Issue 128 : April - May 2003
MAG News
Helmet Cases
Yamaha YZF-R6
Honda CBR600RR
Screamin' Eagle
Cycling Zealot
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MAG News
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YZF-R6
I've never been particularly keen on the R6 as a road bike in the past, enjoying its speed and flickable feel but tiring of its inflexible power delivery, its sometimes twitchy handling and its generally singleminded nature. But although this second-generation R6 looks pretty similar to the original, it is distinctly different and a whole lot more fun to ride. Sitting in a high-speed convoy of four identical R6s on some sweeping, near-empty roads to the north-west of Almeria, I'm occasionally forced by traffic to slow and then speed up again from between 60 and 90mph. On the old R6 this would have required changing down to fifth or even fourth gear for useful acceleration, but not any more. Simply winding back the new R6's throttle sends the revamped, fuel-injected Yamaha storming forward from below 7000rpm with a surge of acceleration that the old model could not have matched. The R6's chassis is playing its part in the bike's new-found rider-friendliness, too. The bike is very responsive yet superbly stable, keeping its cool even when accelerating hard over bumps that would have been likely to make the old model feel decidedly nervous. And I think it was the revised chassis rather than simply my good mood and the welcome winter sunshine that made this R6 feel improbably comfortable, too, despite its retained racy look Don't worry, though, the fearsome YZF-R6 that has entertained so many riders over the last few years has not been neutered and turned into a sports-tourer. This latest incarnation of the hugely successful line has just as much fight and fire as ever; in fact the newcomer is more powerful and almost certainly quicker round a racetrack too. It's just that the main improvements are just where they were needed most, and have combined to turn the R6 from a very focused race-replica into a much better balanced machine.This significant change in personality came as something of a surprise, because while this bike's Honda CBR and Kawasaki ZX-6R rivals have been replaced by all-new models, the YZF-R6 retains not only its name but also its basic styling and layout. Sure, the bodywork is subtly different, more angular in shape; and there is a new bank of four headlamp lenses, separated by the air intake, in the gaping mouth-like front of the Yamaha's fairing. But performance has advanced more than appearance. There is little hint of this when you climb aboard and glance across the fuel tank to a new R1-style instrument console with digital speedo and analogue tacho, the latter with programmable change-up light. The low screen, fairly low clip-on handlebars (which now have a hazard button that flashes both lights together) and slightly too-narrow mirrors are much as before. One possible difference is the yellow paintwork, which will be the rarest of the four colour options. Only 2000 yellow R6s will be sold in Europe, each with a numbered plaque on the top yoke, in theory at the same price as the blue, red and silver versions. Even on the racetrack, the R6's new-found midrange power quickly made its mark. Warming the tyres for the first two laps, it was clear that the motor pulled from 4000rpm with a superbly crisp and snatch-free response from its new fuel-injection system, and was already well into its stride by the time it kicked harder at 7000rpm. The R6 felt stronger in the midrange than the racy ZX-6R. Maybe it was also slightly up on the CBR600RR, though perhaps the Honda had the edge at very low revs. They're so close that even dyno tests have struggled to split them. The Yamaha also showed plenty of power when I reached the main straight. It screamed smoothly towards the 15,500rpm redline through the gears, its adjustable warning light in the instrument panel staying hard to see in bright sunlight despite being on its brightest setting. True top speed is a shade over 160mph, and in the joint tests held so far the Yam has proved as fast as any of its rivals.  The R6 impressed in the track's curves too, steering with a light touch and proving very easy to position on the circuit. Trail has been increased slightly and the new bike perhaps needed slightly more steering input, but at 162kg it's seven kilos lighter than before, and was still very manoeuvrable in fast and slow bends alike. Yamaha had prepared the bikes for the track by stiffening the suspension, which worked very well. Adding one click of rebound damping at each end made things better still for my 90kg weight, which was just as well because, rather surprisingly, both ends were by this time on their maximum settings. The four-piston front brake gave heaps of fade-free power despite the absence of radial calipers. And the Michelin Pilot Sport tyres gripped just as well as they had for the Honda. That was also true next day on the road, although the Pilots had a couple of small slides on nasty damp patches that were hard to spot because they were in shadow while the low winter sun shone right in my face. Again the R6 impressed by immediately recovering and carrying on as though nothing had happened, when the old model might have got much more twitchy. With its suspension softened to standard settings for the often bumpy roads, the new Yam didn't threaten a tank-slapper all day, and generally felt more controlled than its predecessor would have done. The restyled fairing gave pretty good wind protection, too, albeit of the head-in-the-airstream variety. The seat's pretty thin (and the pillion seat no thicker) but the bike didn't feel cramped and I had no aches, admittedly after a fairly short day with several stops for photos. It was that new-found midrange grunt that did most to make the new R6 such an excellent streetbike, though, giving it a welcome instant response from almost any revs without detracting one bit from the thrill of getting that tacho well into the five-figure region of the dial. Four years ago, I ended my report from the launch of the original YZF-R6 by saying it was a uniquely thrilling bike for those looking for the ultimate in middleweight performance - but that for road riding it needed more midrange power, if necessary at the expense of a little top-end. Now Yamaha has added that midrange while also improving top-end slightly, and also adding chassis stability with no loss of agility. The result is a stunningly fast and capable motorbike. Whether it can beat the more obviously new CBR and ZX-6R in the showrooms remains to be seen.
Peak power output is up 7bhp to 123bhp at 13,000rpm with ram-air (117bhp without); maximum torque is increased very slightly to 68.5N.m at 12,000rpm. Yamaha's new aluminium casting technology allows the Deltabox III frame to be made from just two cast sections requiring two welds, compared to 16 welds for the old frame. Torsional rigidity is increased by 50 per cent, almost to the level of the YZF-R7 frame, despite a 500g weight reduction. Other changes include a new rigid engine mounting system, plus lighter swing-arm and rear subframe produced by new casting methods. The swing-arm is 10mm longer but pivots 10mm further forward, so the wheelbase remains 1380mm. Rake is also unchanged at 24 degrees, but new triple clamps increase trail by 5mm to 86mm. Changes to cycle parts include lighter internals for the 43mm conventional forks, and forged aluminium instead of steel linkages for the rear shock unit which, like the forks, is multi-adjustable. New five-spoke, 17-inch wheels are lighter, and wear tyres in unchanged 120/60 and 180/55 sizes. The front brake system remains 298mm discs with Yamaha's four-piston, one-piece calipers, the only change being new sintered pads. The rear disc, master cylinder and caliper are new. Although the overall look is little changed, the bodywork and tank are all new, and the four-lens "gatling" beam headlight gives a distinctive look as well as giving a more even distribution of light from its two bulbs. Other electrical changes include the LED tail light, R1-style instrument console with added gearchange light, and an immobiliser system whose YISS name is curiously close to Honda's HISS. Roland Brown 
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Yesterday at the track the R6 was good; very good. The revamped YZF scorched down the Almeria curcuit's straights at a fearsome rate, carved through the turns with all the control you'd expect from a cutting-edge middleweight, and felt mighty good doing it. This latest version of the Yamaha four that redefined middleweight performance on its launch in 1999 was clearly sharper and faster than ever. But it's today on the surrounding roads of southern Spain that the new R6 is really showing its class.
YZF-R6 Tech