Yamaha YZF-R6

Yamaha's YZF-R6 is a 600 class sport bike^[1] motorcycle, first introduced in 1998, updated in 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008 and revised in the years in between.

History

The Yamaha YZF-R6 was introduced in 1999 as the super sport version of Yamaha's Yamaha YZF-R1 super bike, and as a companion to the more street-oriented Yamaha YZF600R sport bike which continued to be sold alongside the R6. The motorcycle featured Yamaha's completely new engine design capable of producing over 108 hp (81 kW) while stationary. The R6 was the world's first 600cc production four-stroke motorcycle producing over 100 hp (75 kW) in stock form.^[2]
The YZF-R6 has been revised several times since its introduction. Starting with the 2002 model, the R6 became fuel-injected. The 2006 model year was a significant upgrade with a new engine management system featuring the YCC-T fly-by-wire throttle and a multi-plate slipper clutch.^[3] The 2008 model incorporated the YCC-I variable-length intake system to optimize power at high engine rpm and an improved Deltabox frame design.

Controversy

In 2006, Yamaha advertised that the R6 had a redline of 17,500 rpm. This is 2,000 rpm higher than the previous R6 model and was the highest tachometer redline of any 2006 production four-stroke motorcycle engine. It was widely reported that the 2006 YZF-R6's motor did not actually have this engine rpm redline level and was closer to around 16,200 rpm, but because of a deliberate tachometer error of about 8%, it read 17,500 rpm on the tachometer. In February 2006, Yamaha admitted the bike's true engine redline was more than 1,000 rpm lower than displayed on the tachometer, and previously advertised, and offered to buy back any R6 if the customer was unhappy.