Faults:

Throttle locked up.

Clutch came loose.

General Comments:

Somebody will probably delete this post, but here goes my take on this bike.

I bought this bike, and drove it to the nearest dealer in Tennessee and had it checked out; was told everything was fine, so me and a buddy drove home on our bikes, had no problems with it, but I never touched the power band.

The next week, right after getting the tag and insurance all squared away, I decided to drive up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I let it warm up and then took off less than half a mile from my house; I decided to see what the powerband was all about. Mind you on a straight and level road with almost no traffic. I hit it, and had the ride of my life until I let off and the throttle stuck. Tried pulling on the clutch, and wouldn't you know it, it had come loose or something like that. I ended up half a mile later underneath the bike in amongst some rocks, so take whatever you want out of this, but I'm gonna say that these are poorly put together bikes. Granted, I may have come across one that was dogged I don't know. What I do know is I will be sticking with Honda from here on out.

Faults:

I had to replace the chain and rear brake pads at 17000 miles.

General Comments:

I have rode and owned many bikes over the years, from cruisers to the brand new Kawi ZX10.

This bike is very comparable to the Honda CBR600F4.

I rode an R6 before I bought this bike, and I was surprised to find that the YZF600 has quite a bit more torque in the mid range. I was told this is due to different cams. This extra mid range really makes this one of the best 600cc bikes for having a passenger. It does however make it hard to maintain the speed limit on the highway, because it's geared to be at 5500 to 6500 rpm range at highway speeds, and that's the area where the torque really starts to kick in.

Very comfortable bike. Riding position is variable from that of a sport bike to an upright standard, which gives you plenty of room to get comfortable. Riding 300-400 miles a day is a breeze, especially on the back roads.

I have a D&D slip on exhaust that makes it sound like an F1 car. Brakes are very good, but swapping the brake pads to performance HH or H4 pads makes the baking excellent. Needs a brighter headlight for driving on curves at night, I found one for $13. Throttlemiester throttle lock is a must for highway driving if you want to keep the police off your back.

Faults:

Nothing yet really, bulb behind rev counter blown.

Showing signs of light rust under swinging arm (common problem).

General Comments:

Good quick bike for a 600, even when two-up.

Could really do with a more supportive seat; I get a numb bum after about 150 miles, but apart from that, it's a great all round bike.

Fuel economy is A1; I commute to work, a round trip of 20 miles daily, and it does it on £5. If you ride it hard, it's still good.