PATON S1-R LIGHTWEIGHT 60th Anniversary Limited Edition (2024 - on) Review

Paton may only be a small, Italian manufacturer but they have some serious history, which they’ve celebrated with their S1-R 60^th Anniversary. It’s a special edition of the S1-R Lightweight, which is the road-going version of their Supertwin TT machine that not only holds the current lap record but has been near enough dominant since 2017, winning an incredible five out of the last six races held. Equipped with some additional bling compared to the standard model, the S1-R 60^th Anniversary is a costly yet worthy celebration of Paton’s story, from their first taste of the Isle of Man with the legendary Mike Hailwood back in the late ‘50s, to the likes of Michael Dunlop’s success in the modern era.

Although it may just be a middleweight parallel twin based on a Kawasaki ER-6, it looks and feels anything but. The S1-R 60^th Anniversary’s appearance demands attention like a classic masterpiece, with its handmade componentry such as the bespoke tank and the lightweight frame doused in carbon and aftermarket goodies, that looks as trick as a factory racer from almost every angle. Even pushing the S1-R at standstill oozes the fact that it’s a racing machine, from its incredible light weight to the little creaks from the fairing, or the rubbing on the brake pads and discs. The only visible remnants of its ER-6 donor bike come in the form of the switchgears and dash though, which does detract from the bare and clutter free cockpit view.

Powered by a tuned ER-6 unit, the motor pulls like a train through the rev range, and is impressively linear. Although it doesn’t pack a huge amount in terms of power (the race bike will have at least 20bhp more) the Paton feels faster than its modest figures suggest. Yet somehow, it’s incredibly smooth at the bottom end, and will also happily roll along at 70mph, without being too vibey at all. The soundtrack is so loud through those optional, SC Project titanium TT pipes, that it will leave your ears ringing for days to come after a ride. It is pure brutality on the senses.

And that brutality stretches further, as it’s not a comfortable machine by any stretch of the imagination. Built as a replica of a racing machine, the S1-R 60^th Anniversary is viciously stiff in its set-up and is incredibly poised as an apex hound, only offering feel when the ante is upped in terms of pace – and even then, it’s still sprung rigidly for our U.K road surface. Yet even so, the Paton turns with such precision and power that it takes time to dial in just how fast the S1-R can corner, aided by those sticky Metzeler tyres.

Thanks to the ‘bar and ‘peg locations and the long length of the tank, the actual riding position favours a chin on the tank, tucked in stance and after well under an hour of riding at a civilian pace, there are plenty of aches and pains. Also, the mirrors are utterly useless, the integrated brake lights are barely visible and the stand is a pain in the backside, but it almost adds to the race-y nature of the Paton, being the raw beast that it is.

The S1-R isn’t just a beautiful thing to look at, but it’s a mighty beast to ride as well. It only really works with the throttle flat on the stop and your chin on the tank, but when those two boxes are ticked, thanks to the big, empty front fairing and huge screen, it truly feels like you’re immersed in a TT game on the Xbox, rather than chewing up rubber in real life, which is something I’ve rarely experienced in a road-going machine.

It’s not comfortable, nor is it practical, but the Paton S1-R 60^th Anniversary is a beautiful piece of engineering, that feels like a proper, TT race bike with a number plate.

If mile-munching is your thing, then the S1-R 60^th Anniversary is absolutely not for you – unless those miles are during TT race week in the Supertwin class, that is. Like so many race bikes it is beautifully uncompromising in its stance, thanks not only to the ‘bars and ‘pegs, but also down to the sheer length of the tank, and how far back the seat sits. As a smaller rider, the controls are a real stretch and only in the raciest of riding positions does it truly make sense, while the bespoke Race Seat is large and roomy, but is also incredibly firm.

This is only intensified by the Öhlins set-up which is brutally stiff, especially on the rear with that bespoke, TTX30 double shock set-up – and we wound the settings off as far as they could go. On the flipside, the sheer accuracy and poise of the chassis is phenomenal, steering so sharply that you have to process your brain to how much corner speed can be carried, and then multiply it. Although the S1-R is stable, thanks to its geometry, set-up and its lack of weight, its agility is something that pretty much all bog-standard road bikes can only dream of.

In terms of braking, the Paton benefits from having a high-specification set-up from the TK discs all the way up to the Brembo master cylinders too, which gives the S1-R not only a monstrous amount of stopping power, but a huge amount of feel through the lever too – especially without the intervention of ABS. It truly offer the best of all worlds, in terms of progression, feel and bite.

Although that 649cc parallel twin motor might have modest, Kawasaki origins, the S1-R 60^th Anniversary model that we tested comes with a host of goodies for a bit more go, including the ‘Stage 1’ tuning kit, with Pistal Racing High Compression Pistons, a Paton-spec’d Power Commander V, a Suter Slipper Clutch and of course, those monstrous SC-Project ‘Lightweight TT’ Titanium ‘pipes, which make a monumental amount of difference to its character.

From the very bottom of the rev range it pulls with incredible efficiency, and does so near enough all the way to that 10,000rpm redline. It’s predictable in its delivery and it’s a pleasant amount of power for the road, as you really can ring its neck to within an inch of its life. The aftermarket quickshifter also does an ample job of aiding with faster riding too.

Yet it can also be surprisingly docile too; it will sit at 70mph under 5000rpm, and it will also bimble through town without being too aggressively lumpy, like so many race bikes are. Yet I can’t imagine the Patons sold will be seeing too much motorway or city mileage, and if you did, there would be some serious noise complaints from those earth-shattering ‘pipes.

It’s a ferocious motor that punches well above its weight – but in the current age of standard parallel twins pumping out around (and over) 80bhp as standard, I just wish it had a bit more, especially considering the price and its mighty performance in the arena of racing.

Although build quality on earlier models wasn’t amazing, the SR-1 is a step-up from the Italian manufacturer. From the premium Rizoma goodies to the finish on the handmade aluminium swingarm, it is an impressively put-together bit of kit.

But then again, there are a few niggles: the dash on our test bike was unreliable, the stand is an absolute nightmare to get up and down and the brake lights are incredibly weak, but they are all things that don’t make a single bit of difference on a racetrack, or for someone invested in Paton’s heritage.

We’ve all seen the race bikes have their issues in terms of mechanicals, but they are so heavily tuned that you shouldn’t have to worry as much about their reliability of the more basic, S1-R’s motor.

Although value is subjective, whichever way it’s spun, £41,995 for a parallel twin does feel like a serious kick in the teeth, even with its high-spec componentry and impressive parts list.

But then again it is no normal machine – It’s an instantly recognisable racing replica, with its own history and heritage. If you’ve got the cash to drop on any machine of this price, then it won’t make one jot of difference, and Paton will only sell a handful of these a year.

If you’re looking for electric gizmos then you won’t find them here, besides a quickshifter, a budget Kawasaki dash that occasionally shows the wrong speed, and a set of indicators and brake lights.

But on the flipside, the S1-R 60^th Anniversary is packed with incredible componentry, from the OZ Racing Forged wheels and Brembo stopping power to those beautiful Öhlins twin shocks, which are not only beautiful, but also bespoke for these Patons. For a replica of a race bike, I’d take gold components over cruise control any day of the week.