AT A GLANCE
Engine: 599cc dohc 16-valve inline four with ride-by-wire fuel injection and variable-length inlet tracts; Power and torque outputs not disclosed. Transmission: Six-speed gearbox with slipper clutch; chain final drive. Frame: Alloy twin-spar with cast aluminum rear swingarm; 41mm fully-adjustable inverted front forks with 115mm of travel; fullyadjustable rear monoshock with 120mm of travel. Price: $18,899 (as tested: $19,631) Hot: Still the bike to beat in the Supersport class; sensitive and powerful stoppers plus front-tyre feedback will decide plenty of trackday braking duels. Not: Race-oriented ergonomics turn riders into human origami; stiffly-sprung suspension great on track but short of compliance on bumpy roads. luminate the handy upshiftwarning light on the instrument panel. This one unleashes an even more impressive top-end sprint 1000rpm earlier thanks to the freer exhaust gas flow, and there possibly isn’t a better-sounding Supersport bike this side of an MV Agusta 675 F3 either. I’d say the extra spend on the exhaust is a nobrainer given the lift in design, tone, and performance that it adds to the bike. It probably saves a few grams as well, enhancing one of the lightest bikes (189kg fully-fuelled) in the Supersport arena further.
One of the reasons the Yamaha has stayed at the front of the Supersport pack over a relatively long time is that it was one of the first bikes to adopt at ride-by-wire throttle. In the R6 this electronic connection between rider’s hand and air/fuel flow is used to harmonise the actions of the bike’s variable-length intakes, which elongate and contract according to what works best for any given riding scenario. The result of this expensive solution to optimising throttle response is a bike engine that seems to plug itself into the rider’s brain so instantaneous is that reaction.
But it’s the chassis that is perhaps the reason the R6 remains the Supersport racer’s best friend. Although the Yamaha’s three direct Japanese-branded rivals have now adopted Showa’s feedbackenhancing Big Piston forks, the R6 still keeps its rider intimately informed of the traction status of its tyres. You therefore always know how much grip is available with this bike, and most of the time it feels like there is a huge confidenceboosting surplus. Meanwhile