Motorcycling Blog

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R

Kawasaki’s engineers were given a clean slate to produce the best ever supersports Ninja for the 600cc class. They strived tirelessly to meet their goal. Scores of race victories for the Ninja ZX-6RR and the success of the best-selling Ninja ZX-6R, gave the singular focus and pedigree for an all-new 599cc model built to dominate the race track.

The development of the new Ninja ZX-6R started with a clean slate: pure performance offered by one 599 cm³ supersport model instead of two like the years before. Born for the track, the new Ninja ZX-6R corners like bikes of half its displacement but possesses a meaty mile-wide powerband.

The Ninja ZX-6R’s all-new ultra-high-rpm engine with polished intake ports churns out way more mid-range torque than its predecessors. The result is a nice fat powerband with a linear power curve, for hard-hitting acceleration across the rev range. No other machine in its class offers such an impressive amount of smooth, step-free power, and no other machine revs higher than the new Ninja ZX-6R. Specially designed for ultra-low friction, the compact in-line four delivers highly responsive throttle control, making it easier for riders to adjust their speed and line while cornering.

In developing the Ninja ZX-6R’s chassis, the Kawasaki engineers concentrated on designing a machine that allows high corner entry speed and high mid-corner speed. Like a bike with much smaller displacement, the Ninja ZX-6R’s compact, lightweight chassis allows it to maintain its cornering speed throughout the turn – this is what makes it so much quicker than the other bikes in its class. Cornering speed control is further enhanced by a perfectly balanced combination of slipper clutch and powerful radial-mounted brake calipers. Complementing this track-oriented package are fully adjustable front and rear suspension units and the best aerodynamic package ever.

As a result the new Ninja ZX-6R offers the power of a high-performance 600 mated with the nimble handling characteristics of a small-displacement racer – a combination that will put this bike at the head of the pack in 2007.