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| Kawasaki ZX-6R 636 – express train sport bike |
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Dave Abrahams November 11 2002 at 10:01AM |
Get IOL on your mobile at m.iol.co.za |
Ever since the original 903cc Z-1 of 1972, Kawasaki's four-stroke sport machines have been big and muscular, fast but not necessarily nimble, and often surprisingly comfortable. The latest ZX-6R fits that category exactly.
Most of the time, just knowing how much wailing, frenetic kick in the ass is there on tap, is enough. I only used it briefly once or twice, through the gears, on the street – you need a lot of elbow room for that kind of take-off. Full-bodied though it is, the power tails off quite quickly beyond peak revs and there's no purpose in pushing the motor to the bloodline at 14 500rpm, although it didn't seem to mind. There's some not unexpected jerkiness in the power delivery, particularly at low revs, as is common to nearly all fuel-injected motors, but not enough to upset the chassis; once again, an educated throttle hand is required for smooth progress in the urban jungle. Kawasaki clutches are justly famed for their smooth performance and ability to absorb abuse; the company has always embraced the American culture of progressing a quarter of a mile at a time and builds its transmissions to cope with all the heavy-duty blast-offs you can hand out. This one takes up gently but firmly in exactly the same place every time, hot or cold, and refuses to judder or slip. The six-speed gear-shift is light but a little notchy and very noisy at low revs, especially the change from first to second, which often sounds like a German bike. There's also a lot of lash in the constant-mesh cogs; Kawasaki seems to build in a bit of extra play on most of its gearboxes to ensure positive shifts.
Chassis All this urge is housed in a straightforward twin-spar aluminium frame with cast steering head and engine plates, which it shares with its harder-edged 599cc ZX-6RR sister. The rear sub-frame, however, made up from four long, straight pieces of square aluminium tubing, is both longer and a little heftier to cope with luggage as well as a pillion. The square-section swing-arm is fitted with the latest version of Kawasaki's Unitrak suspension linkage (introduced on the 1981 GPZ550) and comes with little alloy bobbins for convenient deployment of a paddock stand, since neither ZX6 has provision for a centre stand. The suspension is industry standard stuff – 41mm conventional forks tuneable for preload, compression and rebound damping and a remote reservoir gas shock with the same adjustments for the back wheel. Sports riders have become a little blasé about multi-adjustable suspension settings over the last decade; it's worth remembering that only a handful of exotic sports cars can boast the level of suspension sophistication that street riders have come to expect. Apart from dialing in a little more preload in front after the performance testing, I left the ZX6-R's dials on the factory median settings and enjoyed the ride immensely. Despite its stubby 1400mm wheelbase the 636 is bigger and notably heavier than the pure-sports Yamaha R6 and Suzuki GSX-R600; it trades the ultimate razor edge of handling for huge gains in comfort and rideability. Real-world performance Part of my standard test route involves a bumpy back road through the wheatfields of the Swartland; the 636 handled this workout with aplomb, tracking well over badly rutted tar with little or no tendency to patter. There was a slight wallow evident on the long, fast curves of the route, although on the smoother surfaces of the performance testing area the bike tracked like an arrow up to about 250km/h. On my first top-end run the Kawasaki went up to an indicated 265 very quickly, at which point a slight headshake set in and the bike began to wander a little; at that speed a little is too much and I backed off smartly. For the next attempt I sat further back, got my chin hard on the tank to obviate a nasty buffeting I'd felt on my helmet, and held the grips with just the tips of my fingers. Twenty-four very long seconds later the 636 stopped accelerating at an indicated 277km/h, howling along at 100rpm below the power peak. This translates to a genuine road speed of 262km/h, making this the fastest street-legal 600 I've ridden. With this much velocity on offer, it had better have very good brakes; the 636 shares the six-pot Tokico callipers and 280mm semi-floating discs of the race replica. They deliver immense power with more than adequate feel, although the softer suspension set-up of the 636 means that they will induce a lot of nose-dive if used too suddenly. To get the best out of the Kawasaki's brakes you have to learn to apply them gently to settle the front end before giving them a handful. The back brake, in common with most of the genre, has very little feel but works adequately for hill starts and setting up the rear suspension for fast bends. Together, they'll haul the 184kg ZX-6R down with authority. The bike's seating position is also less radical than most of the machinery in the sports 600 class. The stretch to the high-mounted clip-ons is no more than comfortable and the footpegs are neatly positioned under the narrowest point of the saddle. Both rider and pillion seats are reasonably well-padded; even the passenger footpegs are suitable for real people even if it's preferable that they be small and supple. The pillion accommodation also boasts a pair of solid, well-positioned grab handles. Alone among the cutting-edge 600s, the ZX-6 has a fully analogue instrument panel, with neat grey dials for speed and revs, which tells you where this model is targeted. You also get a digital clock, trip distance meter and coolant temperature gauge, together with the usual warning icons, clustered to the right of the rev-counter. The switchgear is also off-the-shelf Kawasaki stuff, which is good because it's of proven quality and also because you know where everything is without having to look for it while you're riding. Kawasakis have always had solidly mounted body panels and this one is no exception; a neatly cantilevered steel bracket holds the upper fairing mounts, also providing a firm support for the streamlined mirrors. The lower mounting points are attached directly to motor and frame. The body panels are of substantial thickness: at least I could polish the bike for the photos without having to support the fairing lowers with my spare hand. The front section is dominated by the twin "cat's eyes" headlights (which are not as effective as I expected, given their size and multi-bezelled reflectors) and the postbox-sized intake for the ram air system - at least partly responsible for the bike's phenomenal top-end performance. The fit of the body panels is beyond reproach but the stylish metallic grey paint on the test bike was a little thin and there's no clear coat over the graphics, other than on the fuel tank. The 636cc version of the ZX-6R might not be eligible for Supersports racing but it has a lot of real-world features that make it the most user-friendly of the current crop of sport 600s. It's the most comfortable bike its class (and the fastest!), let down only by a penny-pinching paint finish; if the bike were mine I'd strip it and have the panels clear-coated; the bike is worth the trouble. Test bike from Mike Hopkins Motorcycles, Cape Town. Price: R89 395. Click here to use IOL Motoring's repayments calculator. <>SPECIFICATIONS: Motor: Liquid-cooled four-stroke transverse four. Capacity: 636cc. Bore x stroke: 68.0 x 43.8mm. Valvegear: DOHC with four overhead valves per cylinder. Compression ratio: 12.8:1. Power: 85.8 kW @ 12 500rpm. Torque: 71 Nm @ 9800rpm. Induction: Electronic fuel-injection with four 38mm throttle bodies. Ignition: Digital. Starting: Electric. Clutch: Cable-operated multiplate wet clutch. Transmission: Six-speed gearbox with chain final drive. Suspension: 41mm conventional cartridge forks adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping at front, monoshock adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping at rear. Brakes: Twin 280mm semi-floating discs with Tokico six-pot opposed piston callipers at front, 220mm disc with single-piston floating calliper at rear. Tyres: Front: 120/65 -ZR17 tubeless. Rear: 180/55 - ZR17 tubeless. Wheelbase: 1400 mm. Seat height: 820 mm. Dry weight: 174 kg. Fuel capacity: 18 litres. Price: R89 395. Click here to use IOL Motoring's repayments calculator.
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