VOL. 54 ISSUE 14 APRIL 11, 2017 P83
mounted calipers as last year, and
the two-piston rear caliper has
shrunk a touch but is essentially
the same thing as in 2016. But the
bigger brake news is the advent
of ABS. This is a different system
than that used on the R1 and you
cannot turn it off, even for track
use, which I find a little strange.
The system adds around 14
pounds to the R6, which negates
much of the weight saving going
elsewhere in the bike. This is not
Yamaha's fault, however, because
as of this year every new bike sold
in Europe must come with ABS.
So that means ABS for all of us.
On the subject of electronics,
the 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6 also
bined with the now 25mm axle (up
3mm) makes the 2017 R6 far more
rigid up front, and allows for more
stability under hard braking and
tipping into the corner.
Yamaha actually encountered
the issue of the front being too
rigid during initial testing, so they
changed the bottom triple clamp
and made a thinner cross-section
from 36 to 29mm to give a bit
more compliant handling.
The front brakes also came
under the microscope. Nissin
has been roped into the master-
cylinder duties with Brembo put
on the bench, and there's 10mm
larger, 320mm discs bit by the
same Advics four-piston, radially-
The seat unit has
been designed
to mimic the
R1's open airflow
lines.
"AESTHETICALLY, THE 2017 R6 IS
BRAND SPANKERS NEW WITH LED LIGHTS
ALL AROUND AND STYLING THAT CLEARLY
MIMICS THE R1 AND ROSSI'S M1."
comes with six-stage (plus off)
traction control. Run off the front
and rear wheel speed sensors,
the TC controls the amount of
slip—depending which level you're
in—by adjusting ignition timing,
fuel injection volume and throttle
opening via the YCC-T unit. It's
the same system that was first
employed back in 2012 on the
R1, and has always been one of
the better systems on the market,
even up to IMU-dominated 2017.
Yamaha chose not to grace the
R6 with an IMU for two reasons.
