Latest 600cc sportbikes down on power?
It's generally an accepted truth that the big four Japanese motorcycle manufacturers will find some way to incrementally improve the performance of their various 600cc sportbikes year-after-year. At some point, you may begin to wonder just how much more juice can be extracted from a relatively small displacement engine.
According to a recent test by Motorcycle.com, both the 2009 Yamaha R6 and the 2009 Honda CBR600RR are down a bit on the dyno compared to their 2008 siblings. Why? The Honda's issue may be related in part to U.S. noise regulations and the tricks that cycle manufacturers employ to get their screamers down to lawful decibel levels at their high-rpm power peaks.
For its part, Yamaha has tried hard to boost the weak mid-rpm power that the ultra-aggressive R6 has been saddled with the last few years, but that retuning may have yielded too high a penalty at higher revs. This small problem doesn't seem to be affecting Kawasaki, though, as Team Green was able to punch out an impressive 107.7 horsepower at 14,100 rpm from the '09 ZX-6R's 599cc powerplant, all the while remaining competitive in the mid-range.
[Source: Motorcycle.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Majarvis 5:41PM (2/20/2009)
AutoBlog=MotoBlog?
Reply
Rocketboy 4:58PM (2/22/2009)
Majavars = Crybaby?
cdwrx 5:45PM (2/20/2009)
one-stop shop.
Reply
meh 5:49PM (2/20/2009)
Waaaah! waah waah! waaah! Moommmm-eeeeee! Autoblog is talking about motorcycles again! waaaah! make them stop!
This sucks! Autoblog sucks, you suck, everything sucks!
I want my blankee now.
Reply
Majarvis 12:03AM (2/21/2009)
gfys, whiny little girl. Looks like my comment really butthurt you. Haha.
why not the LS2LS7? 5:50PM (2/20/2009)
Even stock sportbikes generally aren't loud enough to be bothersome. This while idea of making the bikes quieter will actually work in reverse if it causes more lunkheads to change their exhausts.
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13enS 6:01PM (2/20/2009)
"You are correct sir!" - Ed McMahon
pmiddle5 10:32AM (2/21/2009)
Well I'd consider the noise of the chain to be bothersome then the exhaust.
pmiddle5 2:02PM (2/21/2009)
p.s. when I think of loud motorcycles it is NEVER sport bike related. Harley. at 3am. outside my window. Revving at the stop light with 5 friends. Feels like they are inside my apartment even though they will literally be two blocks away before it is not tremendously bothersome. F'n Harley junk.
Rocketboy 12:37PM (2/24/2009)
Trust me, sport bikes are more than loud enough if you are unlucky enough to live on nearby someone who hoons on it all day long.
Because, as you know, only the truly cool redline their engine on the way to the next stop sign, a block away.
CarbonBlack 6:07PM (2/20/2009)
So the Japanese sport bikes are being made quieter, but those f*ckers at Harley still produce loud ass engines!?!
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jsams4131 6:32PM (2/20/2009)
+1..I never understood that. HD's sounds great but they get obnoxious after following one from stop light to stop light. id like to hear some high revs.
Kevin 6:22PM (2/20/2009)
The noise that Harleys make is all part of the sudo-tough guy image that they sell. They don't go, stop, or turn for s#@t but by god it'll make a lot of noise and make you feel like a real man!! At the price of looking like an @$$hat mind you, but you'll feel like a man.
Noah 6:57PM (2/20/2009)
Kevin- a ridiculous statement made on the internet doesn't sound any less ridiculous than in real life.
why not the LS2LS7? 7:30PM (2/20/2009)
Harley's are not that loud from the factory. The bikes you are thinking of have had their exhausts or (in the case of the brap brap brap ones) exhaust valves modified.
David 2:00AM (2/21/2009)
Primitive transmissions and machismo are the cause.
Do Harleys even have fuel-injection? Perhaps they tend to stall easily, but I'll go with the "a-hole" factor on this one. There's no excuse except to be an obnoxious pig.
They suck!
JDMlover 6:21PM (2/20/2009)
Cars > Bikes
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JHT 6:30PM (2/20/2009)
not really. The acceleration and handling of the today's sportbikes is truly mind bending. You sound like someone who has never thrown a leg around a bike. I don't know of any car that I can ever afford that would give me the pure adrenaline rush of riding. In fact, no car can thrill me like a bike can.
EJ25RUN 7:06PM (2/20/2009)
JDMlover.....you're kidding right?
You do realize you'd have to be strapped to a car with a jet engine to experience the same thrill any sport bike can provide.
You caggers, stay off our roads.
David 2:04AM (2/21/2009)
Even my scooter can out-accelerate nearly every car. It's a Yamaha TMax though.