As you probably know, the YXZ is the first “shifter” SxS, in that it has a five-speed manual transmission. That means a clutch. It’s a really nice clutch, being hydraulic and all, but unless one has expensive time with a clutch-based performance vehicle, they can be tricky in the heat of battle. That’s why Trophy Trucks don’t use them; instead, they essentially use an automatic with a manual shift body.

The new Yamaha YXZ1000RSS now has one too. The “SS” stands for Sport Shift, and there’s no clutch pedal to be seen, but there are paddle shifters mounted to the back of the steering wheel. Yep, the SS is a five-speed manually shifted transmission that doesn’t require clutching even off the line or when stopping (two situations where stalling is common). The paddle shifters are synched to Yamaha Chip Controlled Shift (YCC-S) technology, an advanced automatic clutch system, eliminating the need for the clutch pedal.

011 yamaha 1000rss action front three quarter

The trans is shifted up with the right paddle and shifted down with the left paddle, and for the truly lazy, there’s an automatic downshift feature that will automatically downshift to First gear when the vehicle comes to a stop, even if the driver has not done so manually.

But our favorite feature is the “Launch System.” Picture this: You’re on the starting line, you can pull in both paddles at the same time, release the brakes, and pin the throttle … and the YXZ won’t budge until you drop both paddles. Then, you launch. Get it? We’re pretty sure that Yamaha has messed with the ignition curve at that point to aid in traction, but what a cool idea. We can’t wait to try that one out.

Yamaha has also improved the suspension for the SS with the addition of Fox 2.5 Podium X2 Shocks. The Fox units have dual “clickers” so the compression and rebound are fully adjustable, and they have a dual spring setup to give even more tuning possibilities. With 16 inches of travel in front and 17 inches out back, the Yamaha is good to go.

The SS still has Yamaha’s On-Command system that provides 2WD, 4WD, and 4WD full diff-lock options and also employs Yamaha’s Electric Power Steering (EPS) system.

Yamaha admits that the SS may give a few horsepower away to their fully manual shift 1000R, but the 1000R SS brings the performance with its three-cylinder, 12-valve, DOHC, liquid cooled, 998cc engine, which boasts a 11.3:1 compression ratio and 10,500-rpm redline. The 1000R is quick, so even if the SS lost 5 to 10 percent of horsepower to the new tranny, we’d be OK with it. We think. We’ll know more when we get to drive one.

All YXZ1000R SS models come with a suntop and now feature colored seat stitching and embroidered seats at an MSRP starting at $20,599. Color options include Team Yamaha Blue/White with a color-matched Team Yamaha Blue suntop and race-inspired decals, Blaze Orange/Black, and the new special edition Matte Black featuring painted bodywork, cast-aluminum beadlock wheels, and all-new FOX 2.5 Podium X2 Shocks designed exclusively for YXZ SE models. The new 2017 YXZ1000R SS is assembled at Yamaha’s U.S. factory in Newnan, Georgia, for worldwide distribution.