Yamaha had a good track record of building manic and crazy machines in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s – in both two and four-stroke guise.
Think back to the RDs of old both 350 and 400, then the LC (250/350) and the YPVS/Powervalve… the TZR series, the RD500LC (OK, not as mad as the RG) and then the middleweight FZRs…
Yes, the original late-1980s/early 1990s FZR600 3HE was a mad, manic street screamer – but following the launch of the Honda CBR600 F-M in 1991, it came across as your mad cousin, albeit one of skinny tyres. By 1994 it was replaced by the still sporty FZR600R – which aped the looks of the YZF750. It won the British Supersport championship with Ian Simpson in 1994 and all was well…
Then the Yamaha 600s supersport bikes seemed to lose their edge a bit. At the close of 1996, in came the YZF600R Yamaha Thundercat. It shared lots of the previous model under its flanks: the same, basic motor but with some internal changes such as forged pistons, new valve springs, 36mm Keihins (not 34mm ones) lightweight cylinder block and ram-air all of which increased power by five bhp to 105bhp @ 11,500rpm. The chassis parts were also similar, the frame was almost identical and those Blue Spot brakes came from the Thunderace. Suspension was basic, but decent, featuring right-way-up 41mm forks and a monoshock with pre-load adjustment, rebound and compression damping. Dry weight was 187 kilos which was well in the ball-park for the time.
Thing was, the Cat was a bit chunky around the mid-riff and people said it felt as big as a 750 – which is a good thing to many of us. But, at the time the 600 class was going a little bit crazy, with the likes of the 1995 Kawasaki ZX-6R Ninja taking things to a sportier level and the 1997 Suzuki GSX-R600 SRAD doing the same. So something with the tuning fork logo was needed to redress this balance…
That something was the 1999 YZF-R6, which was one lunatic supersports 600. It wasn’t such a big leap forward as it looked – because its bigger brother the R1 had shown how to do that the year before. Why? Firstly the R1 had shown how to make great leaps forward just a year earlier, so we were anticipating the middleweight from Yamaha a year or so earlier and – Honda decided to release its own CBR600F-X with its alloy frame and various other mods in the same year… it made for one helluva comparison.
What makes the first YZF-R6 5EB special is that raw edge that was back with this model. Compared to the easy-going CBR, the mad power delivery from 8000rpm was wild – many felt it could almost be a two-stroke, four-stroke…
In comparison to the CBR, the power was peakier and the handling sharper – if less stable. Road tests from the time placed the R6 just ahead of the new CBR which itself was ahead of the ZX-6R and GSX-R600 – but this was a very closely-fought class. Much was made of the bikes claimed power of 120bhp and 200bhp per litre, but to get there you had to rev the thing hard to its 15,500 rpm redline, even though peak-power was around 2000rpm lower in the rev-range and power dropped off sharply at around 14,000. Ride one though, and you soon fall in love. Brakes came from the R1 (Blue Spots again) and handling was from God…
TLC was needed if this was a bike you commuted on, and we did hear stories of cracked cylinders, cam-chain tensioner problems and the return spring failing in the gearbox which can leave the bike stuck in gear – although this was an easy fix. Also an issue (and subject of a recall) was the side-stand cut-out switch and the fitment of a retaining plate in the oil delivery pipe.
Of course the R6 is still with us and has changed much over the last 20 years, but an original 5EB can be had for as little as a grand – albeit a rough/track one. Half-decent bikes start around £1750-£2000 and rise to daft prices like £5000 for a dealer-sold machine with less than 10K on the clocks…
For – Manic power delivery and good looks!
Against – A bit sharp for the road? Some are abused!
SPECIFICATION
| Make | YAMAHA |
| Model | YZF600 R6 5eb |
| Price new | £6599 |
| Years available | 1999-2000 |
| Major changes | Just graphic changes no major updates till the updated 2001 model. |
| Cost | £1000 up to £5000 for a mint bike with low miles |
Verdict – You need to be in the mood for this mad machine – but the rewards are there…
