VOL. 50 ISSUE 34 AUGUST 27, 2013
2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R
tent and up top the Ninja surges
well past its 600 rivals. On the
street power gains from the 6%
displacement kick are not jawdropping dramatic, but enough
to discern right away once behind the controls.
Adam flogged the Ninja to impressive results down the Chuckwalla airstrip, where the ZX-6
claims the fastest 0-60 time at
3.49 seconds. In the quarter-
mile it trails only the zippy Honda
with its 11.17 second result.
A seamless power delivery
gets that extra power to the
ground. Riders aren't overwhelmed by the extra oomph,
but if they do find the Kawi too
much to deal with – they can
toggle between the variable Hi
and Low engine maps. The latter
setting maintains the Ninja's burly
bottom end, but restricts top-end
power by 20%. Our high-performance satyrs kept the Hi setting
in place, but the Low makes for a
more manageable ride in low-key
settings like the city or freeway
commutes.
"Power output is spot on with
the ZX-6R." says Adey, before
acknowledging the one knock on
the Ninja powerplant. "But it does
sound like any other 600..."
Admitted Ducatisti Massimo
agrees, "Being used to Ducati, the Kawasaki engine feels
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smooth and responsive at all
ranges, and that's a pro. But
the ZX-6R sounds like a stereotypical Japanese bike."
Also stereotypical is the sixspeed transmission, for which
smooth is a redundant modifier
amongst the Japanese models.
The Ninja drivetrain does stand
out in a couple ways, however,
as its clutch lever pull is amazingly light – garnering praise
from some and critique from
others.
Kawasaki has been the most
aggressive amongst the Japanese OEMs in introducing traction control to its production
models. Debuted on the Concours 14 sport-touring mount,
Kawasaki's Traction Control
System (KTRC) has since migrated in various forms on the
Ninja models, including the ZX14, ZX-10R literbike and now
the ZX-6R. The 6R system of-
