Yamaha YZF-R6

Motorcycles are a rite of passage for most young boys. It is the first true freedom they find to get out and go places and literally the first motorized vehicle many of them own because of the economics involved in owning a vehicle and the fact that most young boys are not well off financially.

The Yamaha YZF-R6 or the R6 as it is more commonly referred to is a sporty and fast bike that is going to excite almost anyone that sees it or rides on it. The heart pumping bike in 2006 touted a staggering 17500-RPM redline. If that were indeed the actual RPM of the engine, the bike would be up somewhere close to the performance of a high tech and high dollar formula one race car.

The bike is listed as having a 600 CC engine styled as a 4 stroke with 16 valves and liquid cooled, dual overhead cams and the new models incorporate titanium valves. It is fuel injected with a six-speed transmission and a final chain drive to get the torque to the rear wheel. There is a nearly 5 gallon tank that allows a decent cruising range and has a dry weight of only 366 pounds so it should be easy for anyone to maneuver.

It is styled like the traditional racing bikes and will turn almost any head that happens to see it streak by on the road or anyone simply walking by. It is a very attractive looking machine, which explains it's almost immediate popularity when introduced back in 1999 and also explains why it continues its popularity today, ten years later.

These machines maintain their value and resell fairly well which makes them an anomaly in the motorized vehicle industry where only a handful of vehicles actually maintain worth. There is also a huge following out there of people who enjoy customizing this bike and so there is a plethora of after market accessories available for the bike so you can truly take the production machine, which is no slouch to look at, and make it an extension of your own personality by adding or subtracting parts that show who you are.

You can get everything from replacement fairings to bar ends to exhaust, seats, mirrors and lights that will go together to further accentuate the bike you have or to allow you to totally redesign the ride to be something no one else has. All of these modifications are bolt on parts so all you have to do is remove the old and replace with the new. That makes changing your look simple, sweet and fast and it's something that you could almost do every year so it looks like you got a new bike every season. Wouldn't that make all your friends jealous?

No matter what, the Yamaha YZF-R6 is a motorcycle that will allow you to look as good on it as it looks sitting there all alone and will get you form here to there in style.