# Yamaha R6



## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

My lad has bought himself a Yamaha R6 ..... can't say I am thrilled by the idea


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

I am not surprised.







Has he got experience? I hope so.

My youngest has the bike bug and I am going to get him a trials bike, nearly all the trial (and motox) riders I know never ride on the road. My eldest thinks bikes are dangerous and has never shown any interest in mine.


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

MarkF said:


> I am not surprised.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


He has about 18months experience


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## oldfogey (Nov 29, 2005)

Has he had decent bike tuition? You could point him in the direction of either road-based or track-based tutors to improve his skills. I'm a member of the VFR club and there's some tutors on there (google to find the site). Make sure he uses appropriate protective clothing at all times.

As you know, you can't control children, but he'll probably take good advice.


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

JoT said:


> He has about 18months experience










Yikes, nowhere near enough to be let loose on an R6.

Old Fogey is right, he needs tuition and pronto! He probably won't want it, after all he will know it all  but he will enjoy it and it will prove invaluable.


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

MarkF said:


> .............. He probably won't want it, *after all he will know it all*  but he will enjoy it and it will prove invaluable.


I wonder where he gets that trait from









Thanks for the advice Mark and OF .... I am hoping he will get fed up of the cold and go back to 4 wheels ..... if you know of any good tuition people in north Sussex let me know


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

JoT said:


> I wonder where he gets that trait from


I have no idea John, maybe Grill'll know.


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## oldfogey (Nov 29, 2005)

http://www.iam.org.uk/eshop/membershipshop..._GROUP_NUM=2179

Link to the Insitute of Advanced Motorists's Motorcycling course, with local group information.


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## hippo (Jun 27, 2006)

IMHO he's not ready, he'll spend most off his time trying to convince himself he's not being scared out of his wits, by it, he'd be better off getting less power and learning to use all of it. Rather than having loads of power and not using much at all. Just my thoughts based on 10 years riding and working on a bike mag for 5 years


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## thorpey69 (Feb 8, 2006)

Jot,im sure he will be fine,as long as he remembers the throttle works both ways







.To be fair the R6 in all its guises is a high revving bike with not an awful lot of low down grunt which makes it hard to find anywhere to wind it up thats long enough,still a liability in the wrong hands,you can learn an awful lot in 18 months the important thing is to keep on learning.The advice given to get training is good,i would reccomend advanced rider training as it teaches awareness also a well run track day with good instructors is invaluable to teach bike control and the limit of man and machine in varying conditions but with the emphasis on fun in a relatively safe environment.

Which year has he bought?


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## limey (Aug 24, 2006)

Hippo,

what mag did you work for? if you can say of course...


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## limey (Aug 24, 2006)

oldfogey,

Thanks for that link. I have been trying to finf the IAM for AGES, but could never pull them up with Google. I just ordered the books from them, membership poses some difficulty









I had a classmate at college that was a member, he said some good things about what he learned. I have wanted to improve my driving for a while ( I'm good, honest, I just want to be better) and I'll take all the help I can get on the motorbike.

Martin


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## hippo (Jun 27, 2006)

limey said:


> Hippo,
> 
> what mag did you work for? if you can say of course...


Yeah I worked for RiDE mag


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## limey (Aug 24, 2006)

AAhh. I used to read Superbike back in my youth.

Still remember reading the article about the photographer taking pics on a roundabout and the bike disappeared out of view, shortly before it hit him in the lower legs. Supposedly had nonaC imprinted on his forehead!!!!


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

limey said:


> AAhh. I used to read Superbike back in my youth.
> 
> Still remember reading the article about the photographer taking pics on a roundabout and the bike disappeared out of view, shortly before it hit him in the lower legs. Supposedly had nonaC imprinted on his forehead!!!!


Thats OK then......crap camera anyway









Alright....before I get trounced, they make pretty decent cameras sometimes, but being a lifetime professional







user of Nikon what else am I going to say?









And thankfully my son.....and daughter come to think of it have never even had an inclination to take the safe bits off a car and try two wheels only!









Best regards David


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## Barryboy (Mar 21, 2006)

As a biker of 35 yrs standing (current bike - Honda Blackbird) I have to agree with Hippo and others that the R6 is too peaky for such an inexperienced rider. Buy him a car instead - tell him the totty prefers four wheeled transport. In my considered opinion today's crowded roads are no place for inexperienced bikers on high performance sports bikes.

One of the traits of quite small (and 600cc is small, given the power output) engines tuned to this level is that the power band is very narrow and kicks in quite high in the rev range. On a practical level this means that you need to get the revs up before the power comes in and from the driver's point of view the main characteristic of such engines is that the power comes in very abruptly and it is very easy to get caught out. Quite truthfully he would be better off having a larger engined bike whose engine is in a lower state of tune - they are far less 'frantic' to drive. or even better, a car.

I hope that your lad is not one of these kids who thrash around the country overtaking everything in sight. A combination of aggressive attitude, inexperience, unforgiving power delivery, high performance and winter roads has great potential for disaster.

Rob


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

Barryboy said:


> Quite truthfully he would be better off having a larger engined bike whose engine is in a lower state of tune - they are far less 'frantic' to drive.


Too true Rob, I fail to see the appeal of the current race 600's for everyday use.


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## hippo (Jun 27, 2006)

Boxbrownie said:


> limey said:
> 
> 
> > AAhh. I used to read Superbike back in my youth.
> ...


Funny isn't it you're either a Canon man or a Nikon man!! Grew up using Canons and have done now for 20 years, couldn't change if I wanted to (which I don't!!). My EOS 1DS MK2 is just the best


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

hippo said:


> Boxbrownie said:
> 
> 
> > limey said:
> ...


Just 20 years? You'll realise one day you made a big mistake









I yearn for the days of driving up to Nikon at Acton to get service while you wait.....what ever happened to service? Well apart from Roy's of course









Actually come to think of it I used to hate driving up to Acton







Sod that, digital rules!

Bloody can't wait for retirement nowadays.......then I might start taking pictures at home, I always get moaned at when I go on holiday as I almost never take any piccies away, leaving it all to the 710.......well bloody hell I don;t ask her to cook a roast while we are away









Best regards David


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

He's been driving since he was 18 (he is now 25!) and hasnt had an accident or even a speeding ticket







and has had some meaty cars including a Mitsubishi Evo until he ran out of money filling it with petrol. So I am hoping in terms of road sense at least he has his head screwed on right. He has had his bike licence about two and a half years and has had about 18 months bike riding experience on a 250.







Not much I can say to him, its not as if he is 19 or 20, he has been independent since he was 16, has been in two military actions (including Iraq 2003) and is now married! I might get him one of the IAM Â£85 course vouchers and hope he gets fed up of two wheels


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