Sixbysix
SixBYSix
CW COMPARISON
Gixxer, 6R, R6, 748, F4 and Formula 750 go for middleweight gold
BRIAN CATTERSON
FIFTEEN-FIVE. THE REDLINE SITS THERE ON THE WHITE-faced tachometer, beckoning. Run the engine up there just once and experience the carnal sensation, we dare you. It's a siren's scream, a primal wail, a blood-curdling cry for help.
More than that, the Yamaha YZF-R6’s dizzying redline is a wakeup call to the middleweight sportbike class, a silkscreened proclamation that shouts out, “Oh yeah, top this!" After nearly a decade of taking it on the chin, the tuning-fork company is back with a vengeance, looking to return to the dominant position held by the FZR600 circa 1989-90.
It won’t be easy. This year, there is strong competition from all comers. First, there’s the all-new Honda CBR600F4, Big Red’s first aluminum-framed, ram-air-equipped middleweight. Next, and no less formidable, is Kawasaki’s ZX-6R, the Green Meanie that claimed Best 600cc Streetbike honors in Cycle World's Ten Best Bikes balloting when it debuted last year. Then there’s Suzuki’s GSX-R600, which enters its third season clutching the AMA 600cc Supersport crown. Add to that a pair of fuel-injected 750cc Twins from Italian makers Ducati and Laverda, and you’ve got no fewer than six contenders for the middleweight sportbike throne.
To determine which works best, we assembled the CW wrecking crew-Road Test Editor Don Canet, racer/photo model Mark Cemicky, Contributing Editor Nick Ienatsch, Off-Road Editor Jimmy Lewis (who’s no slouch on-road, either), Associate Editor Paul Seredynski, Assistant Art Director Brad Zerbel and myself-and visited our usual haunts. We ventured south to Carlsbad’s dragstrip for performance testing, then north to the Streets of Willow Springs for timed laps around the 1.8-mile, 15-turn road course. In between, we spent time on the hellish Los Angeles freeway system, sneaking off into the surrounding mountains and canyons whenever possible. The winner would be the bike that fared best overall.
Unlike last year, when El Niño wreaked havoc on our testing, this winter we were treated to a succession of balmy, 70-degree days. Hearing reports of blizzards in the Midwest, our thoughts turned to Editor-at-Large Peter Egan, freezing his patootie off in frigid Wisconsin. Pitying the poor boy (or, more accurately, fearing another column about taking a break from shoveling snow to admire his Vincent), we invited Peter to take part in our test. You can read his take on the proceedings beginning on page 48.
In recent years, we’ve made a point of fitting sportbikes with identical, race-compound tires for our track testing, but this year we decided to abstain. Why? Three reasons: 1) The short, tight Streets of Willow Springs circuit, which offers a better gauge of real-world performance than the stupid-fast Willow Springs International Raceway next door, isn’t very hard on tires; 2) street rubber has improved to the point that we no longer worry about crashing due to lack of traction; and 3) changing tires potentially penalizes bikes that come with premium rubber while rewarding those that don’t.
Furthermore, as Honda’s R&D ma ven Dirk Vandenberg pointed out prior to his untimely death last year, engineers spend considerable effort matching streetbikes to their tires and vice-versa. As a result, changing tires sometimes can adversely affect handling. Having experienced this with a few recent testbikes (Honda’s VTR1000F being the most glaring example), we heeded Dirk’s advice. And with one significant exception, we didn’t regret it.
Ducati 748
Even better than the real thing
By now, most sportbike enthusiasts know about Ducati's 916/996 Superbike, and its mythical ability to circulate racetracks quicker than bikes that make more horsepower and weigh less. Yet in spite of this notoriety, that bike's little brother, the 748, has gone largely unheralded. That's a real shame, because aside from different cylinder dimensions, the two motorcy cles are essentially the same. And in some ways, the 748 is even better. Blasphemy? Not in the least. CW's West Coast Advertising Manager (and former 250cc Grand Prix racer) Andy Leisner brought a 996 along with us on the street one day, and after trading bikes back and forth, we all agreed that we could go just as fast in the twisties on the 748 with less effort. With its lighter internal reciprocating mass pro ducing less gyroscopic effect, the 748 turns-in easier than the 996. Moreover, the 748's linear powerband, lower peak power output (89 bhp at the rear wheel versus the 996's 106) and higher redline (11,500 rpm versus the 996's 10,000) make it more flexible, so that you actually shift less often. And then there's the sound: If there's one thing that's sexier than a desmo V-Twin at full song, it's a desmo V-Twin spinning 1500 rpm higher. ` But never mind compar ing Ducatis, how does the. 748 rate alongside the other sporting middleweights?
