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/1542351
---] FOURTH PI.ACC 87 Points f, L CHAElElISI/HANElLING XEY FEATURES . Fully adjustable Showa 4lmm inverted fork . Braced swingarm . Petal-style brake rotors . Radial-mount front brake calipers The Kawasaki was a welcome surprise on Buatonwillow's 2o-plus-turn racetrack- Th€ bike w;s insEntly confidence inspiring ard easy to ride due to tood midcomer srabiliry The chassis fek exceptionally compliant with the sus- pension workint very well on the bumH,/ track. "One of, if not $e most, plush fork in (he group," Sorensen said. "h's super smooth over bumps. making $em feel almos( like (hey weren't tltere. The bike w?s precise with line selection, but kind ofwobby in terms of fronr- end ritidiry. One area that a few of the testers commen(- ed on was dre lack of straight-line stabiliq,/ from the front end. "Headshake war a bit ofa problem with the Kawasaki, at least for me" C.rruthers said. We tried some different stuff wirh that bike and llnally made it better." The Ninja doesn't have a steerint damper. becaus€ with the stock tires it iust i'n't neces- sary On the track-compound Dunlop Sportmax GPs the 6R becarne a little livelier than we're used to, shaking its head violenrt while hard on the throttle in a few sections. However. le-en the bike into Bur@nwillow's fast Riverside riSht-handei and the .ombination of VITAL STATISTICS Measured wet weight: 426 lb. Peak horsepower: 107.46 hp Peak torque; 48.77 ft.-lb. Weight-to-power ratio: 3.96 lb./hp Fastest lap time: 1:59.98 (Sorensenl Ouarter-mile time: 1O.55 @ 131 .85 mph price: $8699 tie Kaw-asaki's stable chassis and the Dunlop tire's exaellent trip, gave the rider tons of con- fidence. "Jirrn-in was 8rcat on this bike; it wEs both neutral and precise," PueE said. "The Ninjawas Perfectt), at home on its side and the plushest of the bunch." The 6R spons radial-rnount calipers squeez- in8 on the petal-shaped rotors and received mixed reMews. "The Ninia's brakes had plent,, of powei" Sorensen said. "But a bit of a soft, spongy f€el and not the hardest initial bite." On lhe street, the Kawasaki wes also veD/ imp.essive, with most of the riders cornmenting about rhe Ninia's comfort. "One of the most comfortable and plush seats combined wth a fart uprithr ridint posi- tion makes th€ ZX-5R tood for all sizes of rid- erc," Sorensen said, Once 48ain eveD/one complained about the tachometer on the Ninia. Hopefully, the bike will 8et the new tach $at the ZX- l0R received for 2006 in the ne2r fu(ure. ''Very comfortable," Monuno added. "You could ride it all day, and ic's nice on the track as well." T T - - 6R'r racetrack performance is furlher enhanced. ''The engine is definitely the str€n8th of the Kawi, coupled with rhe great slipper clutch," Puetz said. " lt's a tough combo to beat." The fuel-injection delivery is excellent - both on the street and on the track - and re.eived high marks from all the testers. The 6R doesn't rev as freely as the Yamaha, but it still pulls really hard up lop, The obvi- ous advantage that the Ninia has is that extra oomph off the corner provided by the extra torque that 37cc more Sives the entine. lCs not the kind of torque that the Ducati provides, but it makes the bike pull hard€r much lower in the rev rante. "The 6R has smooth delivery with a tood hit of power in the mid- to uppel.-mid- rev ran8e,'r Sorensen said. "You could let the engine dip down a bit in the revs and it had the Srunt to pull back up." On the street the Ninia's enSine is excel- lent, pulling away from stopliShts or trick- ling alon8 at lower rpms doesn't affect the 6R - it's a Sreat compromise for everyday riding. At the drat strip, the Kawasaki smoked the other bikes. The combination of tood torque, excellent top-end power and a great clutch made h easy to launch, netting the quickest ET Even when the launch wasn't perfect, the 6R was able to keep the revs up and gunt its way through. CYCLE NEWS APR|L r 2, 2006 33 Maxpowen - l07il6 : Ma,( Iiritiid: i6:ir- - -: KAWASAKI ZX-6FI Engine Speed (RPM x 1000) r"l Good mid- ro upper-rev power Slipper clutch Very comfortable streer bike Feels big Everyone hates the tach Doesn't feel as precise PclStTtVESt NEGATIVES KAWASAKI ZX-E,P' ,t ,tll t' 1:-*' 2 rAl* <. :'- f I \ I ENGINE KEY FEATURES: . Slipper clutch . 636cc engine . Secondary shower-style fuel iniectors in oval throttle bodies When talk lurns to oversized middleweights. don't forSet that Kawasaki wrote the book on it. When their original 635 came out, the other companies cried folrl. Bu( as lime passed, the squawkint has ceased and the ZX-6R is simply credited for what rr really is - a great overall package. A year ago only the $22,000 Ducati 749R made moae power than the Kawesaki, and that, obviously, wasn't a fair comparison. Fast forward to 2006 and the 6R has a whole lot more competition. Re8a.dless of displace- ment, suddenly the ZX-6R is surrounded by motorcycles making roughly the same power. Even the Nvo new 600s (Yamaha and Suzuki) are only a horsepower shy of the big-bore zx-6R. When it comes to racetrack performance, the 6R walks the walk. lts little brother, the ZX-6RR (600cc), has made a huSe impact in Al'1A Supersport racing over the past couple of years with Tommy Hayden takint the ritle last ),ear and his brothe( Roter Lee, right on his heels in second. ln the case of its bitger brother, the ZX- G I -- ) a ro! : 9"u o G -- Etr j -i o' izr