beansbaxter
Needs a life
Posts: 5911
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posted December 05, 2005 12:24 PM
 Edited By: beansbaxter on 5 Dec 2005 12:25
2006 R6 Test Reviews!!! Ugly AND lethally-fast!!!
First Article at: http://www.motorcycledaily.com/04november05_yamaha2006r6.htm
2006 Yamaha YZF-R6: MD First Ride
By Solo Moto and Sergi Mejias
We gave you the technical highlights and a preview of Yamaha's all-new 2006 YZF-R6 in our article on September 1, 2005 following a private unveiling by Yamaha of this exciting new machine. We have now riden the new R6 at the Losail Circuit in Qatar.
The super sport wars just ratcheted up a notch with the introduction of the best R6 in history. This report is a bit miraculous for a few reasons, not the least of which is the new R6 itself. Before that, is the story of the loss of my luggage on the way to the press introduction, including all of my riding gear.
No, I am not a shill for Yamaha Motor Corporation. Yamaha had riding gear to lend me at the introduction, while my luggage remained in limbo somewhere (courtesy of the airlines). The leathers did not fit particularly well (as you can see from the photos), but I was delighted to have them, because the opportunity to ride this 17,500 rpm R6 on the Qatar MotoGP circuit was something I could not miss at any cost.
The days when we dreamt that a stock, super sport 600 might break 100 wheel horsepower are not so far behind us, but the R6 takes us into a new era. With a fully believable 133 horsepower delivered at 14,500 rpm (including RAM air effect -- at the crank), this new R6 should deliver rear wheel horsepower equivalent to the healthiest stock 750cc machine available just a few years ago.
The new R6 features an extremely over-square engine, with a bore of 67mm and a stroke of 42.5mm. The compression ratio is high for a street-legal machine at 12.8 to 1. This 599cc DOHC 16-valve (titanium valves) engine transfers power to the rear wheel through a six-speed transmission aided by a slipper clutch.
The 41mm inverted fork is adjustable for preload, both high and low speed compression damping and rebound damping, while the rear shock also features preload, high and low speed compression adjustment and rebound adjustment.
At a claimed dry weight of 357 pounds, Yamaha brings the R6 to a halt with two 310mm floating discs up front gripped by radial mount, forged four-piston calipers. A single 220mm disc brake resides out back.
Frame geometry is aggressive with a wheel base of 54.3 inches, a rake of 24 degrees and trail of 3.8 inches.
When you first sit on the new R6, you notice a fairly radical "rider triangle". The ergonomics are clearly those of a sport bike/racer. Wind protection is clearly designed to be available primarily while the rider assumes a race tuck.
Instrumentation includes programmable shift light, digital speedometer, analog tachometer, dual tripmeters with miles-on-reserve function, odometer, water temperature guage and lights for neutral, high beam, low fuel and turn signals.
Once underway, the new R6 handles superbly. Yamaha's great efforts to centralize mass coupled with the new suspension (which, as stated, features both low-speed and high-speed compression adjustment at both ends) and all-new frame result in handling characteristics that allow the R6 to turn in more quickly, steer more precisely, and remain more stable than its predecessor. A brilliant combination.
The new R6 simply felt like it was on rails circulating the Qatar track, while remaining stable and precise even under hard braking entering corners and hard acceleration exiting them.
A slight wiggle from the bars was felt exiting some corners, but nothing unusual, and nothing that dedicated racers would not automatically deal with by installing an after-market steering damper. Corner entry is obviously improved by the addition of the slipper clutch this year, it keeps the rear wheel from decelerating too quickly or suddenly while downshifting, allowing a smoother and more controlled entry to the corner. Although the feel provided by the new-for-2006, drive-by-wire throttle is a bit odd at first, I was able to adapt rather quickly. The acceleration produced by the new R6 on the long straight at Qatar is clearly impressive -- pulling very hard from 11,000 rpm through the peak horsepower at 14,500 rpm and still pulling with authority before flattening out at 17,000 rpm. A very broad spread of serious thrust. Although a high revving motor, the power is delivered smoothly and seamlessly, which was an important goal of the Yamaha engineers.
Yamaha's prior-generation R6 was a very capable machine. The new R6 is a large leap forward, however, with more power, more precise handling, and more stability. The addition of a slipper clutch and the drive-by-wire throttle are a step forward technologically. This was a track test, but it appears the R6 has moved more toward the race track, and away from practical, everyday street use. Perhaps this is why Yamaha now produces three separate 600s (and has left last year's R6 in the line-up at a lower price). On the street, the new R6 will surely be a scalpel in a world populated largely by blunt knives and hammers. If you are a surgeon, this could be the right tool. The 2006 Yamaha YZF-R6 should be available at U.S. Dealers in January, 2006. U.S. MSRP ranges from $9,199 to $9,499 for the 50th Anniversary Yellow/Black model. U.S. color schemes include Yamaha Blue/White, Raven and the 50th Anniversary Yellow/Black. The Red/White bike featured in this article is a European color scheme. Take a look at Yamaha's web site for additional details and specifications.