Very well indeed: The yellow bike bested all corners in the racetrack portion of our test, turning a best lap tirne onetenth of a second quicker than the next-best bike. The Streets reward front-end feedback and steering precision, both of which the Ducati possesses in great abundance. Its racer-crouch seating position, so miserable on the freeway, is perfectly suited to strafing apexes. And this, combined with superb Showa suspension and Pirelli gumbos, lets the rider snap the 748 into corners harder than any other bike in this group. Mid-corner ripples (of which there are many at the Streets) present no obstacle whatsoever, as the Ducati runs right over them with nary a wiggle. Finally, the 748's broad spread of torque, coupled with short gearing (which held the bike to a relatively slow, 149-mph top speed), meant that the engine was always in the meat of its power band, even if the rider had to shift more often than on the Japanese Fours. As Canet said after his timed laps, "This thing is a racebike."
Ducati
748
Price . $13,495
Honda CBR600F4
The Acura Integra of sportbikes
Honda's new CBR600F4 has it all going on. It's powerful (93 bhp at the rear wheel), quick (just under 11 seconds in the quarter-mile) and fast (157 mph on top). It's high-tech (aluminum frame, ram-air) yet priced competitively (at $7999, it's within $100 of the other Japanese Fours). It's even stylish, what with its aggressive, NSR500-style intake snorkels and giant wing logo adorning its flanks. But the F4's downfall is that it works so well, it's almost transpar ent. It's as if Honda doesn't want the motorcycle to interfere with the motorcycling expe rience! Reading our testers' notes revealed little, and Canet's post-hot-lap debriefing didn't provide much insight, either. "It feels pretty good," he said. "There's good feedback through the suspension, and it transitions well on the brakes." Damned with faint praise, that's the F4's lot in life, and it's one that Honda will have to get used to if it's going to continue to produce near-perfect motorcycles. Give us jaded moto-scribes something to complain about, will ya? Compared to its predecessor, the CBR600F3, the F4 feels friskier, and is easier to trail-brake into corners. It also vibrates less than we remember, or at least doesn't vibrate while droning on the freeway, where such buzzing usually is most bothersome. Carburetion is spot-on, steering is light and neutral, and the suspension also works quite well, though mid-corner bumps affect chassis composure, and
thus the Dunlop D207s' grip. Ugly, graunching noises from the bike's. underside hinted at limited corner ing clearance on the racetrack, but like the VFR800 we tested last month, l the F4 just has long footpeg feelers; we never touched down anything solid. The CBR ranked fourth at the racetrack, slightly more than a half-second off the Ducati's pace. The most-heard remark from our testers concerned how immediately user-friendly the Honda feels. "It took only one lap to get used to," offered Lewis after his racetrack stint, "while the others took two or three. It's an excellent novice level streetbike." Never mind that it makes nearly 100 horsepower! Cernicky's comments were the most flattering. "She looks like the girl next door," he jibed, "and on top of that, she can cook! My mother would tell me to stick with this one."
Honda
CBR600F4
Price . . $7899
Kawasaki ZX-6R
Salutatorian in green
Poor Kawasaki. Last year, the ZX-6R was the new kid in class, and stood head and shoulders above its classmates. This year, though, it's going to have a tough time making the honor roll. Not that the Zixxer isn't smart-because it is-it's just not as sharp as the new kids on the block. To a man, our testers agreed that the Kawasaki feels very much like the Honda; it's just a bit less refined. And depending on your perspective, that can make the green bike better or worse than the red one. On the street, there's little difference between them; both make about the same power and handle comparably. Even their seating positions feel similar, with the Kawasaki slightly more stretched out. Typically, the Ninja has more mechanical presence, the gear whine from its six-speed transmission coming through loud and clear at five-figure revs. Yet in spite of this, its engine is the smoothest of this group-almost eerily so. "Great motor," reported Canet after his timed laps. "The chassis isn't as planted as the F4's, and it lacks feedback. The front shimmies over bumps, but I'm amazed how hard you can brake while leaned over." On the racetrack, the Kawasaki was limited by its Bridgestone BT56 rear tire, which chattered when you put the power down while leaned over, hindering drive. We took a turn out of the shock's spring-preload collar and dialed-in
three clicks of rebound damping, and while this helped th~ chatter, it also reduced available cornering clearance. The Kawasaki and Honda also were close in our perform ance testing, with the former holding a slight advantage. Th~ ZX-6R bested the CBR by .05-second to win the dragstn~ shootout, then rubbed salt in the CBR's wounds with a .06 second quicker lap time at Willow and a 2-mph higher tol speed. The Kawi also outperformed the F4 on the dyno, squeaking out 1.2 more horsepower. Yet in spite of its outstanding per formance, the ZX-6R left us cold. Lewis summed up our feelings best when he said, "The Kawasaki sort of got lost in the mix." Indeed.
