I still have the ZX6R, but I was intent on finding it's replacement. I didn't have a particular bike I wanted to replace it with, but I did have ideas of what it needed to have at the least, because I wanted to make sure that it would be a fundamental "upgrade" on my ZX6R. Versus the ZX6R's carbed fuel delivery system, standard telescopic forks, and standard front brake master cylinder and caliper mount, I wanted to make sure that my next track bike would have (at the least) fuel-injection, inverted forks, radial-mount calipers, and radial front master cylinder. I settled for a 2005 Yamaha R6, as it was within my budget I was willing to pay for a full-time trackbike, and was the first year that Yamaha offered the components I was looking for. It also seems unanimous in publications everywhere that there's no other bike that has been purposely made for the track as the R6.
I lucked out in finding the bike that I wanted, even though I had to drive over 200 miles to pick it up. The bike was already prepped for AFM racing next season, but the owner could not race after all due to family reasons, and therefore had to let the bike go. What that meant for me was I got the bike in it's entire street-legal form, with all (and more) that I need to use it for the track.
Before I parted all the street parts I didn't need for the track, I took the time to ride the bike and see if all the fuss about the bike was right. The bike IS extremely light (though seemingly not as much as my R1), compact, yet surprisingly comfy. It is completely gutless in the low and midrange, which I imagine to be unsuitable for the street where you'll be spending most of your time in those powerbands. When you get up to the higher powerbands though, the bike SCREAMS and PULLS. Dyno charts for the bike shows it's peak torque at above 12,000 RPM (!). They weren't kidding when they said the bike is only home in the racetrack.
So I got to cracking on pulling off the street stuff and fitted the track fairings on the bike. Luckily, the market for used R6 street parts here in the Bay Area is more demanding than say my Aprilia. Within 24 hours, I got rid of all the street fairings and am on my way to recouping most of the money I paid for the bike, which was already a steal on its own.
I can't wait to see what I can do with this bike, and I'll find out soon enough on the 17th at Infineon Raceway.
Despite my passion for motorcycles, I'm HOPING that acquiring the R6 for the track will help me settle with my garage. With the R1 for the street, I should have no need to overhaul my garage again in the near future with any other bikes.
