Yamaha YZF-600 R6
If you never let the 2004 Yamaha YZF-R6's tachometer needle roam into the second half of its arc, you might never know what's lurking there waiting to be unleashed. And there's even more for 2004. An ingenious suction-piston fuel injection system (re-mapped for '04), among other things, endows it with amazingly good road manners at low and medium engine speeds. But we had a higher calling in mind for the little beast that won the AMA Supersport Class Championship right out of the gate as well as Cycle World, Sport Rider and Motorcycle Online 600 comparisons. A 15,500 rpm redline. Redesigned exhaust canister providing improved exhaust flow for 2004. This one is pure sportbike, designed from the asphalt up to achieve a delicate, sublime blend of handling and horsepower, finesse and feel, hyperactive agility and laser-beam predictability. Absolute leading-edge technology takes tangible form in the R6's light and rigid DeltaBox III frame - an almost seamless piece of alloy artisanship that allowed the engineers to put strength - and the revvy 4-cylinder - exactly where they belong. From there, all sorts of good things flow. We put all our experience into this one; the harder you ride it, the more you'll extract. |
Road test by Simon Bradley
Looks are a definite strong point with the 2003/04 R6. Quite simply, it looks stunning, especially in the limited edition yellow and black we had on test. It is one of these bikes where there doesn’t seem to be a single angle that jars – it just looks right. The only thing I was less than totally blown away by is the huge and, I feel, rather unattractive silencer. Sure it’s necessary for all the current legislation but there must be a way of making it look less out of place. Then again, most owners will probably just file it away in a box somewhere safe while they fit aftermarket cans anyway. The four headlights, the black wheels and frame all look great. The LED tail lights are beautifully integrated. Everything just works. As you may be able to gather, I was impressed. But more importantly, so was pretty well everyone else. Even that most damning of critics – my 12 year old daughter – gave her unqualified approval. So no complaints there.
But of course, even the best looking bike in the world would be no good if the riding experience were horrible. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that it isn’t. Not even a little bit. Here’s something you’ll not hear often. I tended to short-shift at around 13,000rpm out of town if I was pressing on a bit. That’s right – on this little chap changing up at over 500 bangs a second counts as short shifting. Holding on to the red line didn’t seem to achieve anything other than make the shift light come on and the engine sound rather nasty. Again, a fruitier end can would probably resolve that while adjusting the shift light to 13,000 would mean that you changed at leak power and dropped back near to peak torque. A happy situation to be in. Once spinning, the engine is a peach, with a crisp and smooth reaction to the throttle, very little vibration and an eagerness to rev that has to be seen to be believed. It’s also quite economical, although again that will be of little interest to the target audience unless they’re trying to make it to the next garage in the middle of nowhere on a Sunday rideout. Handling is wonderful, with an incredibly sharp turn in. Stability was pretty good although the light weight and fairly radical geometry conspired to make things get a little unruly when the road got bumpier. Certainly there were places on my normal test route where I would have liked things to be a little plusher, but at the same time there were other places where the billiard-table smooth tarmac allowed the suspension to work brilliantly. As a track day bike I can think of very little better. Although we didn’t have the chance to prove that for sure, the impeccable smooth road handling, brakes and engine would, I believe, be a tough combination to beat. Source Motorbikes Today |