Kawasaki
ZX-6R
Price . $7999
Laverda 750S Formula
Operating out of class
Laverda's 750S Formula is an anomaly, a vertical-Twin that makes serious steam. The standard 750S that we tested recent ly (CW, December, 1998) made 73 rear-wheel horsepower, but the Formula-by virtue of its hotter cams, bigger valves, higher-compression pistons, remapped injection timing and different velocity staci's-pumps out 81, just 8 fewer than the Ducati. More impressive is the Formula's torque output; with 52 foot-pounds on tap, it ranks at the top of this group. Unfortunately, the engine doesn't come alive until 6500 rpm, then runs smackdab into the 9000-rpm rev-limiter, which means you've got to row the shift lever to make any sort of progress. Our well-worn, 4500-mile testbike came to us with its fairing lowers scraped and rubber steering stops missing, courtesy of our friendly rivals at Sport Rider magazine. In fact, one of their testers had crashed the bike, or as they put it, turned it into a "horizontal-Twin." If nothing else, at least it's proven to be durable! As was the case with the 750S, the Formula's greatest attribute is its handling. Aside from its lower seat and the odd, elbows-in riding position dictated by its clip-on handlebars, the Laverda feels much like the Ducati; it even has the same Pirelli tires. Steering is a bit heavy, but the payback is superb stability. Truly, the Formula goes wherever you point it, and holds its line. The Laverda exhibited signs of understeer in the hands of our heavier testers, which tempted us to raise the rear ride height. But because our lighter wingfoots didn't sense this, we left it alone. The Paioli suspension is on the firm side front and rear, which prompted us to dial the compression damping adjusters to their lightest positions. This worked fine on the racetrack, but made for a harsh ride on SoCal's whooped-out, concrete freeway system. Oddly, the racy riding position bothered us more on the
track than it did on the street. Our testbike arrived with its cam-adjustable, billet footpegs set in the highest posi tion, and while this maximized cor nering clearance, it conspired with the carbon-fiber heel guards and twin mufflers to trap the rider's boots. This made it difficult to move around on the bike, as well as to downshift, then quickly return the ball of your left foot back to the peg for the following corner. Another racetrack hindrance is the twistgrip. Its 3/8-turn requires a healthy blip to match engine speed during downshifts, which can affect the rider's grip on the front brake lever. A V4-turn throttle likely would trim a half-second from the Formula's lap times. The Laverda also had the least cor nering clearance of this bunch, as it dragged its fairing low ers and kickstand. Having said all that, the Formula actually fared quite well in our track testing. True, it ranked last in terms of lap times, but it was just 1.2 seconds slower than the Ducati, and a mere .04 of a second off the fifth-place bike. Said Seredynski, "The Laverda would be a great second bike. No other bike was so rewarding to go fast on, as if you had truly accomplished something."
Laverda
750S Formula
Price $12,995
Suzuki GSX-R600
Blue and white-knuckled
There are racebikes, and there are racebikes. Suzuki's GSX R600 definitely is one of the latter. The number-one plate on Steve Crevier's Yoshimura-prepped Supersport bike proves it. When last we included a GSX-R in a 600cc sportbike comparison (CW, February, 1997), we raved about its handling while con demning its seating position and dearth of midrange power. Some things never change: With its fat fuel tank, low, clip-on handlebars and high, rearset footpegs, the Suzook is the least comfortable bike in this group. And you still have to rev the snot out of it and mercilessly slip the clutch to get moving. Like the old GSX R750, the 600's carburetion isn't perfect, either, with a lean surge at around 6500 rpm-coincidentally, right where you'd be at freeway-cruising speeds in sixth gear. And downshift ing only makes matters worse, because there's considerable vibration at higher revs. Not surprisingly, the Suzuki was closely matched to the other track-bred bike in this group, the Ducati. Both made 89 peak horsepower on the dyno, while just one-tenth of a second separated their lap times and two-hundredths of a second split their quarter-mile times. The most notable per formance differential came in top-speed testing, where the Suzuki posted a 4-mph higher radar-gun reading.
The Suzuki's track-focused riding position helped it on the racetrack, as it forced the rider to stay low on the bike, a real boon to front-tire traction. The firm suspension and strong-yet-progressive brakes also helped, enabling the rider to snap the bike hard into corners while on the binders, then ease off the lever without any dire consequences. Said Canet, "I really like the suspension. You can run across pavement patches without any headshake. The brakes are good, too. There's good lever pressure-not too soft or too grabby." Ienatsch concurred: "The Suzuki is hard to fault on the track. The other bikes, with the exception of the 748, aren't as composed." Former GSX-R750 racer Seredynksi summed up the Suzuki's performance when he said, "The bigger your balls, the better it feels." Provided they don't smack the fuel tank, that is.
