[Choco]

The years in question are '03-'05 (not sure about the YCCT yet). From what I've been able to gather, they are very similar bikes in engine performance, and to be entirely honest, engine performance is secondary to handling. So my question would be to those you with said years R6's. Hows the inverted fork compare to the normal fork? Tunability? Are there any major differences between the years? Recalls? any info would help, before i buy one i'd like to know what i'm getting myself into. i hope to keep this one for a while. thanx all.... :fiddy

 

[srschick]

03-05 are great times for the R6.
much improved over the first Gen. I wouldn't put too much into the USD forks, as you would only benefit if doing a lot of (primarily) track riding. the radial brakes aren't really a "super upgrade" either, again, you will not care unless lots of track time is involved.
Body work - pretty much the same from 03-05, except for the 05 front fender.
I've heard the 05 trottle is a little more twitchy at the low end vs. the earlier, but I don't know as I've only owned the 05.

 

[hybrid]

Yamaha is the most expensive suspension to tune. The first gen R6 and R1 had a 50-50 split cartridge/standard suspension system so you had to gut it. My first gen R6 team was competitive all the way till this last year so I wouldnt know about the forks for cost in tuning but Ive liked the Yam's performance and the Racing Contingency is pretty good.

Im switching to Kaw this year myself.