With the international motorcycle trade show season kicking into high-gear, so too are the marketing machines within some of the most prevalent manufacturers in the motorcycle industry. Last week Yamaha released the above teaser video, entitled “R-World,” and perhaps our first glimpse at a new Yamaha YZF-R6.
Few things are certain in modern times, but the high-pitched whine of an inline-four motor, combined with a seemingly track focused machine, all alludes to one thing: A new Yamaha YZF-R6 could be on the horizon.Details are slim, but what we know for certain is that the date at the end of the video coincides with INTERMOT, in Cologne, Germany.For now, all we can do is let the wheels of speculation turn, and gamble on what Yamaha might be offering. From the audio sampled, we’d be hard pressed to believe that the new YZF-R6 will be using the much lauded “crossplane” engine platform found in the venerable R1. Will Yamaha stick with the inline-four configuration? Based on audio alone, I’d put my money there – however Yamaha could surprise us, and make use of something along the inline-triple-engine configuration lines of the FZ-09.The Yamaha YZF-R6 hasn’t seen a significant update since 2008, and in the fast moving technology driven motorcycle industry that we live in today, that’s an eternity. But it did need an update? If we look at look at many racing leagues throughout the world, some would answer no. It’s still extremely competitive, and with middleweight supersport sales waning, it could be argued that the brand didn’t see a worthy return of investment. On the other hand, perhaps we’re seeing poor sales because the motorcycle industry has ignored that segment in terms of updates, and that can be a tough sell for the consumer.Here’s to hoping that this will be the first shot across the bow of the motorcycle industry, and that the (fingers crossed) new YZF-R6 will reinvigorate that market segment. My street riding career started on middleweight sport machines, so I’m certainly excited to see one of the most well-known lines get some attention. For now, let’s turn it over to the readers – what are your hopes for the new YZF-R6?
Hello everyone and welcome once again to the Ultimate Motorcycling podcast—Motos and Friends. My name is Arthur Coldwells.
Motos and Friends is brought to you by the Yamaha YZF-R7—Yamaha’s awesome supersport machine that is as capable on the racetrack as it is on the street. …and it’s comfortable too! Check it out at at your local Yamaha dealer, or of course at YamahaMotorsports.com.
In this week’s first segment, Senior Editor Nic de Sena rides the BMW K 1600 GT. This is the sporty bagger version of BMW’s K series of machines, those are the models with the awesome 6-cylinder engine. The GT has been given a little makeover for 2023, and Nic gives us his take.
In the second segment, I chat with one of my all time heroes—three-time World Champion racer ‘fast’ Freddie Spencer. I’ll do my best not to come off as too much of a fanboy here, but frankly it’ll be tough!
In my humble opinion, Spencer is a contender for the GOAT—greatest of all time. Sure, his career was a little shorter than some, and his number of championships falls behind the likes of Lawson, Doohan, Rossi, and of course Marquez. But at the time, Freddie literally changed the way motorcycles were ridden. 30 years before Marc Marquez, Freddie was able to push the front wheel into a slide, corner after corner, lap after lap in order to get the bike turned faster than anyone else. Freddie took completely different lines and was able to get on the throttle so early he could out accelerate anyone off a corner.
In the modern era, of course Freddie is the chairman of the FIM MotoGP Stewards panel. This is the panel of referees for all three classes of Grand prix racing. I talked to Freddie about his task there, and although for contractual reasons with Dorna and the FIM he cannot talk about specific riders, teams, or events, nevertheless his explanation of the job makes for interesting listening. It’s a tough job, and frankly I wouldn’t want to do it!
At any rate, Freddie’s new book ‘Feel’ is available on Amazon—I’d highly recommend you reading it whether you’re a fan of Freddie or not, even whether you’re into racing or not; every rider has something to learn from his mental approach.
Actually—Ultimate Motorcycling is giving away five copies of the book—signed by Freddie himself—to the first five listeners who contact us with the correct answer to the question: How many national AMA championships did Freddie win, and which years were they?
Please email your answers to producer@ultimatemotorcycling.com and we will contact the winners and send you a signed copy of Feel. Those five winners will be announced on a future episode. Unfortunately for legal reasons this offer is ONLY open to US residents.
So, from all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!