2024 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R Overview | Bike Take a look at

2024 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R Overview

Bike evaluation by Rennie Scaysbrook

What’s one of the best ways to idiot folks about your age when the years creep up?

In the event you answered, “Get a facelift”, you’d be proper.

A facelift, at the very least on human topics, is a surgical process that includes the elimination of extra facial fats, the tightening of facial muscle mass, and the trimming of facial pores and skin to approximate a smoother, firmer facial look, in line with John Hopkins Drugs.

In bike phrases, a facelift usually means not more than “Daring New Graphics” or the extra surgically intensive “Daring New Styling”, the latter of which Kawasaki has largely chosen for the brand new 2024 Ninja ZX-6R.

Whereas the ’24 6R is similar to what you might get final yr, simply saying “Daring New Styling” may be doing it a little bit of a disservice. Sure, the styling is fortunately redone — I wasn’t a fan of the long-nose 2023 version — and in case you squint actually onerous, the brand new front-end virtually appears like a contemporary interpretation of the very first 636 from 2003, the yr Kawasaki instructed everybody else to go soar and constructed a 36 cc bigger bike than the remainder of the category.

LED lights and indicators reside within the entrance of the ZX-6R, and also you’ve been given the 4.3-inch TFT show extra generally discovered on the ZX-10R, Versys 1000, and many others. That sprint provides you entry to the Kawasaki Rideology app, a bit I’m not sure what number of riders truly use. It does permit you to log your trip, change your bike’s map, and many others, so perhaps I’m being somewhat pessimistic. Or simply tech deaf.

As has been the case for a few years, you’re solely going to get your Kawasaki in 636 cc, the supersport race rule makers way back letting Group Inexperienced off the hook for his or her opposite capability. Hey, Ducati has been at this sport for many years, and with the 636, the Japanese lastly managed to get considered one of their very own again.

So the 6R has had a bike facelift. So what? It’s nonetheless an exceptionally good bike, even within the onslaught of next-generation supersport rides just like the Ducati Panigale V2, Triumph Avenue Triple 765 RS and the MV Agusta F3 800. One may argue Kawasaki had these new supersport guidelines discovered 20 years in the past, saying the bigger capability makes for a greater highway bike. On that time, it’s onerous to argue with them.

The 636 has been a a rock within the supersport class and, although I’d held out hope for a capability hike and a wonderful return to the ZX-7R nomenclature, Kawasaki feels the 636 identify is worthy of maintaining.

Australia is but to completely embrace the next-gen supersport guidelines for racing, lagging behind WorldSSP, BSB, and MotoAmerica in implementing them, however even with these race sequence permitting larger capability machines within the class, the 636 has remained aggressive.

Does that imply you’re getting extra efficiency in your 2024 ZX-6R? Not precisely.

Kawasaki has highlighted new, high-lift cam profiles for the ’24 6R with a unique consumption and exhaust aimed toward boosting low rpm efficiency for avenue use and to assist the motor get by way of the ever-tightening noose of European emissions.

Discover how I stated high-lift, and never higher-lift? The 2024 cams have much less raise and a shorter period than final yr, and it doesn’t take a doctorate in mechanical engineering to inform you much less air and gas going into the combustion chamber over a shorter time means much less bang and fewer go.

I didn’t trip the ’24 6R on the road so I can’t touch upon this enhanced low rpm efficiency, however on the observe it’s virtually negligible. That’s since you’re very hardly ever driving at an engine velocity, even in gradual corners like hairpins, the place you’re involved about sub-4000 rpm drive on a supersport bike.

The mid-range efficiency that has made the 636 such a winner through the years continues to be fortunately there. The good thing about the additional 36 cc over an everyday supersport 600 is obvious to see and really feel, however if you get into the top-end, the motor goes to snooze mode from about 13,000 rpm onwards.

Now not are you met with the top-end rush we affiliate with supersport machines. As an alternative, the ZX-6R tops out at 12,500 rpm with one other 2000 rpm on the rev clock to go, and whereas it’s making all the fitting noises, you’re not truly getting a lot acceleration.

This can be a direct results of the emissions police strangling the little 636 increasingly in that the consumption and exhaust cam permits much less air and gas to come back in and be burnt at larger rpm, much less emissions entering into the environment, much less international warming, and extra habitat for polar bears. Silly polar bears.

