Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128360
, nimble than I remember the old bike feeling. The seating position is much more comfortable on the new bike; the seat is much flatter and no longer sends your "boys" crashing into the back of the tank under hard braking. Another cool addition is the gripper material similar to that on most of the new motocross bikes, which helps keep you from sliding around too much. I still hate the LCD tachometer because I think it's too difficult to read in daylight, especially if the sun is behind you. You may think that the under-the-seat exhaust thing is just a styling trend, but it's really just another trick to improve aerodynamics. As a matter of fact, the ZX-6R is the most aerodynamic motorcycle Kawasaki has ever made. In addition to tricks like hiding the exhaust, Kawasaki spent endless hours perfecting the bodywork, including the front fender and lower fairing that extends all the way back to the swingarm. The end result is a bike with a 15-percent-better coefficient of drag, and Kawasaki claims this is the equivalent of 10 horsepower at 160 mph. Helping keep the rider out of the wind is a more protective windscreen and a concave . tank similar to the ZX-IOR's, which helps get your helmet lower and out of the airflow. One thing that you can thank the United States Department of Transportation for are the hideous turn signals both front and rear. The Europeanspec bikes that were also on hand featured very attractive flushmount front signals integrated into the fairings, and the rear signals had much shorter stalks. That would be my only styling complaint as far as the bodywork is concerned. The bike is available in four colors: Lime Green/Flat Stoic Black, Metallic Raw Titanium/Flat Stoic Black, Candy Plasma Blue/Flat Stoic Black and Pearl Magma Red/Flat Stoic Black. Thp' ZX-6R will retail for $B599. This year's Middleweight Shootout should be a real tough one, but with so many good bikes to choose from, the consumer is the real winner. The fact that Kawasaki addressed everything that we compialned about a year ago makes me think that the ZX-6R should be a favorite going into our comparison test. Stay tuned. eN SPECIFICATIONS 2005 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R LIST PRICE $8S99 DISPLACEMENT 636cc ENGINE TYPE .. Liquid-cooled, 16-valve, in-line four-cylinder, DOHC four-stroke BORE x STROKE 68 x 43.8mm COMPRESSION RATIO 12.9:1 CARBURETION EFI w/38mm throttle bodies IGNITION Digital TRANSMISSION Six-speed STARTING SYSTEM Electric FUel CAPACITY .4.5 gal. WHEELBASE 54.7 in. RAKEITRAIL 25°/106.68mm SEAT HEIGHT 32.3 in. FRONT TIRE 120/65-17 REAR TIRE 180/S5-17 FRONT-WHEEL TRAVEL .4.7 in. REAR-WHEEL TRAVEL 5.2 in. FRONT BRAKE Dual disc REAR BRAKE .Disc FINAL DRIVE Chain CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT 362 Ibs.