Yzf-R6 Blockbuster!

YZF-R6 BLOCKBUSTER!

STOP THE PRESSES! YAMAHA has an all-new 600cc sportbike. and it's reputed to be the best-handling, lightest, most powerful and fastest machine in its class.

“It's like an R1,” verified a company spokesman, “only smaller.”

In fact, the all-new 1999 YZF-R6 is significantly lighter, narrower and shorter than the current

YZF600R. Moreover, the new bike’s high-revving, 16-valve, 599cc inline-Four is said to produce 120 horsepower and 50.2 foot-pounds of torque at the crank, a gain of 25 bhp and 2.5 ft.-lbs. With a claimed 370pound dry weight, the YZF-R6 should offer a stunning powerto-weight ratio. Will this be the world’s first 160-mph 600?

Visually, it’s easy to mistake the R6 for its bigger brother, the ground-breaking YZF-R1. After all, both bikes are similarly styled, and boast shrinkwrapped engines, twin-spar frames, 4-2-1 exhaust systems and sport-oriented riding positions. Look closely, though, past the middleweight’s rakish bodywork and narrow 4.5-gallon gas tank, and the differences are quite apparent.

Consider the frame:

Because a 600 needn't be as

rigid as an Open-classer, the Deltabox II frame’s stampedaluminum spars sport large cutouts that allow a modicum of flexibility—and improved feel. Similarly, the 43mm Kayaba fork is conventional, as opposed to the R l ’s inverted offering, and the braced swingarm is a bit less beefy.

The similarities extend to j the compact, liquid-cooled, dohc engine, which redlines at an astronomical 15,500 rpm. Yamaha admits that the R6’s engine weighs nearly as much as the YZF600R’s, but the new' motor has a more durable crank, clutch and transmission gears, which enabled the power increase. There’s good midrange torque on tap, says a company spokesman, but the engine really sings above 9000 rpm. “It’s a bullet on top,” he said, smiling broadly.

When will the R6 make it to the U.S. and how much will it cost? Yamaha’s not saying. Not yet, at least. -Matthew Miles