VOL. 55 ISSUE 41 OCTOBER 16, 2018 P59
J
ust when you thought
the supersport market
was dead and buried,
Kawasaki comes to the rescue
with a new ZX-6R. Well, sort
of. The 2019 Kawasaki ZX-6R
does indeed look different
compared to the last ZX-6R,
which can trace its roots back
almost a decade ago, but
underneath it's still very
similar to what was on sale
in 2018.
That's not entirely a bad
thing, because the 636cc
ZX-6R is still one of the best
all-around street sport bikes
money can buy—we say
"street" because, at 636cc,
you can't really race this thing
anywhere thanks to its 36cc
extra capacity over the com-
petition.
Starting with the most obvi-
ous change is the bodywork.
Unlike many bikes that look to
their larger capacity brethren
for cosmetic inspiration,
Kawasaki has instead taken
design cues from their Junior
Cup weapon in the Ninja
400, with the now twin LED
headlight-equipped front fair-
ing looking suspiciously like
the 400 that debuted earlier
this year. The seat unit, also
featuring a new LED taillight,
is slightly sharper and angled
taller than the 2018 piece,
although the gas tank looks
the same as before.
Under the new fairing and
bodywork sits a now Euro
4 compliant 636cc inline
four-cylinder motor measur-
ing 67.0 x 45.1mm that's the
same as in 2018, but the
final drive ratio has been
changed from a 16-tooth
front and 43-tooth rear
sprocket to 15 front/43 rear
to give a bit more bottom-end
performance. Also new for
2019 is Kawasaki has fitted
the Kawasaki Quick Shift
(KQS) system as standard
for clutchless up (not down)
gear shifts.
Chassis is basically un-
changed. As for electronics,
you get the ABS, Kawasaki
TRaction Control (KTRC),
two power modes in Full and
Low and the quickshifter.
It's not the full makeover
we'd hoped for but the fact
Kawasaki is even doing
anything with their aging
supersport machine shows
they haven't given up on the
segment just yet. CN
6R
