In short:Yamaha managed the same trick with the R6 as with the R1, caught everyone by surprise and redefined the 600 class. Pros:Yamaha managed the same trick with the R6 as with the R1, caught everyone by surprise and redefined the 600 class. Cons

In short:The R6 is reborn with a competition-bred 'no compromise' attitude. But is all this race-ready technology a step too far for the road? Engine capacity: 599cc Power: 127bhp Torque: 48lb ft Weight: 161kg Seat height: 850mm Fuel capacity: 17.5L

In short:A number of performance-enhancing tweaks make this year's R6 a faster and more exciting proposition. Riding tips from Valentino Rossi not included… Engine capacity: 599cc Power: 118bhp Torque: 50lb ft Weight: 163kg Seat height: 830mm Fuel

the all-round bikes they'd always been. This almost caught Yamaha on the hop - they were erring to the slightly more user-friendly end of the supersport 600 spectrum, but the heavily revised R6 managed to combine both elements better than any other

. Wouldn't have anything but an r6, at least while I'm young. If In doubt, take one for a test ride and you will never look back.

: The last time I rode at Sugo was in 2002 aboard the Belgarda World Supersport R6, and I’d forgotton how much fun the place is. It’s like Oulton Park on steroids! Back then my racebike was pretty much as near to a factory job as was possible, full of trick

, injectors from the YZF-R6, a new camshaft and larger intake valves. All to increase torque. The TMAX features an aluminium chassis and die-cast aluminium swingarm. The steel-chain final drive has been replaced by a belt to save weight and smoothen out

Yamaha abandoned the less focused, relatively relaxed R6 in 2005 in favour of the aggressive, rev-hungry 2006 model (actually they sold them alongside each other for much of 2006), Kawasaki has retargeted the ZX-6R. And it works. On track the new ZX-6R

glamorous. It's a totally practical bike but it'll still put 160mph on the clock and before Honda concentrated their efforts on the RR, it was beating plenty of R6s and GSX-Rs in World Supersport racing too.The 600 class went a bit doolally in 2003. Kawasaki

is exactly that. At a glance this four-stroke single looks amazingly like its big brother the R6, and even like Valentino Rossi’s YZR-M1. If ever there was a bike on which to act out youthful  fantasies of MotoGP stardom, this is it.The R125’s size keeps