The excellent news is in case you’re taking your 636 to the observe on a semi-or everlasting foundation, simply throw a set of race-spec camshafts in there, put a racing exhaust on, remap it and also you’ll wake this pet proper up. Not solely will you get extra general energy and torque, however you’ll be capable of easy out the dips within the torque curve because the motor climbs by way of the rev vary.

The 2024 ECU features an additional characteristic within the new built-in driving modes, however if you look nearer, they’re truly simply what was on supply final yr rolled into a unique bundle. The ’24 Kawasaki will get Sport, Street and Rain modes, and the already-there Rider mode.

What are these earlier three modes? They’re simply preset throttle and traction management maps — Sport provides you full energy and the least TC; Street full energy and center floor TC; and Rain provides you low energy and full TC.

Rider mode means that you can have a mix of all three — in case you needed you might have full energy and full TC, for instance — nevertheless it’s nothing you couldn’t do final yr.

The TC is primary in there’s no Inertial Measurement Unit so all you’ve bought is wheel velocity sensors and throttle place to present the system an thought of when to chop the facility. That being stated, the system is nice sufficient for the duty. I believe most will simply go to degree considered one of three and go away it there because it provides you somewhat little bit of slip with out holding you again an excessive amount of. Or you might simply flip it off.

It’s a cable throttle on the 6R and it’s not as easy as I’d have favored. Even when tightened up there’s an honest quantity of free play on the twist grip and this interprets to a barely abrupt torque supply at low rpm. Get the motor spinning up into the upper rpm ranges and this isn’t a lot of a problem, nevertheless it’s a by-product of a comparatively aged system that has to deal with fashionable emissions guidelines.

The cable throttle additionally means the quick-shifter stays unchanged in that it’s solely on up-shift. There’s no auto-blipper for downshifts, so that you’re again to utilizing the clutch for these duties. I personally want this as most (not all) of the auto-blippers available on the market don’t give me the identical deft really feel as utilizing the clutch to manage the slipper perform for nook entry.

As for the chassis, it’s the identical prime to backside, entrance to again as in 2023, the one distinction being old-school round entrance brake rotors versus the petal rotors of final yr.

You’ve bought the identical 41 mm Showa SFF-BP (Separate Perform Fork – Massive Piston) entrance fork with pre-load adjustment on the left fork, compression and rebound on the fitting, and a fully-adjustable Showa shock out the again. The chassis is without doubt one of the sturdy factors of the Kawasaki. Infinitely nimble — though not fairly as a lot as a Yamaha YZF-R6 — the 6R’s chassis loves going apex searching.

You possibly can change your line simply with the 6R, pulling it tight to the apex with a easy tug on the bars and stretch of the neck. Total, the trip place is somewhat cramped for my 183 cm — I’d go for a set of aftermarket rear-sets that may be mounted decrease and additional again to get a little bit of blood move to my knees, as I might additionally get some cams and an exhaust for the motor.

The brakes really feel, nicely, high quality. I can’t inform in the event that they’re any higher or not. Kawasaki says they’re and though the sensation on the master-cylinder is somewhat wood, I’ll should take their phrase for it. There’s loads of stopping energy on the lever however even on its softest setting you don’t get a number of play which is able to go well with some riders, others, not a lot.

In the long run, I’m somewhat perplexed in regards to the new 6R. It’s an excellent bike, little question, nevertheless it’s solely motive for being renewed is to maintain it beneath the emissions degree set by the European Union. It’s not as quick outright as I’d have hoped for a pure efficiency bike, however the bones are good and some tweaks by a talented tuner will provide you with an actual supersport weapon.

Contemplating it’s not bought fairly the extent of efficiency it did final yr, plus the actual fact it prices a bit extra — whatever the fancy sprint and new face — it’s onerous to see this as a step ahead. However it’s nonetheless an ideal bike, and though there gained’t be the fancied 750 cc model anytime quickly, it nonetheless represents first rate worth on this ever-competitive house.

For extra data head to the Kawasaki Australia website, the place you possibly can test the ride-away pricing in line with your location.

2024 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R Specs

2024 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R Gallery

Pictures by Kevin Wing