Kawasaki ZX-6R

"First off I'd like to apologise to some members of the group, especially Mr Wootton - the entertainment from 1993 has been changed! I hope that won't upset you unduly...

"Also, this is the first time an international press launch has been held at Sepang. It's got a long, fast straight and Turn One is very tricky, with a big gravel trap. It's easy to make a mistake and run off. Take note Mr Wootton...

"The man doing the talking was the Vice President of Kawasaki's Coporate Marketing Division, Geoff Selvidge, and he was getting in early with a few quick jabs at the expense of yours truly.

The venue was the impressive Sepang Grand Prix circuit just outside Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, quite a fitting venue for the 'Return of the Ninja'.

Previous 'entertainment' escapades aside (thanks for the very public reminder, Geoff!), the last time I was in Malaysia for a bike launch was in 1993 for Kawasaki's ZX-9R Ninja at the Shah Alam circuit.

This latest ZX-6R might also be called a Ninja, but that's where the similarities end.

CORE VALUES
This new model marks a return to Kawasaki's core values of performance and engineering excellence," explained Selvidge."Past Kawasaki models have been a compromise between road and performance, and we've been unfairly criticised as a result," added Selvidge.

"There'll be a concentration on performance for the new model year - 'A New World Of Performance' is our slogan for 2003.

"Selvidge's comments are pretty much spot on. Certainly this magazine has extolled the virtues of Kawasaki's sportsbikes as a good roadbikes, but they've fallen short in recent years when taken to the track for performance shootouts. Witness AMCN's Supersport comparo early in 2001, or the Masterbike shootout earlier this year.

Both the ZX-9R and ZX-6R have been left behind by more track-focused opposition, and Kawasaki has changed its sportsbike philosophy as a result. Strange as it may seem, Kawasaki is responding to the very criticisms which AMCN has raised in 'performance' testing of the Ninja line-up in recent years- criticisms that didn't make AMCN all too popular with Kawasaki dealers or the local distributor.

"Customer research has shown us that owners want track performance, but in a street legal package," adds Selvidge.That's certainly a lot different to building a good sports roadbike that can be taken to the track. Yep, the Kawasaki engineers have performed a 180-degree U-turn, and the Green Meanies are back in town.

DETERMINED APPROACH
In fact, so determined is the factory to move to the head of the performance class that it has released two versions of the ZX-6R for 2003 - a 636cc 'road' version and a 599cc ZX-6RR variation for World Supersport racing.

The RR has not been built as a volume seller, but solely to go racing. In showroom-stock form it develops less horsepower than the 636cc ZX-6R, and my time in the saddle at Sepang underlined Kawasaki's reasoning for building two bikes. Believe it or not, but the 636 is the nicer of the two to ride, and ultimately it was also the faster around the circuit. Can't beat cubes I guess.

And it wasn't just me - everyone at the launch lapped quicker on the 636 than they did on the RR.

Chassiswise there's little difference between them, with the RR getting an adjustable swingarm pivot and steering damper boss. Brakes, suspension and chassis geometry is the same.

The RR has 5ps less than the 636, and with less torque it needs careful attention to final gearing to get the best out of it, especially when looking for drive off the turns.

Having said that, the RR initially felt like it had more power due to the top-end rush the powerplant delivers. In effect it was actually the weaker mid-range accentuating the top-end, rather than any surge of hidden ram-air neddies.

AMAZINGLY SVELTE
Kawasaki claims an amazingly svelte 161kg (dry) for its Ninja 6R, placing it at the head of the class. There's no doubt the new model feels appreciably smaller than the 636 it is replacing, although I'm undecided as to whether the Kawasaki matches Yamaha's R6 in 'smallness'. We'll have to get them together before making a judgement on that score. That smallness is reflected in the fairing screen - if I was going to fit behind it I would have had to carry my head in a bag on the ducktail. Interestingly the racebike had a higher bubble screen to keep the rider out of the breeze. What's it coming to when racebikes have to fit more protective screens than their roadbike donor bikes!

There's no doubt the latest ZX-6R is a step up in nimbleness and responsiveness, with the 'saggy bum' feel of the old model replaced by a much sharper motorcycle.

On day one of the launch we used Michelin Pilot Sport radials - good quality sports street rubber. Then for day two we swapped to Michelin Pilot Race rubber, and the lap times came down by three to four seconds per lap. The difference was impressive.

STICKY OPTION
The stickier rubber allowed greater exploration of cornering clearance, suspension adjustment (ie higher cornering forces need altered suspension settings) and braking.

No complaints on the latter, the radial-mount calipers offering plenty of power and feel.

It wasn't all roses though, and the digital tacho was particularly hard to read. Thankfully there's a standard fitment programmable shiftlight, which kept winking at the opportune time.

The gearboxes on all the bikes I sampled were quite notchy, which I put down to heavily undercut dogs. However, I didn't miss a single shift over two days and twelve 20-minute sessions (try that in 40-degree Malaysian heat!). Mind you, the top of my left foot was getting a tad sore.

Neutral was difficult to find at rest, a further indication of the undercutting in the pursuit of positive selection.

Rather surprisingly I couldn't detect any appreciable difference between the 636 with its standard clutch, and the RR with its slipper clutch. In road trim, they were much of a muchness, something which French gun Bertrand Sebilau (1997 French Supersport champ, and French Superbike Championship runner-up in 1998 and 2000) agreed with.

"I cannot feel the slipper clutch - there is no chattering on either bike," said Sebilau.

In racekit form it may be a different matter, especially with the higher revs a free-breathing RR will pull.

CHANGE OF PHILOSOPHY
Initial impressions suggest that Kawasaki has a winner on its hands with the latest ZX-6R - both on the track and in the sales charts. In a change of recent philosophy, it's built a bike specifically for the track, and then modded it for road use.

The last time Kawasaki built a bike like that was with the ZX-7R (1996), itself a development of the ZXR750 - both bikes that achieved considerable success on the world's racetracks.

Both ZX-6 Ninja models should arrive Down Under in December, with the ZX-6RR having undergone full compliance to make it eligible for Australian Supersport racing as well as road-going registration. Prices are yet to be set.

The fact that I didn't end up in the gravel trap at Sepang in 2002 speaks volumes for the bike. The fact that there was no Malaysian 'entertainment' a la 1993 speaks volumes for where Kawasaki's priorities lie with the Return Of The Ninja. God damn it...