At this point, it’s probably unbeknownst to nobody that 600 cc supersports are a dying breed. Nearly all sportbikes in this category are either totally discontinued or excessively long in the tooth. For example, the Suzuki GSX-R600 is nowhere to be seen, and the Honda CBR600RR remained unchanged for nearly a decade, until Honda announced a new model a few months ago. Likewise, the Kawasaki ZX-6R misses out on all the high tech doodads you find on its bigger brothers. Of course, the same can be said for the Yamaha YZF-R6.
That being said, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Yamaha has announced the discontinuation of the YZF-R6 sportbike. First introduced in 1999, the Yamaha YZF-R6 propelled the Japanese manufacturer into racing fame, scoring its first victory on its second race in the FIM World Championship in Donington Park. Nearly two decades hence, and the R6 has rightfully made its way into legend status in the motorcycle racing world.
Alas, it would appear that stringent Euro5 standards were a major contributing factor to the R6 getting the axe.
"With deep consideration of evolving global market trends and regulations that limit production volumes on certain models, the following Yamaha models will be discontinued after the model year 2020: YZF-R6, VMAX, WR250R and SMAX."
Despite the beloved R6 no longer being a production bike, it will continue to live on in full race-trim. Available as a stock race bike for track day enthusiasts, privateers, and racing teams, the 2021 Yamaha R6 will not be street legal and will be a machine dedicated solely as a racing machine. Currently still available in the local market for P749,000, this bike is equipped with a 599 cc inline-four that churns out 123.5 hp. If the Yamaha YZF-R6 is one of your dream bikes, then perhaps now is the best time to buy one, as this bike’s days are numbered.
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