Honda Cbr600rr Vs. Yamaha Yzf-R6

Honda CBR600RR vs. Yamaha YZF-R6

Supersport standoff

BLAKE CONNER

NOT EXACTLY A CONTRAST AS EXTREME AS yin and yang or fire and ice, but among current middleweight sportbikes, you won’t find two more different approaches to the same goal than the Honda CBR600RR and the Yamaha YZF-R6. Let us explain.

To some degree, it has always been this way. The CBR, a street-oriented all-rounder that has racked up quite a few racing titles and Cycle World Ten Best Bikes awards; the R6, a club racer’s weapon of choice due to its hardcore track focus, also taking home its share of CW accolades. Over the past couple of years, the CBR has become a much better track bike without losing street focus, while Yamaha’s engineers have tried to make their redesigned R6 more street-friendly. So has the chasm narrowed?

I rode the ’08 YZF at the press introduction at Laguna Seca (CW, February), and one thing was clear: The R6 is one hell of a good track bike; eating apexes is what it does best. After spinning countless laps around L.S., I still walked away wondering if the R6 had a newfound penchant for public-funded pavement. But we also needed to know how it compared to the Honda on track. A day at the Streets of Willow Springs followed by a day of back-to-back street riding and weeks of living with the bikes in everyday conditions resolved all arguments.

We started proceedings on the track, throwing a new pair of shoes on each in the form of Pirelli’s latest Diablo Supercorsa DOT race rubber. With the bikes on equal footing, we quickly dialed-in the suspension for the now bumpierthan-ever Streets circuit.

On the track, front-end feel is a key to a quick lap, and this is an area where the R6 absolutely shines. The 41mm SOQI fork has provisions for highand low-speed compression damping, which allowed us to find as close to perfect a setting as possible in our limited set-up time. From the turn-in point to the apex of the corner, the Yamaha’s precise steering, inch-shorter wheelbase and smoother transition from braking to full lean (aided by the excellent slipper clutch) were its strong points.

On the other side of the apex is where the RR gets the kudos. Front-end feel isn’t as confidence-inspiring, but once you stretch the chain and transfer weight to the rear end, the Honda’s plush shock communicates what the rear tire is doing better than the R6, giving the rider the go-ahead to whack the throttle WFO and utilize the RR’s superior midrange power on exit. No matter how early you get on the gas, the Yamaha won’t make up for its power deficit compared to the CBR.

Despite having quite different power-delivery characteristics from their respective fuel-injected, 599cc inline-Four engines, the two bikes aren’t far apart on the track. It was here that the two surprised us by running outright lap times much closer than expected; the fastest lap time of each was only separated by 8/100ths (!) of a second, the nod going to the Honda. The CBR allows you to be a touch lazy and not row the gearbox as much, but a similar pace can be conjured up on the Yami; it’s just busier and requires more corner speed.

Speaking of transmissions, the R6 excels in this category with one of the slickest-shifting boxes around, while the RR was a bit stiffer and the lever didn’t always return quickly enough after the first-to-second gearchange.

Braking feel is another area where the Honda is just a touch better. Initial bite from the Tokico calipers and 310mm discs is instant and powerful, whereas the R6’s require a bit more pressure at the lever and more travel to get the same results.

Both bikes performed impres

sively at Willow but the fact that the Honda surpassed the track-oriented Yamaha’s best lap time on the tight circuit gave the RR an ever-so-slight advantage heading into our street testing. Out in the urban jungle is where most motorcycles spend their time. This is also where these two bikes can finally be separated by more than a feeler gauge.

You needn’t leave more than one stoplight to realize that despite all of Yamaha’s efforts, the R6 still thinks track first and road second. Nowhere was this more apparent than at the dragstrip, where Cernicky had to wind the tach needle to almost 15,000 rpm before fanning the clutch, only to have the bike fall flat on its face and bog multiple times before our instinctive sense of mechanical sympathy got the best of us and we said enough is enough. The net was a sub-par, near-11-second quarter-mile time.

HONDA CBR600RR

$9599

J%pS A Featherweight feel A Heavyweight punch A Excellent ergos YD owns T New turnsignals, please! ▼ Street comfort slightly compromises cornering clearance on-track ▼ Total lack of underseat

So what do dragstrip getaways have to do with everyday riding? Well, in the case of the R6, just getting the bike off the line with any urgency requires 8000-rpm launches. A lot of noise, a lot of effort and not a lot of fun.

Honda has found exactly the right balance between road and track with the RR. Not only does it weigh 18 pounds less than the R6 (without fuel) but it makes more horsepower and torque everywhere in the rev range except briefly at above 14,000 rpm-where few streetriders spend much time.

For instance, at 9000 rpm, right in the meat of what is considered mid-range on these supersports, the CBR makes a whopping 13 more hp and almost 8 foot-pounds more torque. Not surprisingly, top-gear roll-ons favor the Honda.

In a side-by-side comparison from 75 mph, the RR leaves the R6 sucking exhaust gases. As for bottom-end power, the Honda wins that battle easily, too. Road or track, the RR’s linear power delivery and good torque more than make up for it having slightly less peak power than the Yamaha.

It’s the little things that make living with a bike day-to-day enjoyable. Key is rider comfort and ergonomics. Honda’s more-upright seating position and flatter bar position are not only more comfortable than the R6’s over-the-front-end feel, but these street-oriented attributes didn’t hamper us on the track. (Of note here: The Yamaha has provisions for front and rear ride height adjustment via longer fork tubes and a shim on the shock, which help compensate for some race tires’ different diameters. We took advantage of this at Willow Springs by raising the rear and dropping the front and then returned it to a more relaxed posture for the stock tires and street testing.)

At speed, wind protection on both bikes is very good, neither buffeting the rider’s helmet much at all. Both engines are very smooth with very little vibration felt through the bars or pegs. Mirrors on both give a clear view of what’s behind you. One viberelated item that we did notice: The Yamaha’s licenseplate assembly shakes like a paint-mixer at Home Depot. On the flip side, apparently no harm done, and the unit is easily removable for track use.

Both dashes offer tons of information, with analog tachs prominently centered for easy recognition on track. The LCD fuel gauge on the Honda is a welcome addition. When it comes to styling, we all agree that the R6 is the more attractive bike; the chiseled angles and aggressive lines just make it look fast. But the CBR is no ugly duckling, either, with clean, simple lines that are striking, as well.

As the defending champ in this category, the Honda would have to be beaten thoroughly not to retain its crown. That didn’t happen. Not only did the RR surprise us by just edging out the R6 on track, its street manners, daily livability and stout power delivery assure that the CBR still has Yamaha’s number.

YAMAHA YZF-R6

$9599

Ups ▲ Fab front-end feel A Slick-shifting tranny A Improved midrange Ta owns T Midrange still lacking ▼ Front brake needs more bite ▼ 8-grand getaways get old