2017 YAMAHA YZF-R6
FIRST TEST
P82
emissions targets, the com-
pany has seen no real reason to
change it. Hey, if it ain't broke,
don't fix it, as they say.
That means riders of the
2017 ilk will have the same 67 x
42.5mm, 599cc, liquid-cooled
inline four as the 2016 bike.
But that also means you get the
Yamaha Chip Controlled Throttle
(YCC-T) and Yamaha Chip Con-
trolled Intake (YCC-I) system, as
well as primary and secondary
fuel injectors, titanium valves,
magnesium engine covers, a
slipper clutch, close ratio six-
speed box and a titanium muf-
fler. There is a subtle difference
in how Yamaha has fitted their
D-Mode system that gives you
three different options of throttle
(Standard, A and B mode), but
that's it as far as the engine
changes go.
The same is said for the
Deltabox twin spar aluminum
chassis and swingarm. They
too have come straight from the
2016 R6, although the swing-
arm now comes with a new
axle bracket section with block
type chain adjusters, and the
shock's preload adjustment is
done via an old school ring col-
lar rather than the step system
of the 2016 bike.
SO WHAT HAVE THEY CHANGED
ON THE YAMAHA YZF-R6?
Right. Let's get to the good stuff.
Yamaha isn't going to charge
you an extra $1200 for the '17 R6
and give you nothing for it!
The biggest mechanical
change to the R6 is the new
front-end. Yamaha's fitted it with
43mm inverted KYB forks, up
2mm over 2016 and weighing
2.2 pounds less, with the adjust-
ers all mounted on top of the
fork caps, like the base model
YZF-R1. The KYB fork's damping
rod is up a solid 10mm to 32mm
with wheel travel increased
to 4.7 inches. That, com-
This thing wails on
a racetrack. And it
teaches you how to
be a better rider.
