A Bike of Two Worlds
ad racing and drag racing aren't
merely two types of racing; they
define the cores of differing cultures whose souls are centered
n opposing coasts of our grand
continent . Road racers and drag racers
speak different languages. pray to different
gods , strive for contrary goa ls. and each
moming put on the opposite shoe first. Neither brothers nor even cou sins. they're
more like different species . The Japanese
have more Incommon with the Swedes.
Yet, although timed to a different beat,
the music of each sport is often played on
identical instruments. Such is especia llyt he
case with the latest Yamaha R6. While last
year Jamie Hacking won the AMA
Supersport Road Racing championship on
the bike, Ed Krawiec nearly won the AMA
Drag Racing Supersport championship on
one, too . Krawiec led the points for much
of the entire season and entered the last
round tied for first, only to be pushed into
second during the semifinals when riders
of a competing brand stacked the field
against him. Totally fair and common in the
straight-line world.
The 600 Supersport class in AMA:s
road racing series defines the rules for both
styles of racing, with the drag racing rules
allowing a few additional alterations. We
took a look to see what's the same and
what's not . Two ways to tune an R6.
R
56 MAY 12,2004 • C YC LE NEWS
40th Anniversary
