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Monday, 08 September 1997 |
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Page 3 of 3
| Kawasaki ZX-6R, First Ride |
After the first session was out of the way, I got down to some serious testing. I asked if we could lower the front or raise the rear to get the weight forward. Upon my return to the track, the 6R felt more planted in the front and it started to respond like a race bike. Each lap, I pressed harder and the 6R responded accordingly. Soon, however, the suspension started to give in. The ZX-6R is fitted with new 6-piston calipers to match the dual semi-floating 300 mm discs up front. I was really happy with how well the new brakes grabbed and maintained their feel. The previous 6R brakes had a good grab at first but then became spongy and lost their bite. The calipers look the same on the outside, but the piston size has been split between two 27 mm and one 24 mm piston on either side, dramatically improving initial action.
With confidence in the brakes and the attitude of the 6R feeling better, all I needed was a little sorting out of the suspension. I added some rebound in the rear, from 12 to four clicks out, and I set the front at five clicks of rebound and three clicks of compression. The front felt better under heavy braking, but it was only temporary, I also had some turn-in problems. |
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Valencia has a lot of turns and braking points, which is very helpful for finding the pros and cons of a bike. The 6R negotiated the circuit well, but I needed to find a little something else to get it spot on. As the day went on, it warmed up, and the tires started to work better. More ride height added to the rear with some additional preload fixed the turn-in problem and the 6R came alive. Hard on the brakes into turn one, drop a few gears, throw it in, and gas it out; no problem. |
| After a big feast and a good BS session about the bikes, we were at it again. My first concern was eliminating the front-end chatter that I had found while chasing Canet. More compression was the solution I came up with. After a few easy laps to warm up the tires, I began to gas it to see if my suspension knowledge was up to par. Hard on the brakes into turn one, then down the short straight to turn two. Turn two is a U-turn left-hander so it takes a lot of braking to slow down. I got on the brakes so hard that the rear wheel came off the ground. No worries, the Ninja held its composure. Out of the hairpin, up a few gears, through the kink, and into turns four and five. These are the first two rights with turn five having a deeper apex. The chatter seemed to disappear, and the bike held its line. |
| Turn seven is a slightly down-hill left with a bumpy entrance. You can make up time here if you don't freak out. Up the inside and grab a handful of brakes, pitch it sideways, and push the competition out of the way. On this go round, the front felt fine and I knew I had gone the right way with the added compression. I like this turn because it's sort of off-camber and you really get a lot of lean angle; it's a good peg dragger.
The long left-hand sweeper of turn twelve is a measure of just how much gas can the bike take without high-siding. It is always a challenge. I tried a few times but was unsuccessful at getting it all right. Fortunately, Canet wasn't behind me and the 6R felt fine leaned over on the gas. I just had to watch it sometimes because I would come up on some of the other riders real fast through there. There isn't much time to make a change in your line once committed in that section.
I was pleased with the performance of the new Ninja ZX6R (J1) and I believe its engineers were also. On our way back to the hotel, we discussed the finer points of the 6R and what we liked and disliked about the bike. It seemed that everyone enjoyed the new Ninja and I, for one, was very impressed . The riding position is comfortable and all the controls are easy to use. Everything blends together quite well. The power reminded me of a 900 or 1000cc sportbike: lots of mid-range grunt without any loss as redline is approached. Obviously, 600s are only going to make so much power, but I think the 6R is at the head of that class in power.
If the stock configuration doesn't suit a rider, Kawasaki has a race kit available that includes everything from cams to a special tach. Iain MacPherson was on hand in the morning and, although I didn't get to ride with him, the new World Supersport version of the ZX-6R (J1) looked mighty fast and sounded fabulous. Kawasaki has taken the US race team in-house for 2000 and, with Eric Bostrom at the helm of the new Ninja 6R, they should do very well, maybe even win it.
My conclusion? It hauls ass, handles well, and looks bad-ass as always. And, you can go out today and buy a new Ninja ZX-6R at your local dealer. None of that wait-until-the-factories-have-raced-them-at-Daytona-and-everywhere-else before you can get your hands on one.
Tom Montano
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