|
Desperate times call for desperate measures. That’s why every time I find myself in a tight spot, I head for the loo. I am not trying to be funny here. You see, I have a theory that some people are born great, while others have greatness thrust on to them... while they are in the bathroom. And while it’s irrelevant what I do on my side of the door, the most amazing things happen to me when I am stuck inside. Over the years this theory has been proven repeatedly – just like it was this time around. We had three days to go before we closed this issue with no big bike in sight. As usual it was time to head to the men’s room. It was status quo when I came out – and that’s when Srini said, ‘Would you like to ride an R6?’ ‘ Would I?!’ Now, in the last six years, we’ve managed to get our hands on the most brilliant motorcycles. Yet, somehow an R6 has always eluded us. What did I tell you?. Some people are born great, while others have greatness thrust on to them ...
Anyway, before I knew it I had the nifty little R6 in front of me, and that too in proper Yamaha colours. Visually, the bike is simply stunning from any angle, an absolute photographer’s dream. The theme here is edgy, right from the Gatling beam multi-reflector headlights and ram-air intakes to the LED taillights. The R6 puts on the finest silhouette since Beyonce Knowles pulled up a pair of hot pants. Instrumentation is extremely tidy, with a big white-faced tacho and a speedo on the side augmented by a shift light. Under the slick bodywork lies a frame that Yamaha says has the torsional rigidity of a YZR-R7 – the homologation cruise missile. We’re talking racetrack stiffness here. Attached to this is the slickest looking swingarm ever to grace a stock motorcycle, and a 600cc rev-mad motor that comes with its own bag of tricks, including fuel-injection. Once the fuel is in the cylinders, it’s ignited by iridium spark plugs.
|
Most Popular
