Yamaha’s ‘entry sport’ FZ6R brings sanity to market

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This year will be remembered for many things with regard to motorcycles in Southern California, most of them bad. Whether it was the utter meltdown of the market or the reopening and recent fire-induced reclosing of Angeles Crest Highway, there’s been a general malaise over motorcycles this year that’s cast a pall over some otherwise intriguing developments.

One of the most interesting is the Japanese manufacturers’ introduction of dialed-back sportbikes. Despite the doom and gloom, 2009 should also be noted as the year sanity came to market, with a crop of 600 cc machines designed to tease new riders into the thrills of sportbikes without the neck-snapping power or pain of a prone riding position.

Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha all introduced such ‘entry sport’ models this year – each designed to appeal to new and reentry riders, with low MSRPs, low-ish saddles, upright seating and user-friendly power bands. They’re just doing it with different types of motors and packaging.

Where the Suzuki Gladius is a naked, wide handlebarred V-twin and the Kawasaki ER-6n is a naked, extra-narrow parallel twin, Yamaha’s FZ6R is a full-fairinged version of the manufacturer’s R6 predecessor, the R6S. It’s a high-revving inline four, only it’s been tuned for more low- and mid-range torque. Even better, it looks the part of a track-ready sportbike.

It also features a lot of adjustabilty. If the 30.9-inch saddle isn’t low enough, just whip out the allen wrench that’s provided with the bike to unscrew two bolts and drop it down an inch. Ditto for the handlebars, which can also move in an inch to accommodate more diminutive humans. Each job takes less than five minutes and can be done easily, even by quasi-handy types such as myself.

I had a chance to ride the FZ6R for a day, and I found it really does do exactly what it intends. Tuned for more low-end grunt, less scream is required to have fun. It’s responsive both off the line and at higher revs, nimble in the corners – and less likely to get new riders in trouble. Cloaked in full bodywork, it’s a great option for riders who want to look the part of a true sportbiker and blend in with their CBR-, Gixxer-, Ninja- and R6-riding tribes without getting in over their heads.

2009 Yamaha FZ6R
Base price: $6,990
Powertrain: liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, DOHC, inline 4-cylinder, 4 valves per cylinder, 6 speed
Displacement: 600 cc
Seat height: 30.9 inches
Wet weight: 470 pounds
Road test MPG: 48 (based on 190 miles traveled)

-- Susan Carpenter