Also at ‘race track days’ you can always see a lot of R6 riders, not without reason!

Interesting to know the R6 accounts for more race wins in the World Supersports Racing series than any of its competitors.

For more World Supersports race info visit:http://www.yamaha-racing.com/supersport

2005 model: performance up, the race always continues
The race inspiration continues now the 2005 model has been ‘tuned’ for improved performances, both on engine and chassis side.

Engine

Based on the experiences gained in World Supersports racing, Yamaha engineers once again found a way to optimize the engine!

1. Performance increase

• Performance in high rpm range has been increased, and the engine runs even easier through the high range, without sacrificing R6’s famous flexibility in low range

 2. Injection body diameter increase

• The injection body diameter is increased from 38 to 40mm, a modification purely done to allow racing tuners to draw even more power out of the engine...

3. Optimised air funnels

• Air funnels have an optimized shape and a different length for different cylinders, for a maximum use of the air intake pulsation frequency

Chassis

Racing always pushes the technical development to the limit... only the best is good enough! The 2005 chassis has been upgraded with the following key words in mind:

“Control”
“Cornering speed”

A rigid, upside-down type front fork of 41 mm for direct feedback and to resist the most extreme braking forces.

Of course, preload, compression damping and rebound damping are fully adjustable.

A strong request from our race riders was to increase the front brake size, because regulations don’t allow deviation from the standard diameter. Yamaha increased the disks from 298 to 310 mm, for more effective braking and heat dissipation. Plus, the larger diameter made it possible for the disks to become thinner and lighter!

Radial mounted brakes are there for a more direct brake ‘touch’.

A radial type brake cylinder pump is another development directly from racing, to enhance the controllability.

The front tyre height is changed from a ‘60’ to a ‘70’ type for better driveability with the latest tyres. As an example of how compact and well-thought of the R6 is built: the front cowling and sidestand were modified to make this possible!

With all modifications regarding engine and braking performance, the wheelbase has been refined from 1380 to 1385 mm for improved stability.

How does it feel?
“The new model is really exciting to ride. You can clearly feel the difference to the previous one. The engine runs more freely and has more top end, and the stability of the bike has strongly improved. The upside-down front fork is a real benefit, in particular under hard braking!” summarizes our test rider, Jeffry De Vries.

Rossi version: in cooperation with Valentino!
How can the R6 improve its race appeal even more? We asked Valentino Rossi to come up with his personal design ideas.

“I was surprised how nice it was to talk to Valentino”, commented our Product Planning Manager. “He really has an open mind and a strong opinion about his favoured design.
When we talked about the coloring, he proposed his idea of a ‘sun side’ and a ‘moon side’ resulting in a different color on each side of the bike! That is something, which has never been done before on a production bike!”

Indeed, the color scheme of the machine is black for one side and yellow for the other.

The sun and the moon
“Together we were able to create a harmonious overall style. It’s funny that Valentino preferred to go this ‘controversial’ way, rather than just going for a real ‘race replica’ design based on his M1, which is blue with yellow graphics. It really shows his challenging spirit, and his will to do things differently!”

History
The R6 has been an amazing success since it’s launch in 1999. Over 80.000 units have been sold in European markets since then!

The model had 2 major overhauls:

• FIRST: An upgrade for the year 2001
• SECOND: A big change (with completely new chassis and injection engine) for the year 2003.

Photo Gallery 2005-YZF-R6

Click to enlarge.