The Yamaha YZF-R6 is an impossible thing. That?s a lie, of course. The tuning-fork company?s been selling the same basic bike since 2008. And each of the big-four Japanese bike companies builds what?s known in the industry as a ?supersport??a machine with a fairing that sticks your ass up in the air like a presenting baboon and places your hands roughly at axle height. But I had not ridden a GSX-R 600, a Ninja 636, or a CBR 600R. Nor had anybody been foolish enough to offer me a seat on one. Until Nick Ienatsch showed up at Thermal.

Left to right: YCRS instructors Nick Ienatsch and Kyle Wyman.
MotoAmerica had invited a group of journalists down for a press orientation day at the private racetrack just north of the benighted Salton Sea. As part of the day?s proceedings, Ienatsch and his Yamaha Champions Riding School compatriots showed up to offer some abridged lessons on grip and body position. I was by far the slowest person on the track on the entry-level R3. I fared a bit better on the FZ-09, by dint of the big triple?s broad powerband, but I was still the back marker of my session. Finally, Ienatsch and my pal Chris goaded me into getting on the R6. ?Just leave it in fourth,? Chris advised. ?It?ll do the whole track in fourth.? I left the line, upshifted thrice, and around the track I went. At one point, I looked down at the dash. I was only using 7000 RPM. There was, like, a whole ?nother tachometer?s worth of digits left! I got to the short track?s longest straight...