I don't have much experience with 99/02 R6's,but I seem to hear a lot about dropped valves and broken rods. I know Yamaha makes perhaps the finest designed engines on the planet. Are these failed engines being killed by bonehead downshifts and over revs,or was there a series of "pattern failures"? I am prepairing to freshen up more than one of these and I need some "lore".
That is plum not an issue on the 99-02 Yamaha R6.
(this is not an fzr 600)
If something like that did happen, most likely it was a human error. Maybe never changing engine oil.
The 2001 GSXR 600 had keeper failures that resulted in dropped valves. Never heard or seen that on an R6.
If your freshening it up, replace the main and rod bearings as part of preventive maintence
I would have agreed with you a few months ago. I put some ads out there looking for blown/damaged
R6 engine cases and recieved a ton of replys,all with broken rods and/or dropped valves.I bought a couple of "cores" and these show no sign of oil starvation or overheating.There has to be a common
root cause,just need to find it.
Were those street motors or race motors?
Street engines,probably stunters,but no oil starvation issues,and second gears aren't too bad.
Perhaps I'v got the only lemons they made.
At the race track you really find out what bikes are lemons really fast.
If you don't see problems at the track, you just don't have problems.
The R6 has been virtually bullet proof while racing.
I think its a "street" thing.