Before you ride a bike, you have to stand back and appreciate it. The headlights and ram-air intake, which is a carryon from the 03 model, really gives the whole bike that cutting edge look. The tail section is also designed for that sharp look with the led taillights to give it that final fashionable touch.
As soon as you sit on the bike, you know that the bike means business with its high seat and low clip-on position. You feel like you are in a true race rep sports bike. The dash is very neat and tidy with the popular big tacho and digital speedo on the side setup. I am about 5’8-9 and the foot pegs were in perfect position for my liking. I have ridden the 2002 R6 as well and the 04 model somehow felt a bit more compact.
Well, that’s enough of that. Time to ride this baby! You flick the key over and start the bike but it idles very low and it is very very quiet with the stock exhaust. It hardly feels like the engine is running at all. I had to re-check the tacho just to make sure I hadn't stalled the thing. Now this is the misleading part, you'd think that there is nothing there with the lack of noise but as soon as you pop it in first and go up the revs, there is plenty of juice in there alright! The engine was still very quiet and smooth but this thing hauls from the mid range right up to redline! I had my torso over the fuel tank with my head ducked down low and still the front felt light over the bumps. I shifted through the gears and in no time, the speedo was reading 200kmph+. The power is probably the same as the 1 or 2 year older models but it was never really an issue for the R6s anyway.
When you tip this bike in, it almost feels as good as when you are riding a race bike on the track. The handling is spot on! It feels much lighter and more flickable than the 02 model. That sharp edge theme didn't end in looks alone, this bike has been fine tuned and trimmed to be sharper than a prized samurai sword. Bikes like these virtually eliminate the need to buy a 400 (if money is not an issue) because the R6 is basically as good as almost any 400cc sports bike in terms of handling. Again, I'll mention that nice midrange torque. Bikes like the GSXR are great for the track with the lovely top end grunt but for the road, in the tiwsties, the R6 has an advantage over the GSXR. What it lacks in the topend, it makes up in the midrange. It is very easy to keep the speed up in this bike. You can let the revs drop and not have to worry about keeping it in certain revs for you to be able to hammer it on again on the corner exit.
One thing about the R6 is that the steering is just a bit too light. It makes cornering a dream but it can just as easily end up as a nightmare with a massive tank slapper. I only rode this bike for a short period of time and already I had about 3 minor speed wobbles initiated by the steering. Firefight who owns the bike has had a few nasty moments of tank slappers on the bike as well. It is still not that big of a problem but if you want to eliminate this issue and make your R6 perfect, go and buy yourself a steering damper.
Overall, I like the 2004 R6 very much. It isn’t up to date with the latest hi-tech specs from the likes of 2004 Kawasaki ZX6-R or the 2004 Suzuki GSXR-K4 out there. But unless you are participating in a competitive level of racing, you won’t be set back by the R6 at all. For people who are looking for a sports bike packed full of adrenaline and excitement in a very manageable package with a good compromise between road/track riding, the 2004 R6 is one of the best bikes out there.
Thank you for the opportunity to ride your bike Dave.
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