With its more-pronounced hawk-like beak hovering over the ram-air intake, the front of the new R6 is even more predatory than before. image: thanks yamaha

I felt the unmistakable pop of my knee as I put my foot down to correct my wayward landing. I hadn't crashed, but my knee's distress had caused an audible result in my helmet that, for some reason, startled me. My first instinct was to pull over and curl up in the fetal position, but I realized all of the work I had done would be wasted, plus I was only a half-a-lap away from finishing the race. I carried on. Each bump, kicker, and jump created more pain and the unwelcome inability to breathe. With just a few turns to go before the finish, two bikes were on me. I heard them, kept myself and the bike wide, and completed the last jump without getting passed. I pulled up to my van, pulled off my helmet, and dragged myself out of my gear. In very short order, my knee ballooned up and stiffened. So, it was time. Time to change, load my bike, and look for beer. This wasn't my first go around with this knee and trust me, I know the routine.

My boss at Soup, Dean Adams, called me two days later. I had my knee up on my desk icing it in its bulbous state. "Hey Andy, how'd you like to go to Laguna next week to ride the 2008 Yamaha R6?" I said it sounded great but I had been busy trying to grind my body to a halt with self-abuse and had gotten hurt. Dean said he'd try one of the other boys, and he encouraged me to heal up.

Dean called me back a few days later, not to see if I was all right, though. Come on, this is Dean we're talking about.

He hadn't been able to get anyone else to do the test. Coe was in a loincloth somewhere killing cloven-hoofed animals in the mountains, and the other guy was at a glass-blowing convention, or at least that was what I was told.

"Can you please go? I'll make sure they have someone there to crank your knee to get your foot on the footpeg, then they can ziptie it to the peg," he said with his trademark sadistic laugh.

Yes, the new R6 looks like the old R6, but only in the same way that Charlie Sheen looks like his brother Emilio Estevez. image: thanks yamaha

This new Yama-hauler 600 is bristling with new features and upgrades. For starters, there is more bump in the trunk with an increase in compression ratio from 12.8:1 to 13.1:1--the end-result of new domed pistons with valve cutouts for a more compact combustion chamber. Friction? Yamaha hates it, so over 50 friction-reducing strategies have been employed inside the engine. Linerless, direct-plated ceramic-composite cylinder bores are just one of them. This means more uniform heat dissipation for consistent power delivery and reduced friction. Lighter camshafts, wider bearing surfaces, you get the idea.

The biggest news in the "what's new" department is the addition of Yamaha's YCC-I or Yamaha Chip Controlled-Intake. This system was first introduced last year on Yamaha's flagship 2007 YZF-R1 and is now also used on the R6. For those of you who were paying attention when last year's R1 came out, you already know that it's a variable intake tract system that actually creates a broader powerband. And the R6 once again has a slipper clutch, yeee-haaaa! We love us some slipper clutches.

The 2008 YZF-R6 also has some serious chassis upgrades. An all-new frame design mirrors MotoGP thinking in that some areas of the frame have been beefed up for more rigidity and other areas have a bit more give built into them for increased feel and feedback. The headstock and swingarm pivot area's walls are now thicker, but the frame cross member is now eliminated. Contrary to the old days where chassis were never stiff enough, nowadays, feel is built right into them. Cool, huh?

The swingarm has been upgraded with internal ribs for increased strength and is now mounted high in the frame for increased anti-squat effect and mid-corner stability. The chassis is quite tuneable for 2008. Increased fork-height adjustability and rear ride height adjustment range helps to accommodate various riding styles, rider heights, and even different tire profiles and sizes. Build it, and they will come.

My first few laps on Laguna's 2.2-mile, 11-turn venue were spent stretching my knee and beat-up body to fit into the seat and peg ergos. Surprisingly, the layout feels actually somewhat roomy for my 5'9" frame and, even though the new layout has the bars more forward and slightly lower, the layout felt pretty good for even this old, beat-up gunslinger with a bum knee.

Very tight packaging keeps the hard parts off the deck when you're knee-down. image: thanks yamaha

It had been a while since I'd been on a middleweight, and my riding habits showed. After a few laps of short-shifting and easing the bike around, I figured out that it definitely was not the fast way around. This is a 600, and most of them don't have an abundance of midrange, including the R6. So, for the next sessions, I started wringing out the R6 looking for the sweet spot of the engine. Like all of the new 600s, tap-dancing on the shifter with the tach numbers in the teens is the most rewarding way around the track. The Yamaha R6 has always been a bit of a rev-happy, upper-RPM go-getter and it still is. Although I could feel the YCC-I, the power still feels more impressive when shifted like a racebike. Makes sense if you are on the track but, on the street, you will have to remember to keep it on the boil.

Yamaha's slipper clutch does a good job of keeping the back wheel in harmony with the motor and, although it tends to not let the back wheel back-spin as quick or as low in the RPM's as, say, the Kawasaki system, in the long run, it may be better on the track. The R6 slipper clutch can be adjusted, but the engine does need to be taken apart to do it. It would be interesting to know how much of a difference it makes.

This year's R6 motor—with the new intake system, its compression increased, and all of the other lovely things exploding about inside—sounds damn sweet. It actually has a bit of its own harmonious sound when you're flogging about on it. Hearing it go by on the track does not give you the same impressive sound you get when you're actually riding it, though.

Considering that I did somewhat fall in lust with Honda's 2007 CBR600RR, it's only natural to compare these two fillies, right? Well, it's my opinion that the Yamaha feels a tad heavier, yet more composed than the CBR. Honda's 600 feels like it has more midrange torque, but the Yamaha feels a tick stronger on top. This dispute will no doubt be settled on racetracks soon.

I personally love the looks of the newly revamped R6. It's classic Yamaha and well-done, indeed. The bodywork was only slightly changed so as not to disappoint all those who love the previous iterations of the R6 but, alas, it is different—maybe just a tad sexier, too.

If you are a front-end-biased rider, you will love the new R6. It's front-end feels securely planted and gives excellent feedback at all lean angles. I did have a bit of a load issue with the front tire entering Rainey Curve. That part of the track tends to load a bike's front-end and tax the front tire pretty heavily. A slight adjustment of the front-end preload via one of the Yamaha Techs, however, made all the difference in the world. If all of the adjustments work so nicely on the Yamaha, racetrack harmony should not be far away.

"Bury my heart at Wounded Knee." image: thanks yamaha

Brakes are excellent as usual in R6 Land and offer the right amount of feedback combined with outright performance. The new R6 comes with special Dunlop Qualifiers labeled as PTM which distinguishes them specifically for the R6, and that's what we rode on at this test. No sticky DOT tires, the bike I rode was just as it comes from the dealer. I heard a few journo's complaining about the tires not working right off the bat because the track was still cold. The track was a bit green, and the bike did need a bit of time to get some heat into the tires, but hey, it was foggy just an hour before, and Rome wasn't built in a day! I took my time, built up my speed, and actually loved every minute of it. The Dunlop Qualifiers are topnotch street tires and, to be honest, I think you could definitely sneak a track day in the right weather on these, even though they are a street compound.

My buddy Joe Kuick always tells me, "you motorcycle test guys are weak sauce, you like all of the bikes and never say anything bad about them." Well, Joe, most of these new bikes are so gosh-darn good that it's pretty hard to find fault with them, and the 2008 Yammer-ha is no different. Now put me on the new Aprilia 750 Shiver and it might be a different story.