Remember way back at the end of 2020 when Yamaha Motors US first announced that the YZF-R6 was going away from the US market? Fans may not have been surprised, but were undoubtedly saddened to learn that this was the case. Still, European R6 fans at least had a glimmer of hope when Team Blue decided that the R6 could remain in their market, although just as a track-only model.
Which was, ultimately, what most people were using it for anyway, right? I mean, I've certainly seen some older ones ridden on the street here, but by and large? Many viewed it as a fantastic, approachable track machine, and with good reason. When the R9 was finally introduced, it led our own Robbie Bacon to temper expectations right up front in his review, saying that while it's quite a good machine, it's no R6 replacement.
