Today, I messed around with a 600 Yamaha YZF. You know, those sport bikes that look like they’re going a hundred miles an hour even when they’re parked? Yeah, one of those.
First off, I just checked the thing out. It’s a four-stroke engine, which, for someone like me who’s not a total gearhead, basically means it’s got some serious oomph. I mean it is pretty fast. I read somewhere that these things can go up to 174 mph. I didn’t test that out, obviously. I mean, where am I gonna do that, on the highway? No way.
Anyway, I started by just sitting on it, getting a feel for the thing. I noticed they updated it a few years back. The one I was on looked a bit like the R1 from 2015, but I could be wrong. I’m more into riding than memorizing models, you know?
I looked at the front – it’s got this upside-down fork, which I guess is good for handling, and some heavy-duty brakes. I also spotted it’s got ABS, which is great because I’m all about safety, especially when you’re dealing with something this powerful.
- Checked the fuel tank – it’s made of aluminum, which is probably to keep the weight down.
- Looked under the seat – they’ve got this magnesium subframe. Again, probably a weight thing.
- Fiddled with the riding modes – yeah, this thing has different settings. I didn’t mess with them too much, but it’s cool that it’s an option.
I took it for a short spin. Nothing crazy, just around the block. I could feel the power, though. It’s definitely not a beginner’s bike. You gotta respect it, or it’ll bite you. The handling was sharp. I barely had to lean, and it was already turning. I imagine on a track, this thing would be a beast. I could see myself doing some serious twists and turns. But in my neighborhood, not really.
So, that was my day with the Yamaha YZF 600. It was cool, it was fun. It is a pretty neat experience. I’m more of a cruiser guy myself, but I can see the appeal of these sport bikes. It is not suitable for me, but I think there are a lot of guys who are willing to try this, maybe they can do some crazy cool actions with it. Maybe one day I’ll take it out to a proper track and really see what it can do. But for now, I’m just happy I got to mess around with it without dropping it or, you know, scaring myself too much.
