2015 Motorcycle of the Year Award – That the 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1 manages to set itself apart from, and above, a competitive class of motorcycles is notable, but the fact that it has a base price of $16,490 brings us back to expectations. When it comes to flagship supersport machines Japan has hardly been on the map in the past few years, still struggling to break free of the austerity brought on by global economic woes. This new R1 shatters those shackles and waves the rising sun higher than ever in the superbike battle.