First test on 636cc Kawasaki ZX-6R

We’ve been riding Kawasaki’s new bigger-bore ZX-6R for 2002 and the extra ccs add up to a serious boost for torque and mid-range.

Our full report is in MCN, out on Wednesday, February 27, but in the meantime, here’s our first impressions having ridden the bike in Europe at the weekend.

1. A Suzuki GSX-R600 would still beat it for sheer acceleration but it won’t be as flexible for use on the road. In the real world (away from trackdays) the new ZX-6R will be easily on the pace with rivals like the Suzuki and the Yamaha R6.

2. The bike has more than 40 mods to the engine alone aimed at enhancing your riding pleasure. There’s also larger diameter gear-shift shaft for ” improved shift quality ” .

3. The fork internals have been improved to give a smoother action, while new damping rates are aimed at improving steering feedback. A new damper centre rod eliminates the clicking sound when the forks are compressed.

4. New mirror stay means you no longer have the ” H ” frame blocking the view to the clocks. And the front brake master cylinder has been moved to further clean up the cockpit and improve the view of the clocks.

5. You get smoother and cleaner drive right from the bottom of the rev-range, a touch more mid-range grunt coming out of corners, too.

6. There’s a much better balance on the brakes thanks to the new suspension settings which give less dive on the brakes and more feedback under hard cornering

7 You get the same comfortable riding position as the old ZX-6R, which means it’s good at being a sports bike, but also comfortable two-up and on long journeys.

For the full story, be sure to get hold of MCN on Wednesday.

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