YZF600R Thundercat (1996 - 2004) review

What a difference a year makes. Just 12 months ago three of these bikes were the very latest, sharpest tools that their respective manufacturers could produce. Now they are overshadowed by newer, faster and better looking siblings. The march of progress has developed into a flat out sprint when it comes to the supersport 600s.

Which is great news for the bargain-hunting buyer because as with every race there are always stragglers. I don't mean this in a detrimental way, it's just that in the 600cc class things are progressing so fast that some truly fantastic bikes are now considered, well...old hat. Which means that both brand new and second-hand these five bikes offer tremendous value for money.

The Thundercat was also tricky to discover but with it being in production for so long, seven years now, it was more of a case of getting a good, new example rather than a tired old hack. In the end a call to DK Motorcycles in Stoke turned up a very tidy Y registered Yamaha with just over 6000 miles on the clock. No such problems with the other two bikes. Because the Triumph is such a niche market a single call to experts Jack Lilley Triumph secured a TT600 while the GSX600F was simply a case of locating a dealer with one. In the end it was DK again who supplied us with a three year old bike, and seemed quite relieved to get it out of their showroom for a few days.

Before I rode it I assumed the Thundercat would also be underpowered compared to the more modern 600s. I was wrong. The motor may not rev as high as the CBR, ZX-6R or even Triumph but it produces more torque than all bar the big-bore Kawasaki and is a great road engine. Power is concentrated around 7-10,000rpm with the last 2000rpm really just there as an over-run. Where the CBR and TT600 feel a bit gutless unless they are being revved the Thundercat felt more like the ZX-6R with its extra 36cc boosting mid-range. That is until the others got into their stride.

On a flat out blast the mid-range of the Thundercat became less of an advantage and the two Japanese bikes and the Triumph start to pull away. The TT's engine has always had the reputation of being a but top-endy and it really does need to be caned to get the most from it. On a racetrack this isn't a problem but when you are on the road it can be a bit annoying. The CBR is the same to some extent but it does have a bit more in the middle before it delivers a decent kick high up the range, whereas the Kawasaki is simply strong everywhere. Taking into consideration town riding, twisty roads, motorways, overtaking and all the other obstacles that inhibit your progress in the real world the Kawasaki's motor rates the highest followed by the Yamaha, Honda, Triumph and finally the Suzuki, by quite a way.

In the corners the Yamaha surprises again. It may be a few years old but the Thundercat handles as well as the others. It feels just slightly softer all round but on unfamiliar roads it can happily keep up with the much sportier Kawasaki or Honda, and its suspension deals with the bumps better. Top honours however are a split between the ZX-6R and the TT600

What a difference a year makes. Just 12 months ago three of these bikes were the very latest, sharpest tools that their respective manufacturers could produce. Now they are overshadowed by newer, faster and better looking siblings. The march of progress has developed into a flat out sprint when it comes to the supersport 600s.

Which is great news for the bargain-hunting buyer because as with every race there are always stragglers. I don't mean this in a detrimental way, it's just that in the 600cc class things are progressing so fast that some truly fantastic bikes are now considered, well...old hat. Which means that both brand new and second-hand these five bikes offer tremendous value for money.

The Thundercat was also tricky to discover but with it being in production for so long, seven years now, it was more of a case of getting a good, new example rather than a tired old hack. In the end a call to DK Motorcycles in Stoke turned up a very tidy Y registered Yamaha with just over 6000 miles on the clock. No such problems with the other two bikes. Because the Triumph is such a niche market a single call to experts Jack Lilley Triumph secured a TT600 while the GSX600F was simply a case of locating a dealer with one. In the end it was DK again who supplied us with a three year old bike, and seemed quite relieved to get it out of their showroom for a few days.

Before I rode it I assumed the Thundercat would also be underpowered compared to the more modern 600s. I was wrong. The motor may not rev as high as the CBR, ZX-6R or even Triumph but it produces more torque than all bar the big-bore Kawasaki and is a great road engine. Power is concentrated around 7-10,000rpm with the last 2000rpm really just there as an over-run. Where the CBR and TT600 feel a bit gutless unless they are being revved the Thundercat felt more like the ZX-6R with its extra 36cc boosting mid-range. That is until the others got into their stride.

On a flat out blast the mid-range of the Thundercat became less of an advantage and the two Japanese bikes and the Triumph start to pull away. The TT's engine has always had the reputation of being a but top-endy and it really does need to be caned to get the most from it. On a racetrack this isn't a problem but when you are on the road it can be a bit annoying. The CBR is the same to some extent but it does have a bit more in the middle before it delivers a decent kick high up the range, whereas the Kawasaki is simply strong everywhere. Taking into consideration town riding, twisty roads, motorways, overtaking and all the other obstacles that inhibit your progress in the real world the Kawasaki's motor rates the highest followed by the Yamaha, Honda, Triumph and finally the Suzuki, by quite a way.

In the corners the Yamaha surprises again. It may be a few years old but the Thundercat handles as well as the others. It feels just slightly softer all round but on unfamiliar roads it can happily keep up with the much sportier Kawasaki or Honda, and its suspension deals with the bumps better. Top honours however are a split between the ZX-6R and the TT600