The
new for 2006 R6 - perhaps the tastiest looking bike around right
now. The brief fashion for underseat exhausts banished in favour
of stubby bellypan can - and much the better for it, although there
seems to be no gain in the underseat storage department. At least
roasted nuts are off the menu.
130 bhp at 14,500 rpm, fly-by-wire YCC throttle and
slipper clutch - this thing is a track bike pure and not so simple.
Yours for 7½ grand, squire. Assuming the new R1 will follow
suit .... goodbye Gixer1000!
Light,
quick steering and plenty of power for back roads and circuits.
Suspension is not the most sophisticated but brakes are first class.
This bike flatters your riding as long as you're prepared to scream
the nuts off it.
Riding position is great for general scratching and
a bit of touring - high wide bars give plenty of leverage into the
steering. This is Lenny's red and white one. Looks good in blue
too, but don't get the silver one.
As said, suspension is a spot basic. Wind up the rear
pre-load as the thing bottoms out early on standard settings and
upsets the front. Drop the yokes 10mm and fit a steering damper.
Twiddle the rebound to your heart's desire and not much will get
past you as long as there's a bend nearby. Don't firm it up too
much though as the bike will start skipping about all over the road
and it'll slow you down. Different on the track, mind.
Like the R1, the R6 has a tendency to wobble its head
when accelerating hard and suffers a fair bit of understeer when
pushed hard through a bend. Make sure you wind up the rear preload
and add damping to suit, to stop the rear bottoming out and upsetting
the steering. A touch of extra front preload and damping won't go
amiss as that also bottoms out early on standard settings.
Took
one to the 'Ring and although it was a bit short of breath on the
uphill climbs it was certainly mustard through the bendy stuff.
Good 600s like the R6 have such sweet steering and forgiving handling
that you can steam into unknown bends a lot more confidently than
on bigger stuff.
Looks-wise, the R6 is arguably the smartest of the 600s, a mini
R1 and none too shabby for that.
The
new for 2006 R6 - perhaps the tastiest looking bike around right
now. The brief fashion for underseat exhausts banished in favour
of stubby bellypan can - and much the better for it, although there
seems to be no gain in the underseat storage department. At least
roasted nuts are off the menu.
Light,
quick steering and plenty of power for back roads and circuits.
Suspension is not the most sophisticated but brakes are first class.
This bike flatters your riding as long as you're prepared to scream
the nuts off it.
Took
one to the 'Ring and although it was a bit short of breath on the
uphill climbs it was certainly mustard through the bendy stuff.
Good 600s like the R6 have such sweet steering and forgiving handling
that you can steam into unknown bends a lot more confidently than
on bigger stuff.