The New 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6 – Dominance Refined

There is an old story that perfectly illustrates the magic of compounding. Two brothers are given a choice by their wealthy father: either have a million dollars in cash right now, or take a single penny and double it every day for a month.

One brother cannot resist the allure of the cool million and takes the cash. The other brother thinks for a moment, then chooses the doubling penny, even in the face of ridicule from his brother. What the second brother understood was the unassuming power of compounding – after his pennies doubled for a month, he ended up with nearly $11 million.

Incremental improvements that compound into impressive results also describe the new 2017 Yamaha R6. For over a decade, Yamaha’s legendary sportbike remained largely the same with small refinements coming here and there. Combine those with the fresh batches of changes for 2017, and all signs point to the R6 upholding Yamaha’s dominance in the 600 class.

The most noticeable change to the R6 are its fancy new clothes, which are equal parts stunning to look at and aerodynamically superior – eight percent more aerodynamic, to be exact – to the bike it replaces.

We love the Yamaha R1 superbike inspired headlights tucked into the bodywork near the front fork, as well as the hollow wings along the tail.

Anyone else see Yamaha’s YZR-M1 Moto GP machine in the new R6’s ram air intake?

Somewhat surprisingly, Yamaha decided against giving the 2017 R6 a horsepower increase. In fact, the engine carries over from the previous generation motorcycle untouched. If it’s not broke don’t fix it, right?

What the new R6 does get are several electronic and mechanical upgrades, like the front fork and rear shock from the R1, albeit with slightly different tuning for this application. Owners will also be able to spec their R6 with an optional quick shifter.

A recurring pain point for many riders and journalists with the previous generation R6 was a lack of brake feel. For 2017, Yamaha revised the braking system by replacing the Brembo master cylinder with a Nissin unit.

In addition, the R6 now sports 320-millimeter front brake rotors, up by 10mm over the old bike. All reports are that these small changeshave netted great results.

On the electronics front, there is a six-level traction control system that uses wheel speed sensors to keep things upright, and Yamaha’s D-Mode system which gives riders the ability to change performance characteristics like throttle mappings on the fly.

Technically, you can get your new YZF-R6 in three different colors – Matte Raven Black, Intensity White/Matte Silver, and Team Yamaha Blue. But, is there really any choice? Ducati’s are red, Harleys are black, the sun rises in the east, and Yamaha sportbikes are blue. That is just the way the world works. Regardless of what color you choose, the R6 retails for $12,199.

The changes to the 2017 R6 aren’t radical, and didn’t need to be. The new R6 has put all other Sport Bikes on notice... Again.