Racetrack
Yamaha: 88.0
From hero last year to (tied for) zero this year—though fairly surprising, there are a several glaring reasons why the R6 posted many low scores and fell from grace in our track testing. Those issues were also enough to drop its lap times to fourth in this very competitive group.The two biggest contributing factors to the R6's placing are its very wooden-feeling brakes and a lack of top-end speed compared to last year. In last year's comparo, the Yamaha's power advantage was enough to cover up its comparatively poor corner entry speed due to its front brakes' lack of feel and modulation at the limit. This time the R6 was noticeably lacking in speed compared to the faster bikes in the group, making the numb brakes more of a liability. There were also issues with the slipper clutch, which seemed tighter than usual and caused some unintended backing into corners unless there was a good throttle blip on the downshift.
The R6 has a major power dip at 11,000 rpm, and its power peak is down over six horsepower from our '08 test unit. What happened? We're pretty sure that the power anomaly can be blamed on the new EPA noise tests, which now include a drive-by test that is conducted at full throttle and near-maximum power output with datalogging equipment to discourage cheating. This is the same reason for the '09 CBR600RR's loss of power compared to last year, and for the '07-‘08 ZX-6R's curiously woeful lack of steam.
Were it not for those problems, the Yamaha surely would have been vying for top honors at the track, with all our testers loving its scalpel-sharp steering and stable chassis. Virtually all the ergonomic and powerband complaints that surfaced on the street were completely forgotten at speed on the track, with everything on the R6 seemingly blending together to provide what has the potential to be an all-conquering middleweight. Just ask Ben Bostrom.
Yamaha YZF-R6
Test Notes
+ Same scalpel-sharp chassis
+ The faster you go, the better
- Lost six horsepower from '08!
- Wooden-feeling brakes
x Replace brake pads, get '08 ECU
| SUGGESTED SUSPENSION SETTINGS |
| FRONT |
spring preload: 3 lines showing;
rebound damping: 18 clicks out
from full stiff; high-speed compression
damping: 2 turns out from full stiff;
low-speed compression damping:
14 clicks out from full stiff; ride
height: 2 lines showing on fork tube |
| REAR |
spring preload: position 4 of 8;
rebound damping: 2 clicks out
from full stiff; high-speed compression
damping: 4 turns out from full stiff;
low-speed compression damping:
14 clicks out from full stiff |
Suzuki: 88.0
The engine and chassis tweaks made to the GSX-R last year helped it to a third place finish in our '08 comparison, but while all the other middleweights had some tweaks made this year, the Suzuki remained basically the same, and that showed in its track performance. While nearly all our testers gave high marks to the GSX-R's comfortable chassis feel and steering characteristics, the same couldn't be said of its suspension and engine. "Pretty weak—and that goes for both suspension and motor," state El Jefe's notes. In order to keep the chassis calmed down, rebound damping was cranked up to a half-turn from maximum in the rear shock, with the fork nearly the same; not a good sign with new suspension parts. And even though the engine is the third strongest one in this group, its comparatively slow-revving nature resulted in the second slowest lap time, despite its confidence-inspiring chassis.Even the brakes—which were praised last year for being such an improvement over the previous generation's binders—garnered some complaints this time around from the majority of testers. "The GSX-R brakes were pretty spongy," lamented Olsen in giving the Suzuki the lowest score in this area, with Kunitsugu adding that "feedback and power were lacking, sapping confidence." And there was no getting around the little Gixxer's extra heft compared to the others; any areas of the track that required flicking the bike around demanded a lot more effort at the bars than the others.
All that said, the GSX-R still has that comfortable feel that is easily acclimated to by almost any rider, garnering the highest marks for ergos and dashboard/control layout. "It was the most comfortable and easiest bike to ride around the track," said track newbie Young. "If it just had a little more motor…"
SuzukI GSX-R600
Test Notes
+ Same fantastic chassis
+ Midrange-strong engine
- Still down on power
- Still overweight
x Desperately in need of upgrade
| SUGGESTED SUSPENSION SETTINGS |
| FRONT |
spring preload: 11 turns out from
full stiff; rebound damping: 0.5
turns out from full stiff; compression
damping: 1.75 turns out from full
stiff; ride height: 7mm from triple
clamp to fork tube cap top |
| REAR |
spring preload: 10mm thread
showing; rebound damping:
0.5 turns out from full stiff;
high speed compression damping:
1.25 turns out from full stiff;
low-speed compression damping:
1 turn out from full stiff |