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bmadson
MCUSA Scribbler

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 1038

Posted 11/3/2008 1:53 PM (GMT -8)

Motorcycle USA heads to Japan and Kawasaki’s very own Autopolis circuit to sample the high-performance capabilities of the 2009 ZX-6R supersport. Check out the 2009 Kawasaki ZX-6R First Ride

Ace!
Registered Member

Date Joined Feb 2004
Total Posts : 159

Posted 11/3/2008 2:01 PM (GMT -8)

You guys weren't kidding about the new site...interesting.

GAJ
Registered Member

Date Joined Jul 2007
Total Posts : 4763

Posted 11/3/2008 3:21 PM (GMT -8)

Sounds like every review I've ever read over the past decade or more from an initial track test of the latest/greatest 600.

Only difference is mention of headshake with a supposedly "quality" Ohlins damper.

Usually don't see headshake issues on 600 tests so maybe this little thing does have more oomph than your normal 600.

Do you have to be a midget to ride it?

Desmolicious
Registered Member

Date Joined Aug 2004
Total Posts : 4618

Posted 11/4/2008 10:04 AM (GMT -8)

Is that Adam in the photos? If so, nice form!
As for the bike, like GAJ sez, same thing, different year. I think