I am going to replace my Honda CB500 with a 600cc supersport bike. I 've found several 2002 Yamaha YZF-R6s selling for 5000-6000 euros. Anyone having experience with this motorcycle? Any comment appreciated! 
Wear a helmet. 
Oh yeah…wear full leather too.
Nevermind if it is 38 degrees outside…the chicks dig the look.
[sub]Always glad to help out another Doper with silly advice[/sub]
That’s not silly advice. Several of my friends have walked away from spills that would have meant a trip to the hospital if they hadn’t been wearing proper gear. Particularly with the beefier bikes, full protection is vital.
Not directly, but…
Around 2001/2002 I wanted to buy a YZF-R6. I went to the Yamaha shop in Marina del Rey and looked at the price (about $8,000 IIRC). I asked the salesman how much he’d sell it for, and he started listing off taxes, license, dealer prep, etc. I said, ‘No, the how much off the sticker price?’ He said, ‘That’s the price.’ No haggling on that. So I talked to the dealer who sold my my XJ600 Seca II (Diversion in Europe). He’d sell me one for $500 under retail. But then I found a Hughes 269A helicopter and I decided not to get the bike. (I didn’t get the helicopter either, once I found out that insurance would cost $13,000/year.)
I 2003 my Seca II needed new tires, so I went to the closest shop – the one in Marina del Rey. While I was waiting for the guy at the counter to do his thing I looked at the motorcycles in the shop. In 2003 Yamahas came in blue or silver. But there was a flash of red. A brand-new 2002 YZF-R1. I went to look at it just behind a couple who came in. They bought it.
Only the salesman said he could get another. I think a 2003 R1 was selling for $10,500 that year. These motorcycles had $9,999 on their tags. The 2002 was $9,500. The dealership was under new management, and the new owners were discounting their rides! Not only that, but the sticker price was the ‘out the door’ price. It included tax, license, dealer prep… everything. And the R1 was red. It was too good to pass up.
The R1 and the R6 feel the same when you sit on them. I assume that the R6 rides about the same as the R1, only with a little less power. More power than my Seca II, though. The R1 and R6 are less comfortable than my Seca II, or the FJR-1300. (I had a chance to try one of those on for size. If I hadn’t had my heart set on an R1, that’s the ride I would have bought.)
I don’t have much experience with Hondas. I used to have a CX500 I bought for a dollar and put like 33,000 miles on. I also rode my then-g/f’s CB360T. I’m guessing that your CB500 is a bigger version of my g/f’s ride, and that it is a standard-class UJM (Universal Japanese Motorcycle). If my assumptions are true, then the R6 will have much more power. That will take a little getting used to (a couple/few rides) just as I had to get used to the more powerful and lighter XJ600 after the CX500, and to the R1 after the now-seemingly-underpowered XJ600. The R6 will handle much differently from the CB500 too. You’ll have to get used to the crouch vs. the upright seating position.
IME sport bikes handle much more aggressively than standards. A standard sweeps into curves. A sport bike cuts them up. Be careful. It’s easy and tempting to ride beyond your abilities. But once your abilities catch up to the motorcycle’s capabilities, you won’t want to go back to the more sedate ride.
One thing I miss about California is that it’s legal to ‘split lanes’ there. That is, when traffic is slow you can ride between the lanes (but not on the left or right shoulder). I vowed that I would not split lanes on the R1 until I got used to the handling and power. I took the long way home from the shop in Marina del Rey. Instead of the four-mile jaunt on surface streets I rode up PCH to Malibu, then through Malibu Canyon to the 101 to Van Nuys, then on the 405. Traffic over the Sepulveda Pass was jammed almost to a standstill. I have damaged knees, and the crouching riding position was starting to hurt. I decided to lane-split even though I was on my first ride on a new bike.
To my surprise the R1 split lanes better than the Seca. With its more upright configuration, the Seca’s mirrors are just about at the same level as the mirros on cars and trucks. The R1’s mirrors are lower, so there’s more clearance. I immediately found that riding the R1 on crowded streets was much more comfortable than riding the Seca!
The R6 has less power than the R1, but otherwise they are so similar I think the riding experience will be essentially the same. And the experience is fun!. I feel bad that I rarely ride the Seca anymore. But the sportbike is just too gratifying.
Good advice. I rode the Seca from L.A. to Lake Havasu (through the Mojave Desert) in full leather when it was 104°F to 108°F. It’s not so bad.
Thanks for the info!
This is my CB500: http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/8076/dscn1906medium1wc.jpg
I’ve started riding motorcycles just 6 months ago, yet the 52 hp of the CB500 seem inadequate now. It has a rather strong acceleration at low speeds (below 120km/h), but it falls sharply after that. And the top speed is a pathetic 170km/h (105mph).
I would go for a R1, but I do not have the money 
Be doubly careful.