Motorcycle specifications YamahaYART YZF-R6 600 20th Anniversary 2020 The hunger of a memory

With this special edition, YART celebrates 20 years of the R6... 21 years later. Let's not forget that in 1999, one year after the first R1, Yamaha launched this hysterical ball of nerves that was to leave its mark on the SuperSports segment. Today, the Austrian team is paying homage with a model that looks exactly like thefirst YZF.

The copy is perfect. The same proportion of red and white, the same calligraphy, the same layout for the stickers - nothing to complain about. Yet there's a sense of déjà-vu, as if a more recent R6 had adopted a similar idea.

Let's take a look at the world map. Let's go to Japan. And let's note that this Yart machine is almost identical to the Presto Corporation creation. This Yamaha partner also produced a 20th anniversary model for the 2019 R6 owners' mass in Japan.

Quasi? Yes, because there are a few subtleties. In terms of availability, equipment and pricing. This R6 knocks another 6,000 euros off the purse. Worgh!!! Vintage decor is expensive. Except... Coming from the Yamaha Austria Racing Team, a motorcycle can't be satisfied with a simple coat of arms.

Sound, watts, preparation. The 600 YZF can be used to its full potential. However, riding this R6 on the open road is out of the question. This tribute takes the original idea to its logical conclusion, allowing it only one place of execution: the racetrack. Headlights, mirrors, indicators and number-plate bracket have been removed. The tank and rear shock absorber have been changed, the fairing replaced by a track element, the brake hoses redesigned, there are protections for the casings and brake lever, the seat is a racing model with YART branding, recessed controls accommodate boots, compèt-type commodos are grafted onto the half-guidelines and an Akrapovic exhaust frees up the 4-cylinder.

the R6 doesn't really like Euro4. With the Slovenian appendage, it will be able to express itself fully, through its breath and its high notes. We can expect a gain of around ten horsepower (if it's indeed the complete S-Y6E9-APT line) and an impressive weight reduction of 6 kilos.
The engine can count on more than 125 horsepower to pull a machine weighing close to 180 kilos.
While the Yam of yesteryear made do with a tachometer as a digital refinement when it came out, and a good old-fashioned carburetor manifold to fill its boiler, the latest model is closer to a fighter jet: dual injector banks, three injection maps, variable-length air intake cones, 6-stage traction control, shifter and ABS.

Last year, Yamaha released a pure track machine, the R1 GYTR. Now, one of its Endurance lieutenants is offering almost a little sister, with the wink of an era and the panache of an oath: the madness of revs and rev counter.

M.B. - Photos YART