through town, it eats it up. Can't wait for some long trips in the summer with a test strapped to the back. If you're thinking of buying one, just do it. You will have no regrets, just watch you're speed - like I said, it just loves to go fast (Note to self - read this review before riding my bike).

Got the thunderace as my first bike beacause i wanted a sports bike and the ace was 1/3 cheaper insurance than the 600cc sports and even cheaper than a fzr600. With no biking expierience i had my worries about buying such a powerful bike but after just a few miles they were gone. It's so easy to get along with,smooth and comfortable that anybody can ride it with confidence. The brakes are amazing and then there's the speed.Every speed limit broken in less than 4 seconds without changing gear,and it pulls like that all the way to 160+ Amazing. Managed to get a 99 plate with 16,000 miles for under £1800 and in 3000 miles its needed a service and a brake bulb and it always starts on the button. It does use oil but im told this is common so i just keep a bit under the seat. Overall i think this bike is amazing and would recomend it to anybody, old or young novice or expert

I have owned my Ace for about a year now. It was very cheap to buy and it is very reasonable to insure. Nothing has really gone wrong so far although I did have to replace the downpipes (I managed to pick up a second hand set cheap but new ones cost a fortune) I find it has more than enough power for me and if you keep the revs above 6000 there is still not much on the roads will get past you. Better comfort than it looks and I have done 500 miles in 24 hours on it recently. Although I needed a rest after that it wasn't too bad. The handling seems pretty good to me and it gets round corners nice and quick even in the wet if you keep it smooth. Again it is actually quite flickable because although heavier than most modern counterparts it still has a low centre of gravity which makes it feel lighter and instills confidence through the bends. One last thing. If you ride one every day and take it easy the fuel econony is exceptional.On a fairly steady 75mph motorway run I got 59mpg!! Strengths: Power, balance, cheap purchase price, relative comfort and economy. Weaknesses: Looks a bit dated now, uses a bit of oil, not much good for pillion.

I have had my Thunderace for 2 years and am still very pleased with it. This bike is not just a weekend tool, but is my only transport so I get to find out more about a bike than most. Since owning this bike I have done 16'000 miles of relativly trouble free riding, but I did repair/replace a few things soon after buying it. The rear shocker was knackered, (had this rebuilt for £95 inc. postage) and did all the usual stuff, oil, plugs, filters, tyres (Mac X100's) chain/sprockets, fork oil, brake pads. The bike already had braded lines and an Art carbon can on it, and I had a cat 1 alarm/imobiliser fitted. Just recently the Throttle Position Sensor went on it, £120!!! No Thanks, I got one from a breakers, gauranteed working for £27 delivered. My ace has done 38K miles and uses a little oil but only a litre every 6 months and I avarage 55 MPG. I'll often run up over 200 miles before refueling, and I don't dawdle around either. I also got 8000 miles from my last tyres (Mac X90). Strengths: The ace is fast, comfortable and well handling. MPG is good, hasn't stopped running yet. Weaknesses: You need to make sure you keep that EXUP working properly otherwise there is NO power until atleast 4000 RPM.

I bought the Thunderace with some reservations. But at the time money was tight and while I wanted a sports bike for the rides my little er5 weren't really suitable for and I couldn't afford a gixer or r1. So the ace was a compromise between cost and performance and only just won out over a suzuki rf900. I didn't really expect much from the bike and a couple of little mishaps early on certainly didn't do the bike any favours. But after a long trip to Cornwall (from Yorkshire) and a week on the Isle of Man, my mind has certainly been changed. The handling really isn't far off more modern kit and its settled nature in the corners really helps your confidence. Comfort is on a par with my old zzr-1100. Even with a recently broken wrist, all day riding is easy. I think the engine is lazy, and unless you work at keeping the revs up. Mine drinks oil, lots of oil. But that does seem to be quite common with these bikes. Strengths: It's not right on the edge performance, but it's close enough to embarass blades and R1s and would complement a rider where a more focused bike would punish them. This is an awful lot of bike for your money, a very good buy. Weaknesses: It drinks oil and the clutch is a bit grabby - like hayabusa clutches, all on or all off - which can make the traffic light grand prix a touch lairy. Mines an older bike and the electrics are a bit, erm, tired.

This is by far the best motorcycle I have owned. I have owned the ZZR1100, FZR1000, FZR1000 exup RU, CBR1000 and many different other Honda's and have thousands of miles experiance. This is the best handling, performance and reliability I have had and all I think I'll need. I travel at least once a year around Europe covering in total 1500 miles per trip. The Thunderace is good for all roads from 130mph bends to 20mph mountain switch backs. Its no R1 but it is an excellent all round bike with grunt where you need it. I've seen an indicated 170mph on the clock which is enough for anyone and has kept me happy. It has a good tank range and a fair seating position and can and has riden all day. Strengths: The whole package.... Weaknesses: Not found one, but then again I'm no Mick Doohan.

This bike, although not as cool looking as the more streamlined new sports bikes, is a great 2 up machine. It has oodles of power and does not get left behind, although a bit slower in the twisties. It will match most modern bikes on a normal everyday rideout. (And my missus likes it!). Strengths: Power, brakes and comfort are spot on. Weaknesses: Weight.