2008 Yamaha R6 - First Ride

[vermicious]

Originally Posted by seruzawa

160hp bikes with Kawaski Mach III style power bands. I stand by my belief.

Look, they are phenomenal machines. They are just so blazingly fast that you can't ride one at anywhere near 100% capability without being arrested or killing yourself so I don't see much point. Except for the poser value. You are gonna have a really hard time learning to use one effectively unless you spend your weekends at the track. Try it almost anywhere else and you are dead.

Agreed, and maybe it's just a wounded ego , but I wouldn't lump my Tuono in with the newbie death rockets just because they have a common displacement.

[longride]

Originally Posted by vermicious

Agreed, and maybe it's just a wounded ego , but I wouldn't lump my Tuono in with the newbie death rockets just because they have a common displacement.

Any bike is a death rocket if you make it such. Displacement just determines how many pieces are scattered and how long a distance they are scattered.

[vermicious]

I guess the real question is: If there was a 600cc bike that (don't laugh) "spoke to me" like the Tuono does, would I have bought it instead? In my case, it would probably come down to price rather than displacement. I suspect, however, that I would choose the larger displacement bike if all else was equal. Not for the poseur factor or as a penis amplifier but out of the simple/stupid "more is better" mentality.

[vermicious]

Originally Posted by longride

Any bike is a death rocket if you make it such. Displacement just determines how many pieces are scattered and how long a distance they are scattered.

Hehehe... true enough. And ultimately it's the rider's responsibility, not the bike's. Having said that... I do find that I have a much more liberal interpretation of the law on the Tuono than I did on any of my previous bikes

[longride]

Originally Posted by vermicious

Hehehe... true enough. And ultimately it's the rider's responsibility, not the bike's. Having said that... I do find that I have a much more liberal interpretation of the law on the Tuono than I did on any of my previous bikes

I rode a Tuono for an MO test a few years back, and that bike will make you do BAD things. It rides like a big dirt bike. I liked it alot.

[BrowningBAR]

I'm hoping they update the 500, also.

[nweaver]

Oh, a random note to your photographer:

The backside area going out of the corkscrew and into the next turn is a great spot for a "through the trees" action photo, which can show off the top view of the bike, the rider, and the beauty of the track.



Its a beautiful track to take pictures at, but the ones chosen seem strangely sterile.

[seruzawa]

Originally Posted by vermicious

Agreed, and maybe it's just a wounded ego , but I wouldn't lump my Tuono in with the newbie death rockets just because they have a common displacement.

I should said that I was referring to the I-4s with the peaky high end hit. Tuonos are an entirely different matter. Who doesn't want a Tuono? All hail the Tuono.

[sarnali2]

I don't want a Tuono, I'd rather have Ken's DL Suzuki. I don't want an R6 either, nice bike but even if I could shoehorn my fat arthritic ass onto one a light switch 15000 rpm powerband isn't as appealing as it may have once been, you young fellers just go ahead and put your uncle Steve down on the insurance as beneficiary and step right up......

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by acecycleins

There was a time where street bikes and track bikes were marketed to different buyers. The original Katana and CBR F bikes were the "every man's" sportbike. If you have even modest experience you were never really over your head when riding those. Now, 600cc bikes make so much power that marketing them for "entry" level, wanna-be, boy racers is proving to be deadly. ..

I get your point, but you seem to be missing a different one. There's plenty of softer middleweight machines that make excellent platforms for learning. In addition to the Ninja 250 and 500, there's also the Ninja 650 and Versys that are friendly and capable (not to mention the ZZR600). And that's just from Kawi. Yamaha still offers its older R6 in the form of the R6S, plus the FZ6. And Suzuki has what seems to be a good all-rounder in its new GSF650, plus its fantastic SV650. I say that the abundance of choices is what makes the current marketplace better than ever.