Paul Owen.

FOUR rotations around the sun is a long time in sportsbike years, but Yamaha’s evergreen R6 supersport still looks great, still wins the World Supersport Championship, and still goes like a cheetah with its tail on fire. It’s still the bike to beat on the track as British rider, Sam Lowes, proved last year when he wrapped up the world title that is perhaps the best endorsement of 600cc sportsbike performance. And the Yamaha still looks fresh with its edgy, compact design, including the under-slung exhaust that its larger sibling, the 1000cc R1, is crying out for.

This particular R6 looks even better than usual thanks to the factory ‘tail tidy’ kit that Yamaha NZ fitted to it. The $194 kit removes the ugly piece of Meccano that used to carry the rear lights and number plate in a much lower position, and the positioning of these items higher allows a much cleaner view of the rear end. The bike then backs that sportier look up by emitting a louder, more metallic-sounding call-to-action through the fitting of a $538 muffler from Yamaha’s performance arm, GYTR. The latter adds a bit more panache to the exhaust design, although I don’t find the OE pipe in the least bit offensive in terms of its looks, aural appeal, and quality.

So it’s best to spend the extra on the factory-approved accessory pipe solely for the effects that it has on the 599cc four-cylinder engine of the R6. The new bit of plumbing adds a bit more zing to the midrange performance of the R6, filling in some of the dip in torque production in the middle of the rev range, and making the sportiest Yamaha 600 feel a bit more effortless to ride around town and at touring pace on the open road. No longer do you have to chop the preciseshifting gearbox down three ratios for a speedy overtake in the latter riding scenario. With the GYTR pipe on board, two downshifts are enough to provide instant access to the Yamaha’s giant-killing performance.

A stock R6 will reveal its racewinning potential at the 10,000rpm mark, instantly ripping through to the 16,000rpm redline, where it’ll il-