With car prices still sky-high, there are more than a few enthusiasts who may consider joining the motorcycle camp, a place with considerably more affordable temptations. Of course, not everybody is into standard bikes and while you’re researching ideas for what may be a custom contraption, you might wonder what happens if you use a sport motorcycle as an off-roading machine. What? That’s a normal question and to prove it we’ve brought along a Yamaha YZF-R6 that was recently cast in the role of a dirt bike.
The R6 is probably the most popular sport bike in the less savage 600cc class (as opposed to the 1,000cc monster tier). The Japanese legend was built between 1999 and 2020 when Yamaha replaced it with the YZF-R7, but this example is a 2005 unit.
And, according to the eccentric YouTubers over at CboysTV, who recently added the toy to their collection, the R6 used to be one of the cleanest of its kind on the used motorcycle market. Well, that simply can’t be true anymore, since the guys subjected the R6 to all sorts of rugged terrain tests.
The CboysTV gang includes CJ Lotzer,ย Ryan Iwerks,ย Grant (Ken) Matthees,ย Ben Roth,ย Micah Sandman, andย Evan Sheff, with the last name on that list being the master of this shenanigan.
The Yamaha R6 apparently pulled off a respectable dirt bike impersonation
Admittedly, the sport bike did get new wheels wrapped in dirt tires after an initial stunt involving the standard rolling hardware. The idea behind it? The R6 is now a bona fide dirt bike: “It has dirt tires and I’m riding it in the dirt and it is a bike,”
The boys started with a hill that was close to their Cormorant Lake (Minnesota) home base. And, encouraged by what seems to be a solid performance on the Yamaha’s side, they moved on to a single-track dirt bike trail in Lakeland, MN.
Even without the proper hardware for handling rough terrain riding, the Japanese machine seems to have shown a stoic attitude, getting over all the obstacles thrown at it. Still, we wonder what Evan’s back thinks about off-roading in a sport bike position. Oh, and we wouldn’t want to be the mechanic dealing with the inevitable damage caused by the shenanigan.
From the suspension to the riding position and even the calibration of the engine, there would be lots of changes required for making this a proper off-roading tool. For the record, the 118 hp of the 2005 Yamaha R6’s liquid-cooled, four-stroke inline-four makes for about double the maximum output of today’s most potent dirt bikes, which use 450cc engines.
Now, will the guys stick to their initial plan, which involved pulling the R6’s engine out to install it in the lawn mower-quad we covered back in June? Well, the said impressive behavior of the bike might’ve just changed their mind. Regardless, we feel these YouTubers attempted such a stunt so you don’t have to.
