Years sold: 1994-2007
MSRP new: $7499 (1996)
Blue Book retail value: $2745 (’96 model)
Basic specs: This 599cc inline-Four made 87.4 hp at 11,500 rpm, 44.7 ft.-lb. of torque at 9500 and weighed 453 pounds dry. Though that might seem like too much weight and too little power today’s 600-class standards, the YZF nevertheless clocked a very respectable quarter-mile time—11.33 seconds at 120.78 mph—and registered a measured top speed of 150 mph. Not at all shabby.
Why it won: Yeah, it looks like a sportbike. That’s because it is one— good enough, in fact, to have won the 1996 AMA Supersport championship. But it’s also an exceptionally versatile motorcycle that’s comfortable enough, roomy enough and possesses a wide enough powerband to effectively handle most kinds of everyday riding. No wonder Yamaha kept it in the lineup for so many years, even long after the YZF-R6 became the company’s hot-rod 600cc repli-racer.
From the Ten Best Story: “Other middleweights can get around a road course quicker. But back in the real world, where most 600 owners reside, the Yamaha YZF600R gets the job done no less effectively, and a lot more gracefully.”
Useful resources: A few Internet forums are devoted to this bike, and many other sites post listings of YZF600Rs that are up for sale, along with sources for accessories and other related equipment.
