Yamaha teasers with all new sportbike video
Rennie Scaysbrook | September 15, 2016
Could this be the new YZF-R6?
It’s that time of year again. That time when manufacturers gear up for the annual European motor shows and this year the headline act is INTERMOT in Cologne this October, a place to watch if you’re a Yamaha fan, because that’s where a new Yamaha sportbike will be shown to the world.
If you are a betting individual, you’ll have your cash down that this is the new Yamaha YZF-R6, a machine that’s remained largely untouched since 2008. That’s an archaic lifespan for a sportbike, albeit a very good one, so it’s high time the R6 was bought into this decade.
The sound off the video hints at a four cylinder engine having the nuts revved off it, ala supersport riding style, and those with an eagle eye will see the racetrack looks suspiciously like our own Chuckwalla Valley Raceway in Southern California, hinting the bike may already be here and Yamaha is keeping it very much under wraps.
If it is the new R6, it’ll be interesting to see how the world takes to it. Supersport sales are in the toilet and have been for a long time. England has seen a drop of 80 percent in sales compared to 10 years ago and it’s not much better here, so having a new bike on the shelves, indeed a smaller version of its uber popular and dramatically faster YZF-R1 will make for some tense times for the Yamaha bean counters.
Hopefully it is a new Yamaha YZF-R6, and the world can once again learn to love the wonderful machine that is a supersport 600.
