New bike! Yamaha YZF 600R

[Triumph]

Even though it's the dead of winter, I couldn't pass up this deal. 2001 YZF 600R, 12,900 miles, NOT A SCRATCH, service records, original adult owner, garage kept, respectable guy, picked it up at his house, met his families, pet his cats. :) And the kicker? 3 grand. A steal for this bike, so I was a bit suspicious, but I could find nothing to indicate that the bike was damaged, or stolen, or anything. Had a blast riding it this weekend before it dropped into the 20's. I love this bike. More images to come soon.

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bfroesch/pictures/yamaha/600r-side.jpg

Bye bye Ninja 250. I'm really glad you taught me how to ride, but I never really liked riding you!

[Wolfie]

Congrats, looks like a sweet deal!

mark.

[VanDawg38]

Great bike. Great online community, too.

http://www.yzf600r.com/

[Triumph]

Great bike. Great online community, too.

http://www.yzf600r.com/

Yeah, found that site a while ago. Not a large community, but definitely a helpful one. This bike is often overlooked and forgotten about, and I'm not quite sure why.

[El Guapo]

me=jealous!

Congrats on the great find. And here I would have thought you rode a Triumph.

[Derick]

<slap>
you punk...
<walks away and pouts>

[Allan]

Nice bike. Im so envious, what I steal. Im hopeing to find something like that when I look to get a 600 track bike sometime in the distant future. Happy riding come spring.

[Triumph]

me=jealous!

Congrats on the great find. And here I would have thought you rode a Triumph.

Hehe, nope. It's in reference to this Triumph instead. Been using this handle on different forums for years now.

http://money.cnn.com/2000/11/07/technology/pets/triumph.jpg

[Galaxieman]

Great bike! One of the guys at my MSF class rode one (on-base classes require you to ride your own bike), and it was gorgeous! Smoother and less agressive than the race-replica R6, they're a mighty fine sport mount.

Enjoy!

-Jim

[PARider]

Looks like a great ride! Congratulations!

[VanDawg38]

Yeah, found that site a while ago. Not a large community, but definitely a helpful one. This bike is often overlooked and forgotten about, and I'm not quite sure why.
I'm not sure either. A great second bike, IMO. Comfy & quick out of the box. The Thundercat was one of the finalists in my non-beginner bike search. Had I been able to find a nice, used model for $3,000, I'd have jumped on it.

[Prof._HH]

I absolutely love mine. Even with the torque numbers vrs. the R6, I think it's less twitchy & smother than the R6. Great bike overall. I did a 600 mile trip to Deal's Gap on it last year and didn't have any issues other than the stock seat isn't all that comfy after an hour.

[MikeInSLC]

Very nice, Triumph....heck of a deal on a great looking bike!

[MotoMan]

I think the YZF is going to be my next bike as well. I'll be stepping up from a Ninja 500. I've never heard anything bad at all about the YZF. In fact, all of the reviews I've read say it's one of the best all-around bikes ever made. Great, fully adjustable suspension, incredible breaks, weighs a little more than the full sports, which is good for street riding, comfortable riding position, etc. Damn I'm jealous. Keep us updated as you get to ride it more and let us know how you're liking it.

[Smitty]

Agree that you have latched on to the ideal bike for your next step up. I have had one since they first came on the market in '97.

This bike may lack the faster speeds & revs of later models, but has the best mid-range engine on the market bar comp from the Kwacker ZZ-R600, amazing stopping power, & very comfortable riding position. The larger fairing will pay off when it comes to wind/rain.

I have left mine stock bar set of Kevlar f/brake lines though in reality they are not needed. Just a habit in me of wanting superior stopping power as on my road racers. Yes I leave the can stock.

This bike is expected to trot at the same pace as my Honda 929 & 954 on the twisty mtrn roads of my terrain & it does without any hesitation.

So far the bike has only cost me a set of spark plugs, chain, sprockets, several sets of tyres along with oil & petrol. So what else can you ask for? Okay so I really am not keen on obtaining speeding tickets when on the hwy with yes the 600r & so far, tap wood, not the 929 or 954.

Lastly compared to the later model 600s this one is a more forgiving bike when it comes to handeling.

[Triumph]

Smitty, you have a 600R, and a 929, AND a 954? What are you doing with all of those bikes??? I'd imagine the 929 and 954 would be very similar.

[TheMonkey]

Sweet Ride!!! You'll have lots of fun on this bike. Just be careful. It can bite back.....

[Smitty]

You are right Triumph, but look at my profile & you will see I am 74+ yrs of age. So the itch was there to obtain ANOTHER bike & really I do not like cruisers. Not really sold on the Honda 1000 so nabbed a still in-the-crate 954 & bought it in first week of October in '04

So being my age & if weather is half-way decent, & yes I have been cought in rain storms to hail storms, I will climb on the bikes & ride them almost like one after the other. True I might ruin my riding day by shopping or being forced to mow the stupid lawn, etc.

