Kawasaki ZX-6R

Think back to the '80s. Try to forget about that haircut, crook clobber and Pseudo Echo and stick to bikes. What do you picture when you think of the word Kawasaki? GPz900R, 750 turbo, KR500? Now think '90s: ZXR750, ZZ-R1100, and original ZX-6R... Stove-hot, sports tackle - for that time anyway.

It starts to drop off then doesn't it? The ZX-7R was lovely but almost before its release was overtaken. In showrooms across this wide brown land sportsbike buyers started shopping elsewhere.

Well, if the brains trust at Kawasaki has its way, all that's about to change. The Big K's going back to its 'core roots' and in a big way. No bones about it and no smoke and mirrors. The factory has adopted performance as its doctrine, doubly when it comes to the middleweight class. Speed, power and handling - sounds like fun...

Enter the 2003 Kawasaki ZX-6R and ZX-6RR. And, following two days at the world launch in Malaysia, I reckon Special K has got the mix just right. While the middleweight class is chockers with good stuff, well, the new green meanies are going to send opposing engineers back to the drawing board to order 44 gallon drums of midnight oil. Big time.

As the vice president of the corporate marketing division of Kawasaki Motors Europe (try saying that with a mouthful of marbles) Geoff Selvidge put it to the world's bike media at the launch in Malaysia: "We decided to get back to our core strength - performance."

There's little doubt that Kawasaki expects the new Sixes to help it grab a stranglehold on the ultra competitive sports middleweight class. And it has every reason to hold its head high and strut about - the new ZX-6R is a very, very competent tool and the smaller capacity, even harder-edged ZX-6RR gives Brand K a very serious platform when looking for racetrack success.

Given this performance brief, our introduction to the bikes was entirely track-based. No namby-pamby road ride into the steamy hinterland around Kuala Lumpur for this little lime green duck. Nup, it was straight to the wonderful Sepang circuit at full noise...

BACK TO THE FUTURE
So, just what have we got here then? Two lighter and quicker, deadset, full nine yards, blue riband sports bikes for a start. No pretense to anything else whatsoever. Hardcore? Yep.

Styling is clearly based on the marque's MotoGP mount and in the cockpit there's a swish looking bar-type LCD tacho, adjustable shift light and lap timer. Once again, the focus is clear. Sports, sports, sports... The differences between the ZX-6 and the ZX-6RR are significant, though not to the naked eye. The ZX-6R carries over the 636cc displacement of last year's 6R, while the ZX-6RR is a limited production race-oriented machine with engine and componentry aimed smack-bang at 600cc class racing.

Fact is Kawasaki is not looking for big street bike sales volume from the RR and numbers in Oz are likely to be very limited. The seller is going to be the R and after riding both bikes, that makes perfect sense. More on that a little later.

Both bikes have all-new, lightweight aluminium frames with a central Ram Air duct, revised steering geometry and new sub-frames. There are inverted front forks, radial-mounted front brake calipers, lighter wheels and the aforementioned instrument package.

The new fuel-injected engines pump out more power in both versions. They are lighter, rev harder and are more compact and it'd be easier to say what's not new than list all the improvements.

The ZX-6RR's 599cc engine gets a shorter stroke, lighter crank, forged pistons and a back-torque limiter for the clutch. On the chassis front, the racer gets an adjustable swingarm pivot and the optional race kit offers a whole bunch of tuning parts, including a programmable ECU.

START YOUR ENGINES
Sepang is a very technical track, but get it right and it's fast and rewarding. Playing host to both the Formula One and MotoGP circuses, put simply, it's in pristine nick.

The 5.5km long track boasts a 900m-plus front straight - enough for me to see 235km/h on the 6R before braking hard for the super-tight right hand hairpin. I'm sure the quicker among the launch group saw a fair bit more than that, but I'm old and ugly enough to realise my fastest laps are behind me.

Apart from outright speed, the first thing that hits home about the 6R is how compact everything is. You feel like you 'own' the thing immediately upon stepping aboard. Dry weight of 161kg is on par with Yamaha's class-leading R6. With the sports 600s these days think Kate Moss, rather than Sophie Dahl.

Everything is Goldilocks (sized just right) and you never feel like you are going to be relegated to the role of mounted-spectator - the very feeling that turns many off litre class bikes. Handlebars feel low but they are still mounted above the top yoke and while the pegs are rearset the seating position is not too extreme. The seat itself is well shaped for climbing from side to side when in track mode.

It's hard to tell on the track but I'm sure longer road stints needn't result in your chiropractor putting a new wing on the beach house.

I'd decided Day One was going to be about bringing the hardware back to the manufacturer looking like it should and the tractability and balance of the 636 version made learning Sepang's layout a snap.

Indeed, it's a very rideable bike. User-friendly, it pulls from down low (which in 600-land represents quite an achievement) and belies its purported narrow-focus. Don't forget what Kawasaki is aiming at here, yep the P word - performance. That the bike is not an all-or-nothing top-end screamer with neck-breaking, wrist-snapping ergos is a real bonus.

Power goes all the way to the 15,500rpm redline, however, initially the fun was cut short by an over-zealous shift light. Though adjustable, mine was coming on around 1500rpm too early. Other bikes' telltales were set higher and riders reported using and enjoying using the light. I didn't...

Brakes. A joy - simple as that. The shmicko-looking radial-mounted calipers pull the 6R up like there's no tomorrow and feel is as good as it gets.

With suspension set-up standard on day one and OEM Michelin Pilot Sports fitted, the bike felt fine, however, day two saw race compound Michies fitted and suspensions fiddled for optimum track performance. Time to have a go.

In short, everyone's lap times tumbled and the bike went from great to outstanding. The rubber was simply sensational with confidence levels enhanced hugely by the great grip on offer. No moments, didn't even look like having one.

It was in this guise that I spent time aboard the ZX-6RR, but I have to say I was slower on the 'race' bike than the streeter.

In basic terms, the RR needs a whole lot more commitment from the rider. Potentially faster, its narrower powerband means that at anything less than ten tenths it is slower than the 636. Nope, give me the 636 all day...

THE WASH-UP
So, should the new ZX-6R be on your shopping list? Well, if you are looking for a bike you can confidently ride quickly, that looks good and is highly likely to give a trouble-free run, yes. It's not a tourer (obviously), so don't expect it to behave like one, but it makes for a very nice road bike and you'll fix up most of your mates on their litre bikes for a lot less money.

The RR? Well, if you are going racing or you're a rideday nut whose happy on the mat, for sure. For my money? Get the 636 version and be happy...