For under $200, the man in...
For under $200, the man in red got the bike in white looking and sounding a lot of better than stock.
Miles Ridden: 1924
Modifications: Slip-on exhaust
Running errands and commuting on an R6 can almost make you forget how fast it really is. Don't get me wrong, it easily cuts through traffic and nothing will touch it with enough RPM on the dial. But free of the city confines is where it really shines.
An early-morning canyon run is always nice, but to explore your limits and discover what the R6 was bred for, you gotta hit the track.
Though I'd raced some mini-moto stuff at a local kart track, I thought it was wise to start my high-speed career with a track school. Thanks to the crew at the Trackdaz Academy I began the day hesitant but ended it with burnt-up tires. OK, so I wasn't exactly Rossi, but I was more confident, had more fun than should be legal and picked-up serious speed.
As for the R6, its low clip-ons, high rearsets and top end power suddenly all made sense. It railed around corners, braked harder than I was willing to and made for a track experience I'll never forget.
Coming away from the day the only thing I wanted was more noise from the high-revving mill. In keeping with my tight budget I added a dope Competition Werkes GP slip-on in search of both.
Installation was quick, it dropped weight, added a killer tone and slightly bumped power. The fact it retails for just $189.95 brings new meaning to affordability as well.
On our Superflow CycleDyn dyno the R6 picked up just under one horsepower and one pound-foot of torque for a total of 100.8 HP and 41.1 LB-FT.
If those numbers sound low, it's because they are. Compare those figures to an '07 model and we're down 6-8 HP at the wheel. We can thank the strict '09 emissions for that. We can also applaud the lumpy power curve for killing our air/fuel ratio. Part throttle air/fuel ratio is crazy lean and WOT is pig rich. Adding the pipe only magnified the issue, but only because it's flowing more air-which is a good thing. So what to do next? I'm going to maximize my combo with a fuel management system that'll eliminate the peaks and valleys. Hopefully we'll get the lost 6-8 HP back and even get a few more thanks to the slip-on. So hang tight- we're in search of more power.