Conflicting information on changes \ years

[override67]

What year did Yamaha make the changes to the front brake \ rear tire \ engine etc... ?

The wiki on here is telling me 94 was the first year for the changes, I've been under the impression that 93 had the newer caliper and other updated parts.

Can anyone with a 93 verify for me which set of equipment they've got? I've got the opportunity to replace my top end cheap but it involves a bit of driving to check it out.

I've got a 99 (should be 5 valves) and the parts bike is a 93 (might be 4 valves)

Thanks in advance

[DonTZ125]

I'm not a SME on the 600s, but I'm pretty sure the FZR600 (not 600R aka YZF600) was pretty much unchanged from 93 to 99. The 600s were all 4-valve, although 1000s and perhaps the 750s had 5-valve engines.

[sweekster]

To elaborate on what Don just said (thanks Don btw) The US Spec FZR 89-99 didn't go through very many changes. There were a few things changed in 90. The rear wheel was widened to 4.5 inches. The oiling system went to a spin on filter. The brakes went to 4 pot in the front. There were a few electrical updates as well (I can't recall what they were though). From 90 on the only real significant changes were the front fairing in 91 and 92 going to the single head light (which was scrapped and the bike returned to the dual in 93) and the rectifier/regulator being updated for 95. The engines were always 4 valve. Now, earlier I said "US Spec". Things can get confusing after 94. The reason being is, pretty much the rest of the world got the FZR600's replacement, known as the FZR600R, in 95. For the US, well we'll say North America, the FZR600R was ADDED to the line up as the "YZF600R" (aka Fox Eye YZF). That bike was updated in late 96 with new bodywork and utilizing a ram air setup on the carbs. The name remained YZF600R here but the rest of the world got the "ThunderCat".
All that dribble pretty much sums up why you'll see an FZR600 manual saying it covers "89-93". A 93 FZR600 is basically the same as a 99 FZR600 with the exception of paint schemes and the regulator/rectifier. That was pretty much a "jist" of what's what. Someone more willing to delve deeper and elaborate more will probably chime in.

Hope that helps

[override67]

Thanks for the replies guys, now I can go get this new head!

[ragedigital]

Someone more willing to delve deeper and elaborate more will probably chime in.

I'd say you did a pretty darn good job there, Duane.