2017 Yamaha YZF-R6 test: no, the Supersport is not dead
Yamaha is the only major motorcycle manufacturer to keep its 600 cc sports car in its catalog in 2017. The R6 loses several horses in the operation – thank you Euro4 – but also gains a lot: look of M1, equipment of R1… Site tested everything on the Almeria circuit !
2017 R6 test page 1 – Yamaha does not give up
Arrival in the dynamic motorcycle market – great! – sporty one year after the R1 – in 1999 -, the has experienced ten prodigious years during which its 599 cc engine (maximum value to compete in the Supersport category), its aluminum cycle part (then embellished with magnesium), its electronics state-of-the-art (ride-by-wire YCCT in 2006, variable admission YCCI in 2008) and its fantastic plastic never ceased to evolve, approximately every two years.
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"In the 2000s, sports models were very ‘trendy’ and attracted many bikers who mostly drove on the road", recalls Clement Villet, director of the two-wheeler division at Yamaha Motor Europe, during the press conference of the launch of this R6 2017.
But from 2008, the, the and the attraction of motorcyclists for other mounts – typed neo-retro in particular – suddenly got the better of the Superbike (4-cylinder 1000 cc and twin 1200 cc and more) and Supersport ( 4-cyl 600 cc, 3-cyl 675 cc).
So at Yamaha, dated 2010! Two years after the release of the 4th generation (characterized by its new aluminum frame, its magnesium rear loop, its redesigned fairing and its engine updates including the YCCI) came out a new version at consolidated mid-revs but at power reduced from 129 to 124 hp.
Since then, R6 fans have only had a special edition celebrating the "50th anniversary" of its manufacturer. Not enough to stop the inexorable fall in its sales in Europe: d ‘, its score plunged to fall last year.
"The sports motorcycle segment is dying," Clement Villet readily admits, "but it is not dead! At Yamaha, sales of our R125, R3 / 25, R6, R1 and R1M series still represented last year 11 , 5% of our sales ".
Although much less efficient commercially, the 600 cc has its place in the Yamaha catalog: "imagine that the R6 disappears from our" Supersport "range … The gap between the R3 and the R1 would be colossal in terms of performance and rates ", the European manager points out..
However, this is what Yamaha’s main rivals are facing: by choosing not to renew their,, and, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Triumph will only be able to sell limited quantities of motorcycles in France in 2017. (lack of Euro4 homologation), then none in 2018…
“It’s a choice”, observes our interlocutor, “it is true that complying with the new Euro4 standard is an expensive process, hardly profitable in relation to sales in Europe or even those more important in the United States. Yamaha has raised this bet ".
To put the odds on its side, the Iwata firm has decided to decline the appreciated recipe from the R1 to the new R6: give it a family "R" with the M1! Seen from the front, the little sports car is also closer to the motorcycle engaged in Grand Prix, thanks to a forced air inlet placed higher and more deeply recessed headlights….
R6 2017: MotoGP R, Superbike equipment
Offered for its first year 2017 in classic "Race Blu" and Black "Tech" colors, the new Yamaha Supersport would undoubtedly wear the colors of the next MotoGP world champion: Maverick Viñales or Valentino Rossi. ?
Unless a hypothetical special livery of the R6 comes to celebrate the success of another even more legitimate driver, since driving the R6 in World Supersport this season: Federico Caricasulo or – better for French bikers, customers and dealers alike – Lucas Mahias, our opener during this presentation on the circuit? Site is crossing its fingers for him !
It is in profile view that the new R6 differs the least from the previous model, its fairing being an evolution of the old one: "the line of side ducts and the moving horizontal lines form a crossed design that highlights the excellent aerodynamics of the bike ", laboriously describe the Japanese … Who says better ?
The rear part is however very clearly inspired by that of the R1. The Supersport’s "nozzles" are, however, taller than those of the Superbike, so that the new 600 seems a little more slender than the 1000 … but a little less than the old R6 with the impressive rear arrow.
The 2017 YZF-R6 does not just look like the acclaimed YZF-R1 of 2015: it takes advantage of the upgrading of its small 4-cylinder to Euro4 standards to steal the fork and the brake system installed on its big sister (read the technical point).
The electronics are also reviewed: "this is not a simple update, but a complete replacement of the components and the harness", Clement Villet assures us. It was necessary to integrate the D-mode and TCS traction control modes, new on the Supersport..
In order to respect the restrictions in terms of atmospheric but also noise pollution, Yamaha has agreed to "restrain" its engine. Lowered by 5 hp during the previous update, the power of the new R6 loses another 5 horsepower, now capping at 118.4 hp (according to the technical sheet on the last page). The maximum torque also drops (by 4 units) to 61.7 Nm.
The finish of the bike, however, remains as high as ever: perceived quality of the fittings (fork, calipers, footrest plates, plate support, etc.), plastic assembly, treatment of the various surfaces, cable routing and hoses, painting of the fairing … Yam ‘keeps the bar very high !
It is hardly that the welds of the frame not always clean and regular – unlike those of the swingarm – which did not find favor with the eyes of MNC. Note in passing that the frame and the swingarm have been scrupulously preserved. The R6 would therefore keep its phenomenal road track ?
This is precisely what Yamaha offers Site to verify on the Almeria circuit, in the south-east of Spain. Le Journal moto du Net took a little time to get back to the track: its last arrival dates from the end of 2010, on the occasion of the release of the latest evolution of the GSX-R600 (read our) !
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