I remember when Hayes won his first championship, there were R1's popping up on the grids everywhere. Lots of people jumped on the bandwagon. ...but it wasn't long before they were unassing them. They soon realized that it would take a huge budget, very good support and lots of expertise to even get the bike on equal terms with a stock Gixxer 1k (which isnt saying much, because the Gixxer is very long in the tooth). And to get the R1 on par with the BMW and ZX-10 would take a TON of money. Im not hating on the R1. I still have my 2006 R1 (Raven) and love it. It has a SS motor build, Magnesium Marchesinis, full Ohlins, full Ti Graves exhaust etc. I will likely keep that bike forever. I have been a Yamaha fan for a long time, so this isnt a bash on Yamaha as a company. I am just saying they really need to do a ground-up overhaul of the R1. It needs to drop 30lbs and gain 30hp.
I don't see them coming out with a new R6 until they release the 675cc 3cyl R6...which I think will be 2 years away. Some people think it will be sooner, a big shop I talked to recently stopped ordering Kit parts for the I-4 R6 as he doesn't want to get stuck with them when the 3cyl version comes out. The current R6 is long in the tooth, meaning it hasn't changed in a long time. But it is still the best race platform in the 600cc class...so they haven't had any reason to change it. You can win Expert races on a 2006 R6 today.
Well played. Just make sure you don't have your name on your leathers while doing so, as it is against the rules for Novices. :bounce:
"Great" is relative. Meaning, all current bikes are great. Just like they are all fast, they all handle well, they all stop good, etc. However, since 2006 there hasn't been any "game changing" bikes released. For all intents and purposes, the GSX-R600 is the same as it was in 2006, as is the R6. The CBR is about the same as it has been since '07 or so. The ZX6R has probably went through the biggest changes in that time period...which doesn't surprise me. They tend to be more innovative than the other Jap companies (reference the game-changing 2011 ZX-10 for example). When i say they are the same, i mean if you run a 1:35 on a 2007, you will run a 1:35 on a 2013. Of course there have been new graphics and paint schemes, some minor mechanical changes to address issues, some gimmicks like mode switches etc. But for all intents and purposes, they are the same. The only exception is the Triumph 675R. Finally somebody gave us a bike with race spec components at a good price. Suzuki hasn't done shit in a long time. A big Euro magazine recently did a back to back comparison test of a 2013 Gix 1k and a 2005 Gix 1k. They weighed almost same, the new bike only made about 2-3 more HP (which could easily be contributed to the other bike being 8 years old) and performance wise, they were identical. Professional test riders (not some journalist who tries to ride, but should stick to magazines...im talking about former professional racers) tested them. The lap times were within tenths and the times on the drag strip were within hundredths of each other on both bikes. And that goes for every test rider. At the end of the day, their conclusion was something along the lines of "If you have a 2005+ GSX-R1000, buying anything newer will not result in a performance upgrade". They basically said, if you have a 2005...keep it until Suzuki offers something more than "Bold New Graphics". I agree, there have been some new, really cool bikes released in the past 7 years. Aprilia RSV4 (of course, im biased ), Ducati Panigale, BMW S1000RR, KTM RC8R, MV 675 for example. But as far as the Jap bikes, there hasnt been anything ground breaking, with the exception of the 2011 ZX-10.
All of the bikes are great and can be very competitive, its partially the riders, but the big reason is who's got the most factory $$$$$$ backing them.