Second Article from: http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_Page.aspx?ArticleID=2662&Page=1
2006 Yamaha R6
11/9/2005
By Neale Bayly
Photos by Tom Riles
We can be heroes... Just for one day
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.
Accompanied by an insane howl from the wildest production 600cc engine to ever get its neck wrung by this humble scribbler, I have to just ignore the fact the tachometer needle is reading somewhere between 15,000 and 16,000 rpm. And, with the fast approaching Turn 12 just a few hundred yards away, I am going to hold this gear and let the motor hit the rev limiter at close to 18,000 rpm. Yes, that really is 18 big ones, and not the figment of my imagination after ordering the wrong stuff in an Amsterdam coffee shop.
Rolling off the throttle from well over triple-digit speeds, I brush the front brake lever, drop a gear and flick into the fast right-hander, twisting on the throttle for all I am worth to get the motor back to the addiction zone. Saying a quick mental "thank you" to the God's of motorcycling that I haven't miscalculated which of the many right-hand corners on the near flat, featureless track, I find the zone and momentarily straighten up before tipping into Turn 13 on my knee. Out on the super smooth Losail racetrack, the gray matter inside my helmet is the only thing on the limit, because beneath the Bayly arse, the simply phenomenal Yamaha R6 is not even breaking a sweat in the 100-degree desert heat.
Completely new for 2006, this R6 is the third generation of Yamaha's highly successful 600cc supersport series that was initially introduced back in 1999. The first R6 remained until 2003 when Generation Two was released, and this managed three years, albeit with some suspension and chassis geometry changes last year. As something of a stopgap machine for Yamaha, the '05 was a great bike but didn't look too much different than the '04.
Not so this year, as Yamaha's engineers have redesigned the new R6 from the ground up. From the moment I laid eyes on it, I knew this was going to be something extremely special. Featuring a fly-by-wire throttle system that Yamaha calls YCC-T (Yamaha Chip Controlled Throttle), an EXUP exhaust valve, a 17,500 rpm redline and a claimed peak power output of 127 non-ram-air assisted horsepower at 14,500 rpm. This is quite simply stated the wildest, most radical 600cc supersport ever made. Built with a single-minded focus to dominate the racetrack, I have got to say that outside of the hand-built $38,000 Poggipolini we tested last year, nothing I have ever ridden gets it done on the track the way this little beast does. No other motorcycle has ever inspired so much confidence either, especially after I tucked the front end of last year's R6 at high speed due to operator error with the brakes.
As a direct trickle down from Yamaha's M1 MotoGP race bike, the most exciting development for the new 6, and indeed sportbikes in general, has got to be the YCC-T. Using a system that has no physical connection from the rider's wrist to the throttle bodies, Yamaha states its "fly by wire" throttle creates a better link between man and machine. Feeling just like a regular throttle, you are still turning dual throttle cables up at bars, but the wheel they turn down at the fuel injectors is not connected to the throttle bodies. As you twist the Go Handle, a powerful ECU starts making decisions based on a vast array of sensor readings such as: air temperature, intake air pressure, atmospheric pressure, crankshaft position, engine speed, temperature, throttle position and amount of oxygen. It then precisely opens the throttle to give the engine just the right amount of fuel, compared to a conventional system than can give it too much. Blitzing round the Losail track it worked perfectly and any attempts to catch it out proved futile.
   
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trenace
Needs a job
Posts: 3056
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posted December 05, 2005 03:45 PM
I am still waiting for the bike to be tested on a dyno and the true setting of the limiter exposed. Ain't gonna be the 18,000 rpm that they are making so much hype of, or even the "close to 18,000" stated in the article above (how did the guy know it was "close"? By ear?)
I will bet dollars to donuts on this one. 
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Just Joy
Needs a job
Posts: 3976
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posted December 05, 2005 04:52 PM
mmmmmm donuts......
but seriously folks, ya gotta admit, it's a nice looking machine.......now, just got to wait for the demo rides...... 
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frEEk
Administrator
ummm... yeah
Posts: 9660
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posted December 06, 2005 11:58 AM
still unsure of the looks, but beter in person than inthe pics imho, and definteiyl better in black or blue. ergos weren't as bad as i expected either.
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MAXIMUS
Needs a job
Posts: 4156
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posted December 06, 2005 08:50 PM
Whats with the funny shapped can almost looks like a gsx r pipe, so does the tail light, it looks like a 2003 gsx r tail light.
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worm~hole
Needs a life
Miles to go before I sleep....
Posts: 10623
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posted December 07, 2005 08:33 AM
...black is the R6's friend....
____________
“We sleep safe in our beds because rough men
stand ready in the night to visit violence on those
who would do us harm.”
-George Orwell
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