The Yamaha R6 Is Dead For Real This Time. Long Live The Yamaha R6!

Although it left the US a few years back, the beloved middleweight supersport has remained in Europe for track-only use. Now that's changing.

Photo by: Yamaha

By: Janaki Jitchotvisut

Jul 6, at 8:52am ET

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Remember way back at the end of 2020 when Yamaha Motors US first announced that the YZF-R6 was going away from the US market? Fans may not have been surprised, but were undoubtedly saddened to learn that this was the case. Still, European R6 fans at least had a glimmer of hope when Team Blue decided that the R6 could remain in their market, although just as a track-only model.

Which was, ultimately, what most people were using it for anyway, right? I mean, I've certainly seen some older ones ridden on the street here, but by and large? Many viewed it as a fantastic, approachable track machine, and with good reason. When the R9 was finally introduced, it led our own Robbie Bacon to temper expectations right up front in his review, saying that while it's quite a good machine, it's no R6 replacement.

But that was then, and this is now. On July 1, 2026, Yamaha Japan formally announced that it will open two special-order-only windows in Japan for the final YZF-R6 Race bikes to be produced. There will be two reservation windows, and two reservation windows only in Japan: from July 1 through 31, 2026, and from August 1 through 31, 2026. This final version of the R6 will be based on the same YZF-R6 Race that is sold in Europe, with upgraded suspension and brakes as seen on the 2024 YZF-R1, says Yamaha.

During those two windows, Yamaha R6 fans in Japan will be able to place their orders for the final YZF-R6 Race to be produced, which will be made available on February 26, 2027. The price will be ¥ 1,375,000, which works out to about US $8,537 at the time of writing.

What do you think?

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Now, of course, if you haven't been able to give up the dream of owning an R6 for yourself, it's obviously still possible to buy a used one. Also, it's unlikely that anyone didn't expect Yamaha to end production at some point; honestly, it probably would have been more surprising if they didn't. The question was generally not "if," but rather a question of "when." And while it's true that the R7 and R9 exist now, they're both substantially different bikes than the soon-to-be-discontinued-forever R6.

So, with the weight of supersport history heavy on your mind, will you miss the R6 once it's gone for good? Let us know in the comments below.