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Driving report Yamaha YZF-R6 (2004)
Rossi and Ralf
When do you have the feeling that a world champion, no, the world champion in general, Valentino Rossi, enriches the driving report of a production motorcycle? Very seldom, but now, today, here.
Happy, says Valentino, who has just returned from the Grand Prix
arrived in Australia in Valencia, Spain to attend the presentation of the new Yamaha YZF-R6. Happy but also tired after the long season with its ups and downs. What did he get on the R46 ?? a special model of the new R6 painted in Rossi design and named after its start number? swings and starts for the first roll-out on the GP track.
Because of tired. Not on the motorcycle. Coming from the first lap, it pulls through every gear up to 15,000 rpm, brakes terribly late behind the billboard bridge and turns across the fast left-hand bend. The rear tire squeaks like an excited pig, the secondary drive protests with audible heels, but the line fits. With a subtle tone despite the Termignoni sports silencer, the four-cylinder revs up again, before the next left is the whimper of the rear tire
to be heard again briefly before the world champion and the 600s disappear behind a pile of tires. The demo is sitting, so that’s how it works.
Valentino would do four laps, said the Yamaha-
Officials and waving the schedule and checkered flag after the third round. Rossi lets them wave. The man is a real racer, a bike, a race track that is enough to have fun. He obviously has it on the R46, squeezing the four-cylinder like a lemon. Then it stops at a nice spot in the middle of the route and invites you to talk. Anyone expecting a rehearsed hymn of praise for the new 600 will be pleasantly disappointed. Valentino says what he thinks and what he knows. He knows a lot about 600s. After all, he had a CBR 600 RR during his Honda years and the R46 will be his next street machine.
“Not at all easy to drive with the normal shift pattern on the racetrack,” reports Valentino, feigning embarrassment. His foot twitched in the wrong direction several times. The handiness of the new Yamaha be awesome what
he underlines with lively gestures, a wide swing of the right arm and a quick flip of the hand. On the supersport racing tires Michelin Pilot Race S at the front and M at the rear, with which he was on the road, the R6 actually steers even more easily and precisely than with the standard Pilot Power. “But be careful, you should only hit the curbs with racing tires
drive if you have a good steering damper. ”
Then no curbs because the R6 doesn’t have a steering damper. It is a strange feeling to drive after Rossi on the racetrack anyway. You have a good 20 years of experience
under his belt, has done a few road races, but what Valentino does … Anyway. In terms of handling, the R6 should continue to be superior to the competition, although the steering head is now a little flatter and the caster and wheelbase have been lengthened.
The brakes, the braking and everything to do with it
play a huge role in Valentino Rossi’s assessment
of a motorcycle. He has the least where there is the greatest design-related difference to his MotoGP machine-
ten to criticize. The R6 carries simple steel instead of more elaborate
Carbon discs. What a normal mortal brakeman completely
satisfied is also good enough for him. With the new R6, the discs, which have been enlarged to 310 millimeters in diameter, are gripped by radially screwed monobloc saddles; that’s enough even at the end of the long home straight for brute, crystal-clear deceleration.
So that in some places it is not the tire grip or the braking performance that determines the braking point, but the time I need to shift down and engage the clutch before turning in. Because the R6 drive shows a high braking torque. What doesn’t bother in road use, however, with extreme braking on the race track through a lurching,
in the extreme even wildly sliding, rattling rear wheel noticeable. The champion painted deep black lines on the track to demonstrate this effect and vehemently advocates a slipper clutch. However, interested hobby, amateur or professional racing drivers have to buy them separately. It is part of a wide range of Yamaha racing parts for the new R6.
And since he is already criticizing, Valentino explains that the fork is too soft, spring through too quickly. He lets his arms hang slack. Objection, Mr. World Champion, you are too far removed from the normal R6 driver and tester. With the standard set-up, the reserves of which have not yet been exhausted, we get along well into the high-end race training performance range. And will appreciate the sensitive response of the new upside-down fork on country roads.
It goes without saying that there are also greater perspective differences when assessing the engine. If you win races with motorcycles that have more than twice as much power as the R6 and still weigh around 25 kilograms less, you point to a point frighteningly close to the vertex in Valencia’s famous right-hand bend and say: »From here I’ll give in the second Gear full throttle because the 600 doesn’t have that much in it. ”After all, the old R6 already had after the Suzuki GSX-R 600
Most of it is downstairs and the new one does not pull worse according to all signs. To put it another way: I would never give full throttle so early in life, and if so, then I would probably hop off the motorcycle voluntarily.
What strikes me as I accelerate is a phase of slow increase in engine speed close to the 10,000 mark before the four-cylinder accelerates vehemently all the way to the red zone. You can look forward to the first performance measurement, because without a direct comparison it is difficult to assess whether the announced three horsepower extra power has actually been achieved thanks to larger throttle valves. It is fairly certain that the factory specification (now 120 hp) will not be achieved as with the predecessor.
Something missing? Yes, the harsh switching noises. The new R6 can still be heard; nothing has changed on the gearbox. But the world champion’s politeness remains silent about this. His verdict on the R46, on the other hand, sounds more subdued than it actually meant. “Not so bad,” he says and smiles.
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Driving report Yamaha YZF-R6
Rossi and Ralf
Technical data – Yamaha YZF-R6 model 2005 and R46 Rossi special model
Engine: water-cooled four-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine, two overhead, chain-driven camshafts, four valves per cylinder, bucket tappets, wet sump lubrication, injection, Ø 40 mm, uncontrolled catalytic converter with secondary air system, 300 W alternator, 12 V / 8 Ah battery, mechanically operated multiple discs – Oil bath clutch, six-speed gearbox, O-ring chain.
Bore x stroke 65.5 x 44.5 mm
Cubic capacity 600 cm3
Compression ratio 12.4: 1
Rated output 88 kW (120 PS) at 13,000 rpm
Max. Torque 66 Nm at 12000 rpm
Chassis: aluminum bridge frame, engine
Load-bearing, bolted rear frame made of aluminum, upside-down fork, Ø 41 mm, adjustable spring base, rebound and compression damping, two-arm swing arm with upper cables made of aluminum, central spring strut with lever system, adjustable spring base, rebound and compression damping, double disc brake at the front, Ø 310 mm,
Four-piston fixed calipers, rear disc brake, Ø 220 mm, single-piston floating caliper.
Cast aluminum wheels 3.50 x 17; 5.50 x 17
Tires 120/70 ZR 17; 180/55 ZR 17
Dimensions and weights: wheelbase 1385 mm, steering head angle 65.7 degrees, caster 95 mm, spring travel f / r 120/120 mm, seat height 820 mm, dry weight 163 kg, permissible total weight 375 kg, tank capacity 17 liters.
Two year guarantee
Colors red, blue, black (black / yellow *)
Price including additional costs 9995 euros (10995 euros *)
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