It's An R6 for the Rat Race

It didn't seem right to let our super-sporty YZF-R6 keep all that high-tech, high-revving 4-cylinder love to itself.

Enter FZ6 - light and flickable, roomy and relaxed, ready, willing and more than able to fly down your favorite back road whenever you are, even if it happens to be on the other side of the state.

A new and completely weld-free Controlled Fill die cast aluminum frame snugs the tuned-for-midrange R6 motor high and tight. Atop that firm foundation we built a do-everything motorcycle to deal with whatever pavement you can find, smooth or rippled, wherever you go.

Minimalist though it may look, the FZ6 gets the real-world goods you'll appreciate more as the miles pour on.

•Thick, wide seat

•Handlebar that reaches back to the rider

•Big windshield atop a stylish half-fairing

•Centerstand

•Passenger grabrails

•Luggage hooks

•Big fuel tank

It also looks the part, thanks to the underseat exhaust and modern-spec fat radial tires on cool R6-style 5-spoke wheels.

Then there's the fact that this one's more affordable than it looks; if you like what you see, you better start planning a long ride now.