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A Job For A Ninja

A Job For A Ninja

Date: 2013-08-23
Kawasaki's taken their 2012 World Supersport Championship winning motorcycle and turned it into something very, very special for 2013. With more power, increased torque, less weight and the best traction control system in its class the Kawasaki ZX-6R 636 has significantly stretched its advantage over the rest as a street bike.

The changes made to the Kawasaki ZX-6Rfor the 636cc version in 2013 are revolutionary rather than evolutionary. The new bike's engine capacity has been upped to 636cc, thanks to a longer stroke of 45,1mm compared with the 600cc engine's 42,5mm. Bore size remains unchanged at 67mm. The extra 37cc capacity, along with revised ports, camshafts and new molybdenum coated pistons gives the motor an additional 3 horsepower and 4,3 Nm of torque. Kawasaki justifies the capacity increase on the very logical grounds that the 600cc limitation on supersport engine capacity is for racing purposes only, so there's no need for tens of thousands of road-riders to be restricted by it. From 2003 to 2006 Kawasaki did the exact same thing with the 636cc ZX-6R and the bike was very popular amongst road-riders and track-day specialists, thanks to its excellent bottom-end grunt and the buckets of mid-range surge that made it very easy to ride quickly without effort. The Ninja ZX-6R thus leads the middleweight sports bike class with 131 horsepower (137 with ram air) at 13 500 rpm and 71 Nm of torque at 10 800 rpm. As a bonus, peak power arrives 500 rpm earlier and torque 1000 rpm further down the rev range than was the case with the 2012 ZX-6R's engine, making the motorcycle more user friendly on the road.

Get down to East Coast Motorcycles and take this Supersport Champion for a test ride, if you can. Call them on 031 566 3024 to let them know you're coming, or just drop in at 10 Meridian Drive Umhlanga Ridge.