…took to sink the R6 in Drivetrain rankings. Riders deemed the Yamaha slipper clutch quite effective, however, finding it a real bonus on the street. Performance testing exposes the slim margins of difference in this competitive class. The Yamaha ran an impressive 10.9 quarter-mile, but bested only the…

…and unforgiving ergos. The R6 is a bike which Pacific Track Time owner Michael Earnest would choose to go show those pesky A-group riders the fast way around Thunderhill. The R6 didn't fare well in the objective street metrics, as it posts the second-slowest quarter-mile run at 11.10, but its 127 mph…

…R6 11.25 @ 134.11 mph 2008 Hayabusa vs ZX-14 Suzuki Hayabusa 10.378 @ 139.36 mph Kawasaki ZX-14 10.398 @ 139.08 mph 2009 V-Max vs B-King Suzuki B-King 10.42 @ 143.99 mph Yamaha V-Max 10.85 @ 137.5 mph Professional Motorcycle Drag Racing. Professional NHRA racers like Ed Krawiec can lay down quarter-mile…

" Yamaha YZF-R6 MSRP: $10,090 Horsepower: 100.00 hp @ 14,100 rpm Torque: 40.77 lbs.-ft @ 10,850rpm Weight: 409.1 lbs w/fuel, 383.8 lbs w/o fuel Superpole Time: 1:20.34 (Atlas) ¼ Mile: 11.25 @ 134.11 mph Top Speed: 164.49 mph Overall Ranking: 4th-place Razor-sharp. Knife-edged. Precise. All words commonly…

…sounding like a FA-22 fighter jet in full attack mode. Damn it sounds good! And despite a tough-to-use and grabby clutch, it powered to the fastest quarter-mile time of the bunch, laying down a 11.09 @ 134.37mph. No question if the Ducati was as easy to launch as the Suzuki it would have been the only bike…

…,000 rpm. The torque graph is proof positive that the R6 suffers from a top-end biased powerplant. But don't be mislead into thinking it doesn't get with the program because, as the quarter-mile times on the previous page show, it hauls ass. ""The R6 lacks bottom-end but is awesome up top,"" says Hutch…

…the frail set-up on the 749 predecessor. Check out the quarter-mile results for proof that the new set-up makes this a much better streetbike. Without frying the clutch in the process, it gets a best-of-the-test drive through the eighth-mile mark, just under seven seconds and carries that through to…

…horsepower from beating the R6 for top billing in that category, it's the torque leader among the Japanese-built machines, has some of the quickest quarter-mile times and backs that up with the fastest laps for both test riders during our Superpole run at Infineon. The 2008 Suzuki GSX-R600 is a superb…

…by the 0-60 and 0-100 times, which reveal the R1 a mere 0.08-second behind the fastest bike at 100 mph and 0.15-second down at the end of the quarter mile. These numbers place the R1 in the lower half of the field, but its 135mph trap speed ties it for top honors with the CBR. ""Midrange is much improved…

…neutral. Check out the quarter mile time and speed for the 2007 Supersport machines. The CBR600RR and YZF-R6 come out on top but the GSX-R600 is close behind. Taller gearing in its lower cogs mute acceleration somewhat, hindered also by its 407-lb weight that is 14 lbs more than the R6 and 26 lbs heavier…