Yamaha R6

[Gollum244]

Hey guys, new here. just went looking around today at a pretty big selection of bikes, sat on my buddies GSX-R 600 from '08 and loved the stance and feeling of it. i hit most of the stops: Walt Healy, GW and Sport Cycle. the one that i like the setup the most was an '09 Yamaha R6, thinking that by the time i get everything licence wise, ill be able to afford one. I just wanted to know if they have any inherent problems mechanical wise, or if they're a general good bike all-round for a newbie with a little bit of practice?

Thanks in advance!

[Luke 96 T/A]

I learned on an R6S back in 2006.. I had no problems with it.. Now I'm selling it and have bought a liter bike...

My buddy however had his clutch burn out after 600km (probably because Blackfoot set it wrong), and then his engine blow at 10,000km... He bought his R6S at the same time as me..

As long as you can limit yourself, an R6 is fine to learn on... But it's pretty easy to be tempted to take it far beyond your skill leval...

[BrknFngrs]

How did you find the R6 for comfort? Are you planning to do a lot of cruising on the highway or mainly just around town?

[pyro]

Iv had my 07 r6 for 4 years never had any problems with it after 2 hrs of riding it starts to get uncomfortable but thats like any street bike.

[2BLUE]

I also have 07 R6 and not one problem!

Sport bikes are NOT comfortable either way.

I personally will never buy a brand new bike again.

I paid $12k with 5 years warranty for mine and its worth half that.

[tawheed]

Great bikes, you can buy my 06 50th anniversary edition for $6k ;)

[Gollum244]

okay, cool thanks guys. i had heard from my buddy that they where good all round bikes, as long as they get set up right.

@Luke, yeah Brent at Healey gave me the best advice ive heard so far "if you understand that this thing is out to get you, youll do fine"

@Brknfngrs, I found it fit the best, i like the compact lean foreward set up, which is why im more for the r6 than the FZ6R. the tank, and the engine isnt too wide that im almost doin the splits riding the dam thing, although that was just jumping on and sitting there, it may change once i get it. just hoping to god it doesn't.

[BrknFngrs]

If it fits your body well that's a plus; it's nice not feeling crippled after a ride.

Everyone says that all sportbikes are uncomfortable but I noticed a lot of differences in fit when I was shopping for mine. The honda fit my body the best and I don't get any discomfort highway riding unless it's upwards of 4-5 hours. The R6 are amazing bikes though and way more aggressive than the hondas.

[Luke 96 T/A]

As others have said, you might want to look at buying it used.. they're now losing a *lot* of value in just a few years..
No substantial differences between a 2010 and a 2004-2009...

but yeah, they're not comfortable... riding 300km is at the top of my limit...

[Gollum244]

yeah, the chance of me buying new is probably 0%. i dont have the money for it. by the time i do have the cash i should be bagging an 09 for pretty cheap

[mdeleon]

Originally posted by Gollum244

@Luke, yeah Brent at Healey gave me the best advice ive heard so far "if you understand that this thing is out to get you, youll do fine"

I really don't see it that way, seems like you should be afraid of your bike or something. I see it more as, "It's easy for the bike to take control of you rather than you keeping control of the bike." But that also all depends how much control you have over yourself.

[revelations]

Funny how 10 years ago an R6 wouldve been a good suggestion for first bike, but now they are so wound up with power and handling that its hard to make 600cc recommendations.

An older 1000cc bike might be more forgiving and controllable in certain cases (eg. Honda VTR 1000) vs a new R6.

Either way, the R6 is a good bike. Check out the specific riding dissusion group for the bike you choose to get.

http://www.r6-forum.com/forums/index.php

[SpeedIllusion]

My ride to Banff was hell on my R6, I was so stiff after

[HHURICANE1]

6 hours a day is the absolute limit on my R6. You sure do suffer around town but on the hiway it's ok. I won't do more than 2 hours at a time without a break, but that's about a tank of fuel anyways.

[Baldwin]

I have a 2008 R6 and I love it. I bought it without having ever ridden a streetbike before (only quads, dirtbikes, snowmobiles, jetskis, etc). I'd say its fine for beginners as long as you're good at riding all of the other toys that have the throttle in your right hand. At low RPMs its nice and gentle, but wind it up and it comes to life really quickly. Just respect it and ride within your limits and you'll be fine.

There are some 08 models going for around 8grand right now on the used market. 2008 the R6 was updated quite a bit from the 2006-07. Looks remain very similar (everyone loved it, so they just feshened it up a bit), but a lot of things were changed throughout the entire bike (engine added YCC-i, YCC-t was apparently smoothened, internals create less friction, magensium subframe, swingarm flex is different, seat position is forward 5mm and bars are lower 5mm, slightly different tach, etc..). Apparently it has more midrange for 08, but it's still a peaky engine.

As for comfort, it definitely takes some getting used to. And I agree with the 2 hour ride length...anything more requires a bit of a break to stretch the legs.

Im 100% satisfied with mine.

[skandalouz_08]

I've owned 2 R6's that loved them. Nothing wrong with them mechanically and other than being sore and stiff after long 6+ hour rides its a great bike to learn on and scoot around town.

Don't buy new, look for a used one for the first season or 2 and then when you're comfortable with it sell it and upgrade to another bike...you'll probably want a bigger bike by then anyways.

[Gollum244]

yeah, thats what ive been looking around at. my buddy bought a gixxer 600 and i think its been about 3 seasons now and he's thinking of upgrading to the 1000