Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

GP street: Yamaha 's defending shootout champion VZF-R6 i s sti ll a t op perfonner at t he ra cet rac k, b ut than ks t o its to pend-tuned m ot or, the price is paid In civility. Handling is so prec ise that you'd swear the R6 came with its own set of train tra cks. YAMAHA YZF-RS Engine • One -piece aluminum cylinder/ crankcase assembly • Side-driven camshafts for narrow engine • Lighweight hollow camshafts • 24mm valve lifters with thin walls to minimize reciprocating weight • Valve springs manufactured from VX material said to be 20% stronger than spring steel • Lightweight drop-forged pistons with shall wer oil grooves to o reduce friction • Cylinder walls treated wi high·speed electroplating for low Heavy-duty Liqhtweiqht friction Yam ah a shook up t he wo r ld when it intro duced th e Muh ammed Ali o f spo rt bik es, th e YZF-RI , in 19 98 . B o a sting a com pact w h eelbase p ac k ed with an alln ew I SO-horsepower f ive-valve engine, the R I w as a la ndmar k m otorc y cle, as it co m pletely re defined the gro u n d r u les . W he n the R6 follow ed in ' 9 9 , 600c c fans rejoiced ev en if Yama ha officials we re overzealous in claim in g t hat th e bike boast ed a 120 ho rsepower eng in e. That wa s forg iva b le b ec au se th e R6 was still eve ry th in g els e that Yamah a had promised it w ould b e. N im b le, lig h t and o u trageous ly fast , it wo n our 19 9 9 6 0 0 c c s port b ike s hootout h a nd s down. an d t he Su zu k i. Clutch in g is g re at , and - o n th e tra c k - th e shift act io n f ee ls l i k e a ra c eb i k e's p rob abl y shoul d. The se ns ation from t he le v er is th at you h av e a rea lly heav y -duty set of cogs to m as h through. W e hav en ' t h ea rd of an y Yamaha riders b low ing trannies yet. T h e su sp en sion c haract er of the R6 is nearly fla wless on th e track . A bit o n the st iff side, it re wards th e rid er wh o push es it wi t hout pun is hi ng th e les s tal ented . Overall , the R6 can m ak e anyone fee l like a GP h ero . There are c hi n k s in the R6's armor, and the y c an What do y ou think? The Yamaha is still th e k ing easily be found when yo u h it th e st re ets ab o ard t he of th e t rac k . A s Han ey pu t it , "The stopwatch doesn 't b ike. F irst o ff , the seating p os ition is m ore aggreslie ," and he c ut his fast est lap at Pahrump on the R6 sive than any o the r b ik e in the shootout - wi th t he despite th e fa ct t h at he lo g s in a lot o f ti me on Honda ex c epti on of t he Du c ati. As such , it c ou ld p o se a products wh ilst leading st ud en ts probl em on lon ger rides . aro und t he track - and frustrat Th en there is t h e vibrat ion White Brothers R&D Dept. i n g so me of th em w h e n he gO tha t is fel t down aro u n d 6000 gO vima' ~ ~ ' ow R. , : h an g s off and p oints at the turn ~ T 'Re E 4 ' rpm , rig ht w here a lot of street V- <, 80 80 in mark ers o n the ground with ridin g t ake pl ace s. Th e bu zz , : I h is left hand (!) - at the Freddie w h ich ca n really be felt through 70 70 ... .. .. • Lightweight aluminum silencer Chassis/Suspension/Wh_ls • Deltabox II aluminum frame • Compact. upswept body design allows greater leanangles • Engine is a stressed member of chassis • Extra-long aluminum swingarm wI GP-style truss design • Full detachable rear subframe y • Headpipe has low -friction bearings & newly designed lower seal • Large-capacityinternal water pump • Alloy three-spoke wheels Controls . • New clutch and brake levers S TREE T CREC TRA C K S A V V Y • 750cc·class·spec 148mm·diameter clutch • Driveshaft