Fzr600

FZR600

CW RIDING IMPRESSION

A new middleweight contender, by the numbers

INITIALLY, IT’S THE NUMBERS THAT TANTALIZE: THE FIRST clues that the new Yamaha FZR600 may be a very special motorcycle.

Horsepower: The claimed number is 91. If true, that makes the FZR the first 600 to break the 90-bhp barrier, and the most powerful of the middleweight sportbikes by some 7 horsepower.

Dry weight: The number is 425 pounds, which is what a pre-production FZR—with an empty fuel tank, but oil in the engine and water in the radiator—weighed on the Cycle World scales. That’s 2 pounds less than a Ninja 600, 7 less than a Hurricane 600 and 23 less than a Katana 600.

Given those two numbers, you don’t have to be a summa cum laude engineering student to realize that the FZR600 has a couple of important advantages in the highly competitive 600 sportbike class.

That’s a big change, because for the past two years Yamaha has been at a distinct ¿//^advantage in the class. True, the old-style FZ600 was the lightest bike in the category, but its air-cooled, two-valve-per-cylinder engine was as much as 15 horsepower down on the Kawasaki, Honda and Suzuki. The FZ600 was getting eaten alive on backroads and racetracks across the country, which didn't do much for its performance on the showroom either.

But help was coming from farther down in Yamaha’s model lineup. The FZR400 engine, with its liquid-cooling, 16-valve cylinder head and downdraft carburetors (made possible by the 45-degree inclination of the cylinder block), was bumped in bore and stroke dimensions, and, as quick as that, Yamaha had a 599cc powerhouse on its hands.

The FZR400 also lent its frame—or rather its frame layout—to the 600 project. The 600’s Deltabox design is made of steel rather than aluminum as with the 400; that difference in metals adds about 6 pounds to the weight of the frame, but also lowers the cost of the entire bike. At $4899, the 49-state FZR600 is a C-note less expensive than the Honda, but $500 more than the Kawasaki and Suzuki. The California version of the Yamaha is $200 dearer yet, thanks to its EXUP exhaust system, neccessary to get past that state’s tight emissions tests.

In deference to the hard use that California FZR600’s will see on the state’s numerous backroads, the Cal-spec bike also gets upgraded rubber—Pirelli Demons—front and rear. But, in a paradoxic move, Yamaha determined that the standard Demons were too costly and wore out too quickly, and so commissioned revised Demons that were less expensive and harder in compound. That cost-cutting measure was evident during Yamaha’s press introduction at Laguna Seca Raceway, where the FZR600 would get slightly sideways coming out of fast corners as the rear Demon let go. Up to that point, the 600 showed the same impeccable handling traits that have led to the FZR400 being generally acknowledged as the world’s best-handling production bike.

The only other racetrack glitch came with braking. The FZR uses the same front calipers as last year’s FZ, and as we found out in our 600cc sportbike track comparison last March, they don’t offer the same degree of controllability as the front brakes on the other bikes in the class.

The good news is that 90 percent of FZR600 riders won’t even notice the slight deficiencies in the tires and brakes, because off the track and on the street, this is a near-faultless sportbike. The new bike’s dimensions are stretched in every way compared to the old FZ, making it a more-comfortable place to spend an afternoon’s ride, even if its thinly padded seat isn’t as sumptuous as those on the Ninja, Hurricane or Katana. And, yes, you’ll still want to think twice before subjecting a close friend to extended time on the rear perch.

But the key here is that anyone interested in having a great 600cc ride will gladly put up with those annoyances, because the new engine more than makes up for them. To really make time, a rider of last year’s FZ600 needed to stomp on the gear shift lever like a vaudeville comedian doing the old hot-foot routine. No such antics are required with the FZR; in fact, the powerband is so broad that, if wanted, the six-speed transmission can be left in one gear on a tight, twisty road and the bike will still blaze a very respectable path. On top of that, the hard-working engine sends out less vibration than the old inline-Four, making it a better piece of work all around.

A further exploration of the FZR600’s capabilities will have to wait until we get ahold of a production version. Then, we’ll let you know how it stacks up against the other 600s on the street and on the track. But for now, let’s just say that the smart money’s not betting against the Yamaha. It’s got the numbers on its side. • ^