Tag

R6

Browsing

Last year, Yamaha announced that it was ceasing production of its popular YZF-R6 sport bike for the street, effectively killing the most popular 600cc supersport on the market.

The move was a sign of the times, and a glimpse into the Japanese brand’ unwillingness to update the platform for the stringent Euro5 emission standards in Europe.

With no European market to help bolster sales, the news also meant that the Yamaha YZF-R6 would cease for production as a street bike in the United States as well. But, there was a silver lining.

The news came first from Europe, that the Japanese brand would no longer make the Yamaha YZF-R6 for the European market because of the costs associated with Euro5 homologation, and because of the dwindling number of supersport models sold in the region each year.

Then, the news came as a final thought in a much larger press release from Yamaha Motor USA. It said that 2020 would be the last model year of the Yamaha YZF-R6 in the United States.

The 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6 is more than just “bold new plastics” as one A&R commenter said, with traction control, ABS, new suspension, and R1-esque bodywork being added to the supersport machine – among other changes.

Still very much “evolution” rather than “revolution” for the Japanese manufacturer, the Yamaha R6 however is a very striking machine, visually, and that’s what we wanted to share with you today.

Yamaha isn’t shy that the R6 gets its look from its older sibling, the YZF-R1, with both bikes sharing a number of visual elements: MotoGP-inspired air intake, koi fish headlights on the fairing, vented tail section, and sinister LED marker lights – just to name a few.

The effect though is perhaps the most dramatic change to the venerable supersport, as it takes the 12-year-old design for the YZF-R6 and gives it a modern look and feel.

Good morning from cloudy California. Today’s adventure takes us to one of my favorite race tracks, Thunderhill Raceway Park, to test the 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6.

It should be an interesting day, namely since Northern California is getting some much-needed rain, although that makes it tough to test a 120hp+ supersport machine.

On second thought though, maybe these are ideal conditions for the “new” R6 – with its freshly added traction control, riding modes, and anti-locking brake system.

It’s this electronics suite that will be the focus of our testing today, considering that the 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6 keeps the same frame and engine as its predecessor.

Definitely more evolution than revolution, other changes to the R6 for 2017 include revised suspension and braking components, magnesium subframe, aluminum tank, and bodywork that improves aerodynamics.

Yamaha calls this its “4th Generation” YZF-R6 model, though the spec list is suggesting something closer to a “3.5 Generation” machine…maybe 3.75, if I have had my Mountain Dew this morning and am feeling generous.

Yamaha feels confident that the 2017 model is a “new” bike though, and they even brought a 2016 model to ride, in order to prove the point to us. So, that will certainly be interesting. It looks like Bridgestone W01 full-wet rain tires will be the order of the day, and we’ll keep our fingers crossed that things don’t get too moist out there.

Per our new review format, we will be giving you a live assessment of the 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6 right here in this article (down in the comments section), and there we will try to answer any questions you might have. So, here is your chance to learn what it’s like to ride the 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6, before even my own proper review is posted.

As always, if I don’t know an answer, I will try to get a response from the Yamaha personnel (we have members from both the Japanese and American teams here on-site) that are here with me here at Thunderhill. So, pepper away.

You can follow our thoughts on the bike live via FacebookTwitter, and Instagram. You can also try searching for the hashtags: #Yamaha #RWorld #R6FirstRide for the thoughts of my colleagues as well.

Yamaha is gearing up to go racing in the FIM World Supersport Championship, finally bringing back once again a factory team to the 600cc class, and it plans to do so with the 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6.

At EIMCA today, Team Blue gave us our first glimpse of the bike that factory riders Lucas Mahias and Federico Caricasulo, and factory-supported riders Niki Tuuli and Sheridan Morais, will compete with next season in World Supersport.

World Supersport rules don’t allow much in the way of modification to the Yamaha YZF-R6, so while the bike you see here is still just a gussied-up production bike, the actually race bike that the teams will use will differ in only minute ways.

Changes made to the R6 shown here include a set of race fairings, an Akrapovi? Evo full titanium exhaust, 320mm Brembo T-drive front brake discs, 43mm forks with Öhlins cartridges, and Pirelli Diablo DOT race tires.

Someone is trying to pass off the above photo as the eagerly awaited 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6 – unfortunately, it’s a fake. I’m actually surprised this piece of photoshop has some legs, and is making its way around the internet, considering how obvious the forgery.

To verify its authenticity, all one would have to do is to compare the above photo with photos of the current generation Yamaha YZF-R1. Contrasting the two, it’s clear that the chassis and exposed parts of the engine are right off the Yamaha YZF-R1 (it’s easiest to see on the swingarm).

The real smoking gun though is that the forger used a Yamaha press photo as their base. I was able to find the base photo (after the jump), which clearly shows that the five-spoke wheels on the alleged R6 are in the exact same ones from a R1 press photo – even the holes on the front brake discs and rear sprocket line-up.

In addition to the priced-to-own Yamaha YZF-R1S debuting today, Yamaha has also announced that its 60th Anniversary livery will be headed to the USA as well.

Yes, this means that yellow & black “speedblock” Yamaha YZF-R1 that you drooled over a month ago will be available for purchase for a cool $16,990 MSRP, along with the Yamaha YZF-R6 ($11,490 MSRP) and Yamaha Super Ténéré ($15,590 MSRP).

As you can tell, the speedblock paint is commanding a $500 premium from Yamaha; and disappointingly, only only the base model R1 and Super Ténéré will get the special livery.

This means that if you have an R1M, R1S, or Super Ténéré ES you will have to figure out some way to swap the plastics out on your machine, if you want to help Yamaha celebrate its 60th anniversary of being in business, that is.

Still, as always, the yellow and black liveries are fetching and attractive on these three machines. If you don’t believe that statement, we have the proof in the high-resolution photos, found after the jump.

Just like the 2013 Yamaha YZF-R1, the 2013 Yamaha YZF-R6 gets an update to its blue, red, and black motorcycle livery color scheme choices. Available in September 2012 (wait, that’s…now!), the new R6 is just like the old R6, but umm…newer. Yeah, we are having a hard time writing anything of note about the tuning fork brand’s latest true-600cc supersport offering.

The new colors do look like an improvement over last year’s though, and the Graves-inspired racy Team Yamaha Blue/White color scheme is our favorite from the bunch. Is it worth the $200 price premium ($11,190 MSRP)? We’re not so sure about that, but it is nice. Photos after the jump.

Someone better check the tape measures at Yamaha Motors as the tuning fork brand is having to recall 54,000 YZF-R6 motorcycles built between 2005 & 2010. The recall centers around the mounting of the frontside reflectors (you know, the pieces of plastic that most riders take off before they even leave the dealership), which were not mounted high enough (about 1″ too low) at the factory, and thus fail to meet DOT spec.

We here in the United States have a hard enough time dealing with the antics of the Batman and Robin duo that is DMG and the AMA, but our Canadian brothers to the north have their own issues to deal with as well. In a surprising announcement, Canadian Superbike Championship has announced that it has banned the the entire 2010 Yamaha line from racing in its various series, while any year Yamaha YZF-R1 has been banned from the Canadian Pro Superbike class. More after the jump.