Truly heartbreaking! Yamaha’s legendary middleweight screamer – the R6 will not be updated for the year 2021. Yamaha USA has recently confirmed that the bike will be discontinued after the model year 2020. The company further states that it understands the iconic history of the R6 and as far as the future is concerned, it is continuously looking at new ideas and concepts in order to support and expand the market as well as enhance its customer experiences. That said, if you are someone residing in the USA and Europe and wish to buy the R6, you should rush to your nearest dealership to check the availability of the 2020 model and buy one of the last few units left. Come January 2021 and the R6 will perish from the showrooms in the said regions too! The highly respected Yamaha YZF-R6 made its global debut after its litre-class sibling – the YZF-R1 in the year 1999 and it went on to become an instant sensation in the middleweight supersport category.
Moreover, it was with the R6 only that the company introduced to the world some key innovations like Yamaha Chip Controlled Throttle (YCCT) and also, Yamaha Chip Controlled Intake (YCCI) systems. With the demise of the Yamaha YZF-R6, there is now a huge vacant space in the company’s supersport line-up. Now, the absence of the middleweight screamer leaves the company with only two supersport models in its portfolio in the form of the Yamaha R3 and the R1. The latest move by the company to announce the retirement of the Yamaha R6 is quite sudden but certainly not a very surprising one, owing to the dwindling sales and the dipping popularity of the bike across the globe.
The company says that the development costs to upgrade the bike in order to meet the stringent Euro-5 emission norms are quite high and with the ‘not-so-encouraging’ sales numbers, an updated 2021 model will not make much sense in terms of the market feasibility. However, one good news is that the Yamaha YZF-R6 will continue to live on the racetracks as the company will be offering stock-but-stripped bikes along with its GYTR racing kit that helps in setting new lap records.
The Yamaha YZF-R6 never went on sale in India and despite the fact that the bike was going through a miserable sales performance in the international markets, enthusiasts here in the country were quite hopeful on its arrival. First, the Triumph Daytona 675R and now the R6!
Certainly a sad day for supersport lovers across the globe! We bid adieu to one of the best middleweight superbikes ever produced! Truly an icon!
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