According to a top Japanese magazine and an image of the patent drawing, the next generation middleweight from Yamaha, the R6, is expected to look largely similar to the R1.
The mock-up image of the new bike’s front end on the cover of the magazine is a near copy of the R1. There is also an actual patent image that has already been spied for the Yamaha motorcycle filed for production in 2017. At first, the image looked like an update for the R1. But after close inspection, it became clear that this motorcycle in the drawings might look like an R1, but there were subtle differences that pointed towards this being a different motorcycle.
This patent image reveals a new headlight bracket from Yamaha and a lower windscreen and minimal tweaks to the bodywork, including changes to the lower fairing. The inputs from the Japanese magazine along with the details from the patent image, make it seem perfectly feasible for this bike to be the next generation R6.