Honda CBR600RR vs. Kawasaki ZX-6R vs. Suzuki GSX-R600 vs. Triumph Daytona 650 vs. Yamaha YZF-R6
Sport Rider
Comparison Test
"This thing does everything right, but its age shows," writes Mikolas of the Suzuki GSX-R600 in his notes. Granted, we don't get much useful information from the man (we keep him around mostly for comic relief), but that one's a real gem. You see, the little Suzuki was the star of the show last year, winning the middleweight title and just about ending up Bike of the Year as well. But the pace of development in the middleweight class is exponentially accelerating, and the unchanged Suzuki-while not fighting for table scraps-is definitely under the gun this year, fending off four new or updated models.
We've covered the basics of these new models: The Honda CBR600RR and Yamaha YZF-R6 have been fully tested, and while editor Kunitsugu raved about the Kawasaki ZX-6R in his first ride piece, our Geek did the same for the Triumph Daytona 650. Those requiring a refresher on each bike's updates and technical merits can peruse those stories in our previous issue. One bike we haven't sampled to date is the Kawasaki ZX-6RR, which is currently unavailable; a full test of the homologation special will have to wait for another day. That said, we'll address the issue of oversized 600s in the middleweight class and our stance on the subject right away. It seems to us that when shopping for a bike, the majority of riders will consider street riding with the occasional track day thrown in-meaning absolute displacement is not really an issue (though we'd recommend checking with your insurance broker about the exact breakdown for coverage). The five bikes gathered here all fall into the $8000 price range, weigh about the same and have similar power curves. Most buyers will compare these models in their search. Racers take heart, however. We've thoroughly track-tortured this quintet, and you can modify our conclusions to suit your sanctioning body's rulebook. In any event, it may all turn out to be a moot point, as the true 600s in this group are certainly capable of holding their own against the bullies.
Round 1: Buttonwillow Raceway
For the track portion of our test, we ventured a bit farther north from our usual Willow Springs stomping grounds to Buttonwillow Raceway in the San Joaquin Valley. This mostly flat track features a variety of configurations, and we chose a layout we felt was the best combination of turns (and one of two hills) to fully test our middleweight contenders. To keep everything on an even keel, we mounted Michelin's new Power Race buns to each bike for the day's festivities (see sidebar page 36).
While the Triumph Daytona 650 scored high marks for its potent engine and gets around the racetrack much better than previous efforts from the British company, it was still the slowest in this tough crowd, carding a 1:10.62 best lap time-more than a full second off the other bikes'. It's clear Triumph engineers did their homework with the engine, and it pulls hard off turns to the point that some of our testers compared it to the ultra-steamy Kawasaki. The Trumpet is also helped by a slicker-shifting tranny, a good thing because the 650 seems to have shorter gearing than most, requiring you to work the transmission more. While the engine is a big step forward in most respects, it's still a bit sluggish compared to Japan's best, and it lacks the top-end required for serious racetrack work. The Daytona's chassis, always stable and a good handler right back to its TT600 incarnation, hasn't changed much since those days, and the 650 shows its age in that respect. The brakes, at one time the class benchmark, pale in comparison to the latest-spec radial-mount stoppers. Ditto the suspension and the rest of the package: While the Daytona 650 retains the 600's overall excellent handling and the engine has brought it much closer to the other middleweights in performance, it's still a tick behind.