R6 Power Up Kit

Rick Allara

Hey, this is Rick from Diamond Motor Sports and I would like to introduce you to a cost effective way to get more power out of your 600cc motorcycle! I love my 2006 Yamaha R6 but like all things I own that consume gas I wanted more power and acceleration that's also budget friendly.

After some quick research online on how to squeeze as much inexpensive (inexpensive being the key word here) horsepower out of my R6 as possible, I came across a sprocket power-up kit ($250.00). I personally chose...
...a Driven sprocket due to the fact that they offered a wide variety of colors and they look great.

As for my chain I chose the RK 520. My 2006 R6 comes with a 525 chain size and the Driven/RK sprocket "power-up kit" is a 520 conversion. That might not seem like much but every little bit helps squeeze out some hidden acceleration. The 520 chain not only reduces weight by 4lbs it offers a big improvement in acceleration, deceleration, braking and handling. Not to mention it looks good too!

As for the front and back sprockets I decided to go 1down-2up(-1/+2). Now I didn’t have the tools (or experience) to perform the 520 conversion so...

I took it into Diamond Motor Sports for a professional install. And let me tell you it was well worth it!

Once installed I couldn't wait to get her out on the road.

Acceleration from a stand still was remarkably faster than the stock setup and roll-on acceleration pulls just as hard if not harder!! Lifting the front end up is considerably easier in first gear and even highway speed wheelies on the 600 are now possible with the right amount of finesse! (Not that I recommend doing wheelies, but lets just say the front end comes up A LOT quicker!)

However, what I found with the new sprocket gearing is that my speedometer and odometer was completely off. With my -1/+2 ratio the speedometer showed roughly 12mph faster than I was actually going, which obviously was going to throw off my odometer readings too.

To compensate for this I highly recomend a SpeedoHealer from HealTech Electronics Ltd. ($115.00) (SpeedoHealer v4) SpeedoHealer is one slick piece of electronics. It’s a plug and play device that plugs directly into your 3p plug. Cailbrating and programming your SpeedoHealer to your correct sprocket gearing is fairly straightforward thanks to their online calculator.

Once you have it set up properly you can regain 100% accuracy in your speedometer and odometer readings. In addition, SpeedoHealer has a Top Speed Memory button you can press to display your last true top speed on your speedometer. SpeedoHealer will fit almost every bike on the market.

If you have an older bike and aren’t interested in resale value you can just have someone pace with you to get your true speed. However, if you’re thinking about selling your bike someday the $115.00 price-tag is money well spent to keep your bike from depreciating that much faster.

So there you go!! Looking to gain some affordable, inexpensive power and improved handling out of your 600cc motorcycle? Then look no further, the 520 conversion and power up kit is the way to go! Good Luck and Ride Safe!