The new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, Revving it High
<img width="200" height="151" class="floatleft" src="motorcycle.in.th/images/articles/The-new-Kawasaki-Ninja-ZX-6R_Revving-it_1.jpeg" alt="" />The 2010 Kawasaki ZX-6R harder, sharper and more track focused then ever before. The new Kawasaki ZX-6R challenges you to a fight down at the local race track. The Kawasaki ZX-6R is a bike that unashamedly aimed at the track day rider, race replica nut and experienced road rider. What they're saying , then, is it's not for novices.Kawasaki Thailand did not yet introduced the Ninja ZX-6R on the Thai market, so we visited Kawasaki Malaysia to see the machine with our own eyes. To be truthful Kawasaki didn't really need to go through so much explaining to tell us that the Kawasaki ZX-6R is track focused. Just look at the specifications of the ZX-6R, the bike is powered by a liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, 4-cylinder, DOHC, 16-valves 599cc engine, taking its fuel from 4 Keihin TTK38 throttle bodies and this all is good for a power production of 128 horses in the rear wheel. The engine with its short skirt pistons can rev up to a dizzying 16,500rpm.
The Kawasaki engine is a beauty, with the use of lighter components, and redesigning Kawasaki engineers have created one of the most compact 600cc engines ever.
The Kawasaki ZX-6R likes to rev, it feels that it revs faster then the Ninja ZX-10R. To get the Ninja ZX-6R engine singing you need to get the rev-counter to showing over 6000rpm. At 8000rpm things start to speed up, by 10,000rpm it's really getting interesting, at 12,000rpm you're starting to think if this was a good idea while the Kawasaki ZX-6R really starts to fly and at around 14,000rpm both you and the Ninja ZX-6R are screaming like a heavy-metal band while the bike is pumping its full horsepower on the tarmac.
<img width="220" height="137" class="floatright" src="motorcycle.in.th/images/articles/The-new-Kawasaki-Ninja-ZX-6R_Revving-it_2.jpeg" alt="" />Honestly once the Kawasaki ZX-6R engine is in its sweet spot the bike really does fly. The gear ratios are perfectly spaced so the power never drops out of the power zone. Another excellent characteristic is the amount of over-rev the Kawasaki engineers have left in the engine, meaning you can hang on to a gear and let the engine scream past without the rev limiter halting the built-up. This may not sound like a great feature to most riders, but on track it could save a few gear changes, which wastes valuable time.
The combination of the impressive pressed-aluminum perimeter chassis and excellent slipper clutch keep it perfect balanced when braking hard, and when I say hard I mean hard because the dual front disc and single rear disc radial brakes are ferociously powerful with loads of feel.
Although we didn't get to ride the Kawasaki ZX-6R on the public road (insurance issues) the very nature of its engine means it will be hard work away from the track, we recommend potential buyers to take some sort of meditation to learn to resist the always demanding throttle.
If you more a rider who doesn't lives for revs then a more all-round alternative can be found in the Kawasaki Ninja 650R or its naked brother the Kawasaki ER-6N.
