1998 Yamaha Thundercat 600cc
Brought this bike as my first ‘Big bike’. Looks wise it was a bit dated even for a ’98 with it’s Cyclops like angular headlamp and color scheme in silver and yellow. It was however far from dated in performance and handling.
The bike had a bit over 92bhp. The 24-valve 600cc engine pumped out plenty of mid-range for easy roll-on overtaking and delivered some really smooth acceleration. Keep the engine spinning above 9000 and this Cat moved like a scalded pussy (and sounded great with the Scorpion end can I had on!). Top speed I reached on it was a bit over 145 but the book says it should do over 160mph.
The Cat is a lot more comfortable to ride over long distances quickly and after a few 300+ mile rides, I was fresh and had no wrist ache. The Thundercat corners pretty well too, due to the stiff steel Deltabox chassis
The brakes are fecking awesome, and come straight from the R1 – a great feature for a big bike newbie who likes to get out of trouble faster than he gets in to it!!!!
