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Model(s) covered: 2006 Yamaha YZF-R6
We've been asking for it and we finally got it... this is the genuine article, my two wheel freaks, it's got lights and turn sig's, amazingly it's EPA friendly too but make no mistake this is getting so much closer to a race bike, you can taste it. Yamaha invited us to explore the depths of our motorcycle wish list with a trip to Willow Springs Raceway. We had a chance to test the character of the new R6, first on the big track, and then, to further cement our feelings about their new Supersport weapon, an afternoon running around on the smaller Streets of Willow.
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ROAD TEST: Yamaha R6 - seductress on two wheels (Motoring.co.za)
Model(s) covered: 2006 Yamaha YZF-R6
I had to stop at the end of our "bumpy test route" and walk about for a few minutes to let certain portions of my anatomy return to their normal positions. That's how harsh the suspension on Yamaha's 2006 R6 sports bike is, even at the factory settings.
The bumpy test track is 11km of rutted, rippled, potholed and incredibly unevenly tarred country back road that forms part of motoring.co.za's 177km standard test route.
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Model(s) covered: 2006 Yamaha YZF-R6
Our Editor-At-Large Neale Bayly put down the peace pipe long enough to provide us with a first ride report of the 2006 Yamaha R6 from its World Press Launch held at the Losail Circuit in Qatar late last year
He lauded the bike's capability at the track and the awesome power of the 599cc powerplant as the tach needle swept towards an indicated 18,000 rpm. Everything seemed to be going so well for the R6 at that point - the promised one had arrived and, for all intents and purposes, it had "superior racing platform" written all over it.
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We can be heroes... Just for one day (Motorcycle-usa.com)
Model(s) covered: 2006 Yamaha YZF-R6
The desert around the Losail MotoGP racetrack in Qatar is flat and featureless, and by 10 a.m. covered with a heat haze from the burning sun that hangs in the cloudless sky. Piercing the seemingly endless white expanse, a twisting black ribbon snakes its way through the inhospitable surface, and staring through my tinted visor nothing else in the world matters. There are no expansive run-off areas with sharp golf ball sized pebbles, no overhead signs, no fences or spectator seats, just this high-speed strip of asphalt being sucked through the windshield of the new Yamaha R6 at an incredible rate.
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2006 Supersport Shootout IV - Street (Motorcycle-usa.com)
Model(s) covered: 2006 Ducati 749 S, 2006 Honda CBR 600RR, 2006 Triumph Daytona 675, 2006 Suzuki GSX-R 600, 2006 Yamaha YZF-R6, 2006 Kawasaki ZX-6R
The middleweight class of sportbikes is a sweet spot in the lineups of most manufacturers. Fast enough to rip off 10-second quarter-miles and 160-mph top speeds, the class is also cheap enough for most to get into and to afford financing. As such, it's no surprise this category is the volume leader among sport motorcycles. For 2006, the middleweight division has been infused with fresh new talent to tackle the reigning champ, Kawasaki's 636cc ZX-6R.
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2006 Supersport Shootout IV - Track (Motorcycle-usa.com)
Model(s) covered: 2006 Ducati 749 S, 2006 Honda CBR 600RR, 2006 Triumph Daytona 675, 2006 Suzuki GSX-R 600, 2006 Yamaha YZF-R6, 2006 Kawasaki ZX-6R
Among sportbikes, the middleweight class is the best-selling category for most manufacturers, making it a key (and profitable) segment. These bikes have all become so competent that it often takes racetrack testing to sort out the performance nuances. A sub-par track performance holds back a bike's overall rating in magazine comparison tests, and short-sighted consumers sometimes choose one bike over another because it was two- or three-tenths quicker around a road circuit. As a result, manufacturers have evolved once-pleasant middleweight streetbikes into racetrack rippers, often at the expense of streetability.
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We test Yamaha's latest R6 (Wheels24.co.za)
Model(s) covered: 2006 Yamaha YZF-R6
Take a few seconds to recall everything that you've heard about Yamaha's latest R6 so far. Well, it is true. Every last word. Yes, the new R6 IS that good.
As far as race reps go, the R6 is probably the closest that any production bike has come to a real racing machine.
Half of the reason is that 599cc lump pumping under the sharply-styled fairing.
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