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Yamaha YZF-R6, Reporting for World Supersport Duty

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Yamaha is gearing up to go racing in the FIM World Supersport Championship, finally bringing back once again a factory team to the 600cc class, and it plans to do so with the 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6.

At EIMCA today, Team Blue gave us our first glimpse of the bike that factory riders Lucas Mahias and Federico Caricasulo, and factory-supported riders Niki Tuuli and Sheridan Morais, will compete with next season in World Supersport.

World Supersport rules don’t allow much in the way of modification to the Yamaha YZF-R6, so while the bike you see here is still just a gussied-up production bike, the actually race bike that the teams will use will differ in only minute ways.

Changes made to the R6 shown here include a set of race fairings, an Akrapovi? Evo full titanium exhaust, 320mm Brembo T-drive front brake discs, 43mm forks with Öhlins cartridges, and Pirelli Diablo DOT race tires.

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Bikes

More Photos of the 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6

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Loyal Asphalt & Rubber readers will know how much we like our high-resolution photos here at A&R, so we wanted to make sure you could get a good high-res look at the 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6 that debuted today at the AIMExpo in Orlando, Florida.

Yamaha has left its class-leading bike mostly unchanged for the next model year, when it comes to the R6 motor and chassis, which might disappoint some. But with the addition of R1-inspired styling, traction control, ABS brakes, and better suspension pieces, we think supersport fans will be pleased with this update.

With the bar now set higher in the 600cc realm, hopefully we will see other manufacturers take up the challenge, and the supersport class will have new life breathed into it.

We’ll have to wait and see on that. Until then, enjoy this modest photo gallery.

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Bikes

2017 Yamaha YZF-R6 Gets ABS, Traction Control, & More

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The wait is finally over, as the 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6 debuted today at the AIMExpo in Orlando, Florida. As expected, the new Yamaha R6 visually borrows from the recently updated R1, with a similar headlight and intake setup featuring now on both machines.

On the technical side of things, the 2017 Yamaha R6 is more evolution than revolution, with the basic chassis and engine configuration staying the same.

However, updates for 2017 include a revised suspension package, ABS brakes, riding modes via ride-by-wire, traction control, and an optional quickshifter.

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Bikes

Here’s Another Yamaha YZF-R6 Teaser Video

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The 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6 is coming soon. We know this because Yamaha has released a second teaser reminding us to that fact. Set this time at what looks like Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, the teaser video again is light on giving anything away.

A few glimpses of a sport bike can be seen, and of course there’s the aural pleasure of hearing a 600cc inline-four engine being revved out to infinity. Our ear hears a flatplane crank for the new Yamaha YZF-R6, which is a topic we’ve covered before, in the last teaser video.

If we sample the frames to this video, we do get a couple good detail shots. One is of the vents on the fuel tank / airbox cover, another shows us what looks like an LED headlight, the best shot though shows us the shilouette of the new R6, which looks to be based closely off the current R1.

Beyond this, what features could Yamaha be bringing to the class-leading supersport? Only time can tell.

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Bikes

Two Enthusiasts Podcast #33 – Wankeled

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I’m not going to lie to you, Episode 33 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast starts off a little rowdy, and never really stops partying. In it, we look at the recently spied 2017 Honda CBR1000RR and recently teased 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6, two incredibly important machines in the sport biking side of the industry.

We also talk about the Wazer water jet cutting project, and how that’s going to affect builders and makers. From there, we pivot to a discussion on the consumerization (that’s a word now) of high-tech manufacturing techniques, which has made things like water jet cutting and rapid prototyping accessible to the masses.

The show ends with a listener question about ABS brakes, which is good timing, considering our interesting discussion about electronics as a whole, and the progression of rider aids in the motorcycle industry. Wankel jokes aside, it is a pretty interesting, and dare we say entertaining show.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Bikes

2017 Yamaha YZF-R6 Hinted for INTERMOT Debut

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For a couple months now, we’ve had some indications that Yamaha was getting ready to release a new sport bike. With the Yamaha YZF-R1 coming up on two-years-old, the timing suggested that Yamaha was ready for a follow-up to that hit. That is to say, it is time for a new Yamaha YZF-R6.

Yamaha seems to agree, today posting a teaser video to its website and social media accounts. The video is sanitized from giving away too much information, with us only seeing a rider going around a race track. The sound though, is a strong giveaway.