Suzuki
GSX-R600
Price . $7799
Yamaha YZF-R6
Son of RI
We're not the least bit surprised to see a 600cc inline-Four with a 15,500-rpm redline. What surprises us is that it's a Yamaha! The tuning-fork company's middleweights tradi tionally have subscribed to the long-stroke, high-pistonspeed method of horsepower production, so the vastly oversquare YZF-R6 represents a real departure. Unlike the 1000cc Ri and forthcoming 750cc R7, the R6 makes do with four valves per cylinder instead of Yamaha's trademark five. But this doesn't appear to have hindered per formance, as the R6 topped the dyno (95 bhp) and top-speed (160 mph) portions of our test, while tying the Honda for sec ond place at the dragstrip (10.97 seconds). The R6 didn't fare as well at the roadrace track, however, as its potent, high-revving engine took a toll on its rear Dunlop D207-the one tirerelated exception we mentioned at the top of this story. Said Canet after his timed laps, "The rear tire is the limiting fac tor. You can just dial-a-slide! It probably would have set fast time if grip had been better." The R6's lap times also were hindered by its lackluster acceleration off the tight hairpin leading onto the Streets' front straight. Like the other Fours, its tall final gearing meant it was caught between gears here-first was too low and sec ond too high. But with the least peak torque (42.1 ft.-lbs.) arriving at the highest revs (10,900 rpm), it took the Yamaha longer to get back on the pipe. With different gearing, or on a faster track, it likely would have been a different story. What's odd here is that the Yamaha doesn't feel as though it lacks torque-certainly not compared to the other Fours. To the contrary, you're constantly impres sed by how quickly it gen erates speed. As Zerbel put it, "The motor is Mr. Freespinning. It's like a two-stroke!" Indeed it should be. The R6 draws heavily on lessons learned by Ya maha's racing depart ment, using information gleaned from top GP rac ers such as Wayne Rainey and Eddie Lawson. And in fact, Lawson came out to our track test, but declined our invitation to sample the 600s because he was having too much fun sliding around on his SuperTT bike! Maybe next time, Eddie? Describing the YZF R6's handling is difficult, because it's neutral, yet it's not. Said Ienatsch, "The R6 turns-in well, but then falls hard toward
the apex. I found myself jumpin~ on the throttle to arrest the lean angle." Suffice to say that it's neutral as long as you've got, the throttle cracked open. Add to this the front wheel's tenden cy to get light exiting corners and you've got the makings of a real thrill ride. In fact, the YZF intimidated Lewis, who labeled it, "Too much of an expert's bike." True, the Yamaha is less forgiving than the other bikes. As such, it pays to keep a relaxed grip so as not to feed unwanted input into the chassis. Like a real racebike, the YZF works better the faster you ride it, rewarding smooth, confident veterans and punishing clumsy neophytes. This appealed to racer Cernicky, who said that owning an R6 would give him "a reason to look forward to waking up in the morning, or lie awake all night just thinking about it."
Yamaha
YZF-R6
Prlce. :$7999
Conclusion
If you've read this entire comparison and haven't fast-for warded to here, you already have a good idea which bikes excel in which arenas. Reading between the lines, you may even know which bike we like best overall. But in case you don't, we'll spell it out for you. All of our testers loved the Ducati, but unless you're a well-heeled, Sunday-morn ing-only rider, the $13,495 748 is an unrealistic choice. We're tempted to say that it would make a good racebike, but there really isn't a class for it-it's illegal for AMA 600cc Supersport and has to compete alongside the 996 in AHRMA's Battle of the Twins series. Check your local roadrac ing club's rulebook before you plunk down 13.5 large. The Laverda appealed to some of our testers (Geezer Egan in particular), but it, too, is expensive, and the term "kitbike" came up too often for us to feel comfortable in recommending it. If you find the Formula appealing, you'll probably be happy together, but for the average street rider, there are better, more practical choices. The same holds true for the Suzuki, whose uncomfort able riding position hurts its street performance, and thus
its overall ranking here. If you live to strafe apexes or are a roadracer with a penchant for Suzuki Cup money, then by all means, go for it. But if you're in the market for an every day street ride, you owe it to yourself to look elsewhere. In terms of do-it-all motorcycles, the Honda and Kawasaki are tough to beat. Both work wonderfully as daily commuters and weekend sportbikes, and with soft luggage draped over the seat make passable two-up sport-tourers. Which one suits you comes down to whether you want your gemstone highly polished or rough around the edges. And whether you prefer red or green. Which leaves the Yam aha as our pick for the best middleweight sportbike of 1999. This year's con tenders could be divided into two categories: race bikes (Ducati, Laverda, Suzuki) and streetbikes (Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha). Of the latter, the Yamaha felt the raciest, and as a result, invoked the most enthusiastic responses. Like the YZF-R1, the R6 is an exhilarating ride on the street or the track, and that, bal anced against precious few faults, earned it the top spot. Order one in blue before they're sold out.