above mainshaft makes for triangular layout wI crankshaft. allowing compact engin design e :: What's hot? Rippin' to p-end engineperformance Knife -edqe handling Looks cool What's not? Aggressive stance on the street Bo x-of-roc ks shifting Botto m Li ne: Not much changes for the Yamaha VZF·R6 for this year. All of the bike's good traits. and bad. are still with us. A groundbreaking design one year ago. did the R6 do enough to retain its title against the heavily revamped Kawasaki? -= Spencer schoo l. The Yamaha, l i k e th e Kawasaki an d Suzu k i , Co :: :: I : t h e sea t, is r a th e r a nnoyi ng . ~ 60 Sinc e you 'd p ro ba bly look li ke 0: i m p a r t s a r a c y feel, t hin a n d . lD an idiot if you d own -shifted th e e 50 -c: r~ o aggressiv e. Th is is fu rth er bo l R6 into a gear th at wou ld m ak e I : I ste red b y t he five -valve motor , W 40 it absolutely h o wl out t he ) ,- f-. oct: w hic h i s seemingly tu ned t o (/) e xhaust ca n wh e n ri d de n ) 30 spi n to th e moon . In fact , th e f.J around town, you live with it. --= en gi ne isn 't t r uly g iv in g its a ll Sp e ak ing of sh ifting , th a t' s 20 20 until y ou have it singing above an o th er n eg at ive hit against th e ,0 10 10 grand on the ta ch . Sure, ~ R6 when commuting. Th e .~ o th ere 's p lenty of p o w er .b elow , sa me a c t i o n t h a t make s the "" o 1 2 3 4 S 6 7 B 9 10 " 12 that, bu t t he en g ine fee ls at its trann y fe el a bso l u te l y ind e RPM (x 1000) b est wh e n y ou 'r e j u st about st ru c t i bl e o n th e tr ack f e el s rea dy to bounce th e rev li miter. ra t h er harsh an d clu nky when just b eing prod d ed Add this type of eng ine t o Yamaha' s al um in u m leisu rely from ge ar to gear. Deltab o x II c hassis, which features a mere 54 -in c h Put it thi s way , ri dn g t h e R6 o n th e st ree t is like w hee l base , an d yo u h a v e a b ike t hat t urn s like a r iding a ra ceb ik e on th e st reet, w hi c h is a lot m ore cor ks cre w . A nd ye t th e Yam mie ac com pli shes this fun th an rid in g a st reet bi ke on th e track. W e're n ot with a su r p ris in g sta bil ity , the la c k o f w h ich might co mp la i ning b e caus e w e 'd r a t he r t a ke t h e firs t o t he rw ise fo r c e yo u t o mind yo u r Ps an d Q s le st c hoice eve ry t im e. W e still love the Ya ma ha YZF- R6. hea ds h ake re ar its ugl y , urn , h e ad . The Ya ma ha 's T o im agin e w h a t Yama ha 's n ex t grou nd breaki n g brak es ar e just as awesome, b len din g the stop-on -a600 c c middlewe ig ht sport b ike m i g h t be like is dime p ower with the most feel , m uch l ik e t he Kawi almost too mind -boggl ing to think about. :: - - f! ~ ~ "" :: :: I::: :: Specifications DISPLACEMENT ENGINE TYPE 59gcc liquid-cooled in-line DOHC four-cylinder four-stroke 66.5 x 44.5mm BOREx STROKE 12.4:1 COMPRESSION RATIO CARBURETION (4) 37mm CVRD Keihin flat- slide downdraft wi forced -eir induction IGNmON Electronic TRANSMISSION 6.speed STARTING SySTEM Electric FUEL CAPACITY .4.5 gal. WHEELBASE . . . . . . . . . . . 54.33 in. RAKE/TRAIL .N/A SEATHEIGHT 32.2 in. FRONT TIRE 120/60 ·17 REAR TIRE . .180/~5-17 FRONT SUSPENSION .43mm conventional fork wi 5.12 in. travel REAR SUSPENSION Moneeross slOgle shock wI Bilstein-type shock w I piggyback shock & 4.7 in. travel _ Hydraulic wi 295mm dualdiscs FRONT BRAKE & 4·piston calipers REAR BRAKE Hhydraulic wI 220mm single disc & 2-piston caliper RNAL DRIVE Chain 370 Ibs. CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT UST PRICE $7999 cu e. e n e vv s • ,J U LY 5, 2000 31

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