The video’s soundtrack is filled with the screaming of a multi-cylinder machine. Our ear hears a four-cylinder engine, with a flat-plane crankshaft, that is revving to the stratosphere.

This give us a strong indication that a supersport bike is just around the corner, and the video ends with the promise of showing more on October 4th, the first press day of the INTERMOT trade show in Cologne, Germany.

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Bikes

Could a New Yamaha YZF-R6 Be Coming for 2017?

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It makes sense that Yamaha would be readying a new version of the venerable R6 supersport for us…finally. The current iteration has been essentially the same bike that originally debuted in 2008, though it saw mild updates in 2010 that sacrificed top-end for midrange power.

The Japanese OEMs are slowly getting back to their old selves though, when it comes to product design and new model debuts, and last year saw the Yamaha YZF-R1 get a major overhaul. It’s time for its 600cc sibling to do that same.

And, that seems to be the case, as rumors out of Japan and Europe are swirling about an all-new Yamaha YZF-R6 debuting later this year, as a 2017 model year machine.

The bulk of the rumors come from Japanese magazine Young Machine, which is famous for the new model concept renders that it publishes, but not so famous for their accuracy.

A&R has heard plenty of chatter about this bike outside of other reports though, so where there’s smoke…

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Bikes

60th Anniversary Yamaha Models Coming to the USA

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In addition to the priced-to-own Yamaha YZF-R1S debuting today, Yamaha has also announced that its 60th Anniversary livery will be headed to the USA as well.

Yes, this means that yellow & black “speedblock” Yamaha YZF-R1 that you drooled over a month ago will be available for purchase for a cool $16,990 MSRP, along with the Yamaha YZF-R6 ($11,490 MSRP) and Yamaha Super Ténéré ($15,590 MSRP).

As you can tell, the speedblock paint is commanding a $500 premium from Yamaha; and disappointingly, only only the base model R1 and Super Ténéré will get the special livery.

This means that if you have an R1M, R1S, or Super Ténéré ES you will have to figure out some way to swap the plastics out on your machine, if you want to help Yamaha celebrate its 60th anniversary of being in business, that is.

Still, as always, the yellow and black liveries are fetching and attractive on these three machines. If you don’t believe that statement, we have the proof in the high-resolution photos, found after the jump.

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Recall

Recall: Multiple Yamaha Motorcycles for Shifting Issues

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Yamaha Motor USA issued a recall for several motorcycles — FJ-09, FZ-09, FZ6R, Super Ténéré, Super Ténéré ES, and YZF-R6 — that were manufactured between September 1, 2014 and November 17, 2014.

The cause of the recall, which affects 4,900 units, is an incorrectly manufactured shift cam segment stopper, which has a sharp edge instead on the inside of the bend, instead of a smooth radius.

Because of this, the stopper can crack and possibly fracture where the edge is sharp, which in turn would cause the transmission not to shift properly.

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News

Yamaha R6 & Yamaha R1 to Get Three-Cylinder Motors?

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Debuting a “crossplane” three-cylinder engine at the INTERMOT show, Yamaha has gotten the word out that it intends on making more inspiring motorcycles, and part of that plan includes the use of triples in its upcoming bikes. Knowing that at least one, if not several future Yamahas will use the hinted-at three-cylinder lump, the Brits over at Visordown have gotten word from their sources within Yamaha Japan that in the coming future, the Yamaha YZF-R6 & Yamaha YZF-R1 will be two of the bikes to receive such modifications.

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News

More Photos of How Yamaha Blu Itself

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Debuted at the San Marino GP, Yamaha’s new Race-Blu livery is set to black & blue the European market when it hits dealers this October (December for the R125). While we still get the tasty Graves Yamaha inspired Team Yamaha Blue/White, you might be longing for the matte grey and vivid primary blue color scheme that Jorge Lorenzo rode to victory at Misano this past weekend.

Coming to the 2013 Yamaha YZF-R1, 2013 Yamaha YZF-R6, & 2013 Yamaha YZF-R125, the Race-Blu livery is very fetching, so it is a bit of a shame that we won’t be seeing it here in the USA. Maybe if we Americans hold our breath until we go blue in the face, Yamaha USA may consider it as a mid-model year option (not likely).

Don’t feel blue though, we can still live vicariously through our European brethren. More photos of how Yamaha Blu itself after the jump. There’s gotta be a better way to say that.

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