Motoracer did a fantastic job of writing up Firefight's R6 for Bob's website, so I'm not going to repeat a full review.
However I did want to make some points of my own so here goes.
Bloody hell. In my day, 600s were the friendly puppy of the sportsbike world, licking your face for approval and mounting your leg when you got it right. They had comfortable pillion accomodation, conservative ergonomics, and they weren't that much dearer than a high performance 250cc motorcycle.
Time marches on. The R6 reminds me of my RC30 more than any other bike I've tried in the intervening years. On paper it's specifications are scarily similar, apart from (thank goodness) not being cursed by an 18" rear wheel. The R6's ergonomics are quite a bit more aggressive than the RC's were with the legs tucked up a bit more and the reach to the bars both longer and lower.
Once I'd got it to the point of the run in process where I felt happy using the WINJA mode of run-in (GIVE IT DEATH) the acceleration up to 10k rpm had that nice linear feel that is reminiscent of the RC, then it goes bonkers twice before it hits redline at 15,500rpm, each step giving a nice top-end, on the cam, two-stroke power band, type of kick. The RC used to be very linear in the way it produced power until it hit 11,000rpm and then it would do the fast forward, tunnel vision thing.
The suspension out of the box is set up quite well, giving a comfortable compliant ride with good initial turn-in, but a little understeer on corner exit that is quite easy to turn into flappy bars when you try to add more power. Firefight and I are a similar age, but one of us is fit and healthy, and the other has eaten too many pies. Methinks that may well be where the understeer and inadvertent wheelies were coming from.
I spent a couple of hours applying suspension settings extracted from AMCN's special Sportsbike supplemental issue. These settings were developed by Jeffrey de Vries, ex-racer, and now Ohlin's European suspension guru. These settings were used at last year's "Masterbike" shootout, an International event held to allow motorcycle journalists to compare 600cc through open class big 'bikes like ZX12Rs, to see what consituted the best all-round sportsbike available. The 'bikes are judged on all sorts of criteria and the competition is usually won by GSXR750s and ZX636s, rather than the bike with the highest top speed.
With the settings I applied, the 2004 R6 was touted as the best setup 'bike at the 2004 Masterbike event, so I was really looking forward to testing them. Not to make too fine a point, despite only having donw 1400kms since I bought the R6, I have had the pleasure of buying not one, but two bikes! I've never made suspension changes that made such a profound effect on a motorcycle's handling character. I though it was good before. It is simply stunning now.
Motorway ride is much better. It glides over those little bumps and corrugations at speed with out troubling one's lower spine, and it tunrs far more precisely. Getting back on the gas a lot sooner is another benefit as the signals from the rear tyre are teleported directly to one's nether regions. At slow speed and over some of the worse indignities that are inflicted on our suburban roads it can be a little harsh, but the trade off is that fantastic, "I forgot there was a bike under me" feeling that you get from a truly well set up 'bike. I haven't experienced that since the RC30, and at $13,995 new, the R6 is $4k cheaper than the RC when I bought it with 6000kms on the clock in 1991. The R6 is truly a better all-round motorcycle the the RC too, with much bigger gaps between services and valve adjustments, a pillion seat, fantastic fuel injection, and lots of cockpit "bling".
(If anyone with an '03/'04 R6 wants the settings, PM me)
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SENSEI PERFORMANCE TUNING 
Originally Posted by Mooch
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