With the exception of a couple small changes, the 2010 Yamaha R6 remains virtually the same as last year. And in no way is that a bad thing. On the track the ’09 R6 proved to be a front-runner by virtue of its lightning-fast handling and amazing chassis. One area where it did require more muscle was with the engine, as the R6 demands the rider to keep it up in the rev-range for proper performance. It’s for this reason that we anticipated the added torque from an exhaust and proper gearing would benefit the Yamaha greatly.

It was no surprise to us when Yamaha sent the R6 to Graves Motorsports to have the work done. They run the factory-supported AMA teams for both Superbike and Daytona SportBike, something they have done for quite some time now in the 600cc ranks. Graves also makes its own exhausts, of which they installed a full titanium system with carbon end can. As for fueling they used the Yamaha kit ECU along with the Dynojet Power Commander 5 and Auto Tune, while gearing was also changed from 16/45 to 15/45, though they kept the stock 525 size and the OE rear sprocket and chain was retained.

As far as weight goes, the full titanium Graves exhaust help shed 12 lbs off the already skinny R6. This takes the Yamaha’s ready-to-ride wet weight down from 409 lbs to a feathery 397 lbs, joining the Honda as one the only other bike to hit the track sub-400 lbs.

In stock form the Yamaha was one of the lower horsepower producers so when it spun the dyno at 110.63 hp @ 13,500 rpm we weren’t surprised. This put it at the back of the pack within the group, though still less than two down from the second-place Suzuki and just over half a horsepower back from the Honda in P3. Torque was along the same lines, the modified machine making 45.24 lb-ft @ 10,000 rpm. In reference to the others it’s at the bottom, though only 1.06 lb-ft off the top-producing Suzuki. As for how it compares to the stock R6, the aftermarket exhaust and accessories gained over 10 hp, as it made 100 hp before the mods, while torque grew almost 5 lb-ft, with the original bike making a mere 40.77. This is the second-largest horsepower jump of the group, just slightly behind the Honda, while it’s the single largest toque boost of the bunch.

When it came to seat-of-the-pants track testing the added oomph of the Yamaha was readily apparent, though it still demanded to be kept in the upper rev range, just as it did in stock trim. The R6 requires much more attention from the rider, as keeping it spinning over 11,000 rpm is paramount when it comes to corner-exit acceleration. Anything less and the others simply walk away. But keep it where it needs to be and the Yami feels as fast as any of the bikes here, Kawasaki excluded.

“The Yamaha engine is right there with the other bikes, though it is peakier in its delivery and you need to keep it in its happy spot – 11k to 15k,” Sorensen says of the R6. “The EXUP system (in the exhaust) works well in the lower rpm but it still does not have the torque of the Honda or the Kawasaki. This doesn’t really hurt the performance of the bike; you just have to ride it differently.”

Hensley adds that the Yamaha felt really good, but only above 13 or 14K, saying that it “is not a bad thing, this is actually a good thing, because the motor only works well at the rpm that you should be at anyway on a 600. It makes you a better rider in my eyes.”

A key element to staying in the right rev range is proper gearing, especially with the Yamaha, and was one of the areas where the R6 could have been improved. They simply dropped one tooth on the front sprocket, going from a 16/45 to 15/45, and while it translated into better acceleration compared to stock, the R6 still never used top gear around Big Willow no matter the pace. It also suffered slightly at Streets coming off some of the slower corners, as first gear wasn’t usable but second would drop the bike below 10-grand and sacrifice drive.

“Gearing could have been a bit better,” Sorensen remarks about the Yamaha. “Like the Suzuki it was a five-speed at Big Willow and at Streets it could have used a tooth or two higher out back so it wouldn’t lose so many rpm in the slower corners.”

Proper fueling was another issue early on with the Yamaha. The on/off throttle was abrupt, making mid-corner pick-up harder than some of the others and putting added stress on the chassis. But after a call to the guys at Graves Motorsports, who did the dyno tuning, some changes were done via laptop and the bike ran night-and-day better. This goes to show just how important proper tuning is, as one can’t simply bolt on these parts and expect everything to run properly.

If there’s one area where the Yamaha really shines, and has since the R6 came out over 10 years ago, it’s initial turn-in. The aggressive geometry of the Yamaha puts a good deal of the rider’s weight up front, allowing the bike to go from side to side with extreme ease. A by-product of this in the past has been some high-speed instability, though in recent years Yamaha has done well to tune this out through a series of small updates focused on the chassis' balance. As a result the current R6 is one of the best handling bikes made: Period.

Says Sorensen: “The Yamaha clearly has the quickest turn-in. It’s the easiest bike to transition left to right, and while this may give up a bit in stability, it’s worth it. It retains good feel and feedback despite being so quick. It does feels nervous and twitchy compared to some of the other bikes, though this will not affect most experienced riders. However it may be intimidating to newer riders at first.”

Although the Yamaha may have been at the back of the pack in terms of lap times at both tracks, one must consider how extremely close all four bikes were. At Big Willow the gap between the R6 and the leading Kawasaki was a mere seven-tenths of a second, 1:28.08 compared to a 1:27.36. It was a similar story at Streets, with the Yamaha recording a 1:20.29 to Honda’s class-topping 1:19.27. That’s just over a second difference, compared to a gap of 2.7 seconds separating first from last in the original 2009 comparison.