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| Third-generation Yamaha R6 lives up to hype |
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Dave Abrahams April 22 2003 at 06:59AM |
Get IOL on your mobile at m.iol.co.za |
When Yamaha's third-generation YZF-R6 middleweight rocket was launched in February we said we'd wait until we'd ridden one before drawing any conclusions. It’s been well worth the wait.
Despite the vacuum control on the fuel-injection system, there's a definite "slamming door" effect at small throttle openings and it's as well to get on the power as early as you can in a corner to avoid unsettling the chassis – which is no more than another excuse to exploit the surefootedness of the chassis for a little more hooliganising. But then you crack it open and find out what this bike is really all about – with five figures plus on the clock there's an unearthly wail from the air box that'll stand your hair on end the first time you hear it and suddenly next week is a lot closer. Quicker than it takes to say "Beam me up, Scotty", the rev counter needle is pointing straight up and the big blue-white shift light is on as you reset your concepts of space and time. The shift light actually comes on just after the power peak at 13 000rpm, long before the red line at 15 500, but there's no sense in caning the motor to its limits as the power drops off quite noticeably above 14 000.
That worked out to a genuine 248 when corrected for speedo error – and if you think that's a big difference, it's actually only 6%, better than a lot of cars can manage. More impressively, at full chat, the 2003 R6 was a lot more stable than its predecessor. The slight front-end shake was, as usual with modern sports bikes, caused by the movement of my crash helmet as my head was buffeted by the air stream over the too-low screen. The clutch action, as on most Triple Tuning Fork products, was a little remote, but light and positive. When it got hot, though, the engagement point became a little unpredictable. Occasionally that led to some jackrabbit take-offs, but the bike showed no tendency to stall when hot. Despite Yamaha's claim that the gears have been re-profiled for easier meshing, the gearbox remains the R6's Achilles' heel. The shift action is as notchy as ever, with or without the clutch, noisy as an old BMW and clunky enough to be felt through the chassis. But, like an old Laverda, you never miss a shift because you always know when it's in (quiet, Cyril!). You get used to it, but it remains hard work; R6 owners say it's worth putting up with because of the benefits conferred by the ultra-short crankcases made possible by the vertically stacked gearbox shafts. But why, I have to ask, is the R6 box still so bad when the R1 unit, which we reviewed a couple of weeks ago, was so improved for 2003? Long swing-arms mean long chains, with an inbuilt tendency to driveline lash; the R6 suffers less from this than does the R1 and, other than the grotty shift action, its drive train acquits itself well in traffic and out in the twisties. The all-new CF cast frame is assembled from just two intricate castings, the steering head/perimeter beams in front and the engine plates and crosspiece over the motor, with a single weld on either side, rather than the 16 of the previous model. Wheelbase remains the same at 1380mm, but the trail has been increased, which has the effect of steadying the steering. The suspension is unchanged but the bike rides on new, lighter five-spoke cast wheels with hollow hubs. The brakes and callipers are also the same - Yamaha's superb one-piece Sumitomos – but subtle revalving of the master cylinders has taken some of the bite out of the braking action. The power is still there and the response is almost perfectly linear, you just have to squeeze a little harder to get it, especially compared to the GP-style radial callipers on the latest supersports Kawasakis. On the road this translates to a sports bike which is both quicker and easier to ride than its predecessor; with slightly slower steering, it has less tendency to fall into corners at low speeds, and it has lost the earlier R6's weird transient "weightless" feel coming off the throttle. The front end, in particular, is superb. It always feels solidly planted on the tar no matter how hard you push it, it still turns in harder than anything this side of a GP track - except maybe the GSX-R600, which pays for it with a serious case of the twitches. The bike flicks from side to side in quick left-rights hard enough to unsettle the gyros in your inner ear and above 10 000rpm the motor's response is as instantaneous as only a well set-up, fuel-injected mill can be. Get a little power on early in a long corner and the suspension quickly settles down; after that how hard you come out depends on your nerve, not the chassis. The new, CF cast sub-frame and seat, together with the re-shaped fuel tank, emphasise the bike's slimmer mid-section, giving the rider much more room to move around on longer rides, although the low, wide bars still throw too much weight on your wrists to be comfortable around town – still, that's not why you want an R6, is it? The 2003 R6 has a new, more angular, fairing tucked even more tightly around the mechanicals, if that's possible, making the bike the smallest in its class in most dimensions. The panels are still too light and flimsy (Yamaha's consistent failing) but some attempt has been made to mount them a bit more firmly, in most cases by bolting the plastics directly to the frame or motor components rather than to little sheet-metal brackets which add their own little wiggle to the dance. The dual "Gatling beam" multi-reflector headlights work superbly; my first decent ride on the R6 was late at night (don't ask, Cyril) and they took the stress out of getting to know a new bike by leaving me plenty of room for the unexpected. But, and this is a big but, in common with most European machinery they're wired up to fire the two left-side lights only on dipped beam, with all four lighting up on bright. I don't know whether this is an EU requirement or just a silly fashion but I'm tired of people kindly telling me that my lights don't work properly – I've heard it suggested that there is a ready market for a simple accessory wiring harness which would have the two inner lights working on low beam and all four on bright as it is now. The white faced rev-counter with plain red needle is easy to read, as is the big digital speedo; at night they're softly lit with a gentle red glow. There's an odometer with two trip meter functions, a fuel reserve meter, coolant temperature read-out and warning icons for neutral, high beam, low fuel and indicators. The first fuel-injected R6 is not only more powerful but also a better all-round package than its predecessor, with slightly slower handling yielding big gains in stability and road-holding. I'm not really a fan of high-revving fours but several times during the test period I found myself thinking: "I could live with this." Yamaha knew it would have to come up with a much improved 600cc contender to compete with the latest offerings in this hotly-contested class. With the third-generation R6 they might just be right back on top. Thanks to Magson Yamaha, Strand for the test bike. Price: R99 660. Click here to use IOL Motoring's repayments calculator. Specifications: Motor: Liquid-cooled four-stroke transverse four. Capacity: 599cc. Bore x stroke: 65.5 x 44.5 mm. Valvegear: DOHC with four overhead valves per cylinder. Compression ratio: 12.4:1. Power: 92kW at 13000rpm. Torque: 68.8Nm at 11500rpm. Induction: Suction-piston fuel-injection with four 38mm throttle bodies and rpm sensors. Ignition: Electronic. Starting: Electric. Clutch: Cable-operated multiplate wet clutch. Transmission: Vertically stacked six-speed constant-mesh gearbox with final drive by 530 chain. Suspension: 43mm conventional cartridge forks adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping at front, piggyback reservoir monoshock adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping at rear. Brakes: Two 298mm discs with four-pot opposed piston Sumitomo one-piece callipers at front, 220mm disc with single-piston floating calliper at rear. Tyres: Front: 120/60 -ZR17 tubeless radial. Rear: 180/55 - ZR17 tubeless radial. Wheelbase: 1380mm. Seat height: 820mm. Dry weight: 162kg. Fuel capacity: 17 litres. Price: R99 660. Click here to use IOL Motoring's repayments calculator.
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