Still basically it is the 600, then the 929, then the 954 & finally back to the 600. Basically ride my mtn roads with the twisties some 4 to 8 hrs a day & enjoy it bar the speeding tickets.

After all I have been riding for 58 yrs & 42 of those yrs were in all forms of tough dirt comp plus road racing. So riding at the Max Speed Limits seems to be is like crawling down the pit road & THEN I can get trotting. Yes in those 42 yrs I pranged (crashed) quite often & damaged myself a lot. For I walk with quite a limp, back damaged in 3 places, many concussions, & lots of broken bones that bonded togeather or are held with pins, wire, plates, rods & plenty of screws. So I have pain 7/24 in using the new saying.

Interesting thing is when riding all pain goes away for my concentration on the hwy & my riding takes over the normal pain.

IF I cannot ride a m/c & still have my DL I will sell whatever I have & latch onto a T-Rex so I can have some Summer fun driving. Look, my time is limited so best to live up to all I can do as an old bachelor with no relatives, ex-wife or kids. Only drawback I can feel is that one cannot hire a woman to do any house cleaning at even $20.00 an hr (minimum wage is $7.50 or possibly $8.00 in a while in this Province) & like most men I HATE house cleaning with this home with two complete washrooms, two bedrooms upstairs only used for storage, while two bedrooms downstairs are again storage though one is my reloading room & there is this larger room & have as my personal den, PC room, TV room, etc.

Okay so I am a crazy old sod, but that is me & I do not kid around about it.

[MotoMan]

...it seems like you're doing everything right to me. Thanks for setting a good example for us young ones.

And what's the saying about not arriving safely at death in a unscathed body (or something like that), but rather to slide in sideways, used up, screaming, DAMN, THAT WAS ONE HELLUVA RIDE!!!!!

Life's too short not to live it! Or better yet, life's too short not to ride it!

Is it the weekend yet? I hear some twisties calling my name. Can you marry twisties? I want to let them know that I'll always be there for them.

[Brotha J]

Congrats man!
That's what I'm hoping to upgrade to.
That way I can bad mouth my Ninja 250 when the time comes. (wink, wink, nod)

[Triumph]

More pictures! :)

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bfroesch/pictures/yamaha/600R_stand1%20copy.jpg
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bfroesch/pictures/yamaha/600R_stand2%20copy.jpg
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bfroesch/pictures/yamaha/600R_stand3%20copy.jpg

Tried to ride today, but the bike wouldn't start. It only sat for a week, because of the snow. I had even taken the battery out and kept it inside. Just wouldn't turn over. Don't know what is up with that.

[Triumph]

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bfroesch/pictures/yamaha/600R_stand4%20copy.jpg
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bfroesch/pictures/yamaha/600R_stand7%20copy.jpg

[Smitty]

Are you sure the emergency button-switch was not in the off position. Also was the bike in neutral & your prop stand up for latter has an automatic shut-off on it?

I will wait for the above answer before I say more.

[Triumph]

Yes, yes, and yes. :)

[carpe_diem]

sooooo......

How does the YZF compare to the ninja 250

[Triumph]

sooooo......

How does the YZF compare to the ninja 250

Well, they are pretty much night and day. Don't get me wrong, the 250 is a great bike, but now that I know how to ride, the YZF is a better bike for me. The 250 felt too small for me (I'm 6 foot), and even though the YZF is a little more aggressively postured, I am more comfortable on it. My shoulder's used to hurt on the Ninja.

Performance wise, obviously there is no comparison in a straight line. The suspension is much stiffer on the YZF; the Ninja suspension has way too much squat and dive and desperately needs a suspension upgrade. I can't flick the YZF around in low speeds like I could with the Ninja, the tank gets in the way. But the main thing I like about the YZF is simply the quality: the levers, the gearshift, the throttle, everything just feels like a higher quality bike, and it is. That's not a knock against the Ninja, I mean its a 3000 bike new. But it's a design that dates back to the late 80's and it shows.

If you're ultimately going to go the sport bike route, the YZF is a great choice for a second bike because it isn't as high strung as the the other supersports. But it is still NOT a beginner bike. It's easily 150 pounds heavier than the Ninja, for one. And it demands good throttle control. A bad combo for a beginner. Honestly though, I don't know why this bike isn't more popular than it is.

[Smitty]

Then check you battery once again, along with the main terminal connections that could be corroded, & then take a look at the kill switch down by the kick starter for at times it can be with a pile of crap on it & no matter what it will be shorting out the bike.