Part of the excitement of owning a sportbike is definitely the racing heritage ingrained in the machine. This is particularly true if you own any one of the YZF-R range of sportbikes from Yamaha, even if it’s the newest, and not-super-fast YZF-R7. While on paper the R7 was meant to replace the R6, many enthusiasts beg to differ, stating that the new bike is so much less potent than the inline-four machine.
No matter how you look at it, the YZF-R7 was never meant to match the cutting-edge capabilities of the R6, but rather, provide a more approachable sportbike experience, and ultimately appealing to a wider range of audiences. It was because of this Yamaha was supposed to field an R7 in the Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance race in 2020, a race that was ultimately canceled due to COVID-19. Nonetheless, the bike was built, and it was a mighty fine looking machine. Now, Yamaha is letting fans and patrons replicate the race bike by releasing a fairing set similar to what was seen on the race bike, complete with the striking livery, too.
It’s called the YZF-R7 YAMALUBE Exterior Set, and it’s basically a full fairing kit along with some other pieces of bodywork that’s meant to transform your otherwise plain-looking R7 into a race-replica, specifically, the endurance racer of the Tuning Fork Company. The fairing kit features a beautiful blue and black motif, a direct copy of the YART Yamaha Official EWC Team. The colorwork consists of a lot of gradients fading from blue to black, as well as small elements such as subtle red striping, and a bunch of sponsor logos. Fitting your bike with this kit is sure to transform its look into a race bike for the street.
What’s interesting is that the fairings were painted by robots, using a similar technique as the Sunburst colorway found in the Yamaha SR400. I guess this means that all kits are exactly the same in terms of finish and quality, as the robots were programmed to paint the bodywork in a specific way. The entire kit consists of a front fender, left and right belly pan, headlight cowl, lower fairing, left and right tail garnishes, and top, left, and right tank covers.
The Yamaha YZF-R7 YAMALUBE Exterior Sett isn’t cheap, either, and will fetch JPY 220,000, or the equivalent of $1,800 USD. Yamaha is expected to release the kit for purchase in August, 2022. Meanwhile, bikes outfitted with the kit will be displayed in the Tokyo and Nagoya Motorcycle Shows.
