2009 Kawasaki ZX-6R Ninja: MD First Ride

Everyone looks fast down the long main straight at Kawasaki's Autopolis race track on the southern tip of Japan. The new, 2009 ZX-6R we were riding pulls to something like 150 mph, indicated, before needing to be slowed for the second-gear right-hand turn one. But it's the rest of the track that truly separates the men from the boys, at the same time emphasizing the merits of Kawasaki's latest supersport 600.

There's a series of bends around the turn three and four area that really showcase the bike's newfound nimbleness. A couple of fast rights lead into two pretty quick lefts before you arrive, somewhat unexpectedly, at a right-hand hairpin. The new Ninja's ability to shed speed and transition predictably from leaning hard left to turning sharp right is a real measure of how well Kawasaki's concentrated effort to centralize mass, improve corner entry stability, and reduce overall weight has worked.

Up front there's a new big-piston Showa fork, which boasts fewer parts than a conventional cartridge fork, yet has three or four times the valve surface and works at a third of the pressure. The new fork arrests dive better than the previous equipment, providing less pitch and flatter ride motions. Mounted with a one-degree reduction in rake for quicker turn in, the fork is backed up by a "race-quality" Ohlins steering damper to maintain stability.

It certainly seemed to do the trick under this six-foot-five, 230-pound rider, who probably hangs on to the bars a lot more than is advised by the experts. You're supposed to be light on the controls, as you know, but that's harder than it sounds when you're tall and trying to move around on the bike for optimal weight transference. As a result, the unshakable front end proved enormously confidence inspiring for this oversized jockey.

Other items contributing to the new ZX-6R's planted stance are a low-slung side-exit muffler-which replaces the previous model's underseat unit-and a back-torque-limiting (or slipper) clutch. With this slipper clutch, you can hammer down the 986-yard long Autopolis straightaway, then grab the powerful front brakes via their radial-pump master cylinder and radial-mount calipers, and just bang downshifts all the way to second without concerns about rear-wheel lockup.

The transmission shifts effortlessly, and nobody reported a missed shift or a false neutral the whole time we were there. A close look by Kawasaki engineers at rider ergonomics produced a revised riding position, with bars that are slightly closer to the rider, a seat that is slightly lower, and a tank that provides better arm support in corners and now has a sculpted concavity on top to accommodate a rider in a full tuck. At the rear, Kawasaki's tech wizards adopted a new swingarm design they say improves feedback.

Of course, if you improve the tactile communication and vehicle stability side of the equation, there's a real opportunity to capitalize on that with improved performance. But not just at the top end. Last year's ZX-6R drew criticism because of the need to wring its neck for real power. By lightening and revising various engine components, Kawasaki boosted peak output from 118 to a claimed 124-horsepower at 13,500 rpm (high-speed ram-air reportedly bumps that to 130). More importantly, the engineers achieved a meaningful improvement in the midrange, and even picked up a little more urge at low revs.

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