BIKETEST YAMAHA R6:The ultimate pleasure of a fast, seamless corner is now a possibility, if you're good, writes GEOFF HILL
IN THE early years of the first World War, aviation engineers were faced with a small but significant problem: how a chap could shoot down another chap without destroying his own propeller.
The simplest solution was that of French designer Raymond Saulnier, who bolted a couple of sheets of armour plate to a prop. It did have the slight disadvantage, however, of a bullet ricocheting back and killing the pilot.
Dutchman Anthony Fokker came up with an effective interrupter gear in 1915. Fitted to his Eindekker, his gear created such an unstoppable killing machine that the Fokker Scourge, as it was called, haunted the Royal Flying Corps for over a year until the Allies came up with a hydraulic system invented by the Romanian George Constantinesco.
It was so effective that the Gloster Gladiator was still using it at the start of the second World War.
These days and motorcycle engineers are wrestling with a similar technological problem; one whose failure involves a chap shooting himself, not with a stray bullet, but over the nearest hedge with a surprised look on his face.
It is, in short, the conundrum of how to make motorcycles accelerate out of corners faster.
At Ducati, they dealt with it on the new 1198S with an ingenious traction control which if you feed in too much throttle coming out of a bend, controls the ignition and as a last resort restricts the fuel supply to make sure you don’t make a complete fool of yourself.
At Yamaha, they fitted the R1 with crank pins set at 90 degrees, reducing the inertia of the crank so that it spun as freely as a two-stroke and meant that a decent rider could be almost as quick into and out of corners as Valentino Rossi, who’d been using the same system on his racing R1 for the past five years.
When it came to the new R6, though, Yamaha decided against the same crank setup as the R1 because the extra weight would mean a lot more in a 600 than it would on a one-litre bike.
Instead, they’ve remapped the engine management system so that it produces a more linear power curve on acceleration, allowing a good rider a fast, smooth and seamless corner.
This is a bike that just loves countersteering, to the extent that you can head for a corner fast, change down with a clutch which is as sweet as Tupelo honey, then drop your elbows, establish your lean angle instantly and start feeding the power in smoothly as soon as you’re sure you’re going to hit the apex.
As for the engine, it may redline at a paltry 15,300rpm now compared with the 16,500rpm of the earlier model R6, but it will still launch you towards the horizon like a guided missile, accompanied by a sound similar to a posse of scalded cats being attacked by a squadron of angry bees.
Faults? Only that anyone over 6ft will find it on the dinky side – after a while I not only gave up trying to see anything in the mirrors, but lost sight of the bike beneath me so much that I began to wonder if I’d lost it.
As for the pillion, it’s still so small, and with the footrests so high, that it’s really only useful for a contortionist from the Chinese State Circus.
In any case, this particular pocket rocket is a bike best ridden alone, with just you, the bike and the next bend to enjoy even more than the last one.
Factfile Yamaha R6
Engine:599cc liquid cooled, four-stroke, forward-inclined parallel 4-cylinder, 16-valves, D0HC, fuel injection.
Performance:Bore x stroke: 67.0 x 42.5mm. Compression ratio: 13.1 : 1.
Power:94.9 kW (129 PS) at 14,500rpm. Torque: 65.8Nm (6.7kg-m) at 11,000rpm
Lubrication:wet sump
Clutch type:Wet, multiple-disc coil spring
Transmission: constant mesh six-speed gearbox, chain final drive
Fuel tank:17.3 litres
Chassis:aluminium die-cast deltabox
Suspension:front: telescopic forks, 41mm with 115mm travel. Rear: swingarm with 120mm travel
Brakes:front, dual discs, 310mm; rear, single disc, 220mm
Tyres:front 120/70 ZR17M/C (58W), rear 80/55 ZR17M/C (73W).
Dimensions:l: 2,040mm,
w:705mm, h:1,100mm, seat height:850mm, wheelbase:1,380mm, clearance:130mm.
Weight:185kg
Price:€10,500. Contact Danfay Ltd, 01-285 9177, yamaha-motor.ie.
Price in Northern Ireland:£8,299. Test bike from Millsport Motorcycles of Ballymoney, 028-2766 7776