2004 Yamaha yzf600r

[slickskot]

A kid (27) that works on my crew wanted to get a bike and liked my Katana. He has never rode before, he's a good guy so I told him I would help him out. We started looking for 600 katana's and couldn't find anything around us. He found a 2006 600 Kat in Nebraska a 4 hour drive. I looked at the pic's of it and something looked off. I ended up agreeing to go to look at the bike because he was obsessed with it and I didn't want him to get screwed. It was abused very badly and not taken care of at all. I told him not to get it and he actually listened to me. He said if I wasn't there he would have got it. (Thanks Cyberpoet for the help).
I told him to look at the Yamaha yzf600r around us because everything I've been reading compares them to the Katana pretty well. He ended up finding a 2004, 3 hrs away in Kansas he wanted to look at for the same price. We ended up going to look at it and it was in almost mint condition (one small ding on the tank). I rode it for him and told him if he didn't buy it I would.
I've rode it a couple more times and it's a blast to ride. Power is very similar to my 04 750 Kat. Handling is pretty damn good. It feels a lot lighter than my bike. Pretty comfortable although I have only rode it about 10 miles at the longest run. Overall a sweet little bike.

[squiggy]

Overall a sweet little bike.

Oh yes, a very nice bike.

An advantage the Yammi has is fully adjustable suspension front and rear. The downside is no gas gauge.

Two things I'm not sure of when comparing this Yami to the Kat, at least my 2001, is how well the headlight is, I believe it's a single bulb unit, and the alternator capacity. Those two features are what make the Kat a excellent sport-touring vehicle.

I used to think the Yamaha blue and white color scheme was the best but this blood red color is nice too.

[Psycho1]

After the first 2 tank fulls, not having a gas guage isn't a problem, as long as you know how to reset a trip meter lol. I'd gladly trade the Kat's gas guage for a lighter bike with more power, less weight, and better suspension any day.

[mdoe8]

isn't that red one the liter bike thundercat? Same bike essentially, just larger motor and i'm sure a bunch of little things. Never seen that bike in red, looks good!

[Shifty]

Hey thanks for posting that pic - I pass a red one just like that on my way home from work sometimes, and I always wondered what it was. Great looking bike (not too big a fan of the headlamp though)!

[squiggy]

isn't that red one the liter bike thundercat? Same bike essentially, just larger motor and i'm sure a bunch of little things. Never seen that bike in red, looks good!

Right.

600 was the Thundercat and the 1000 was the Thunderace.

[CenCalKat]

That comes in a liter bike??? Hmmm....might be a nice second bike.

[squiggy]

The Yamaha Thunderace, YZF1000R, was the precursor to the R1.

[CenCalKat]

Okay....I want one.

[beherenow71]

no gas gauge is no big deal, I'd guess that bike has a low fuel light anyway to help you out. Is it carbed or fi? As for a single bulb headlight, pre kats were too I think. The yzf600r is a good ooking bike, that all black exhaust is kinda wierd to me though.


edit: nm, looked it up, its carbed. Kinda like the Yamaha version of a kat, except its liquid cooled. It got some pretty good ratings on the sites I saw.

[squiggy]

Okay....I want one.

Me too.

Kinda like the Yamaha version of a kat, except its liquid cooled. It got some pretty good ratings on the sites I saw.

Pretty much, yes. It's been in Yammi's lineup for a looong time. From what I've read about it, it gets a lot of praise from it's owners.

[scottynoface]

I almost bought one instead of my Katana. Kinda wish I had. Much sportier, lot less tour-y. An older, less technology ridden version of the F4i...except for the carbs...

[Ft campbell Busa]

I bought one as my first bike with 3800 miles for $1750.00 before the Hayabusa and Katana. I beat on that bike at the track, street, wheelies, etc... I got it all out of my system (except drag racing) before I bought the Busa. I rode that bike through my first MSF, long rode trip, etc... I had a lot of fun on it. I can't believe that I rode that bike so carelessly as a noob and I never once laid it down. I then buy several more bikes and decide to lay my Hayabusa down (the only new bike I ever bought) after a couple hundred track passes! At least she got a new paint job.

[squiggy]

Here's the Wiki for the YZF600R.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_YZF600R

[tdrcomm]

The Yamaha Thunderace, YZF1000R, was the precursor to the R1.

That's one freakin' rare bike. I think I've only seen one on the streets here in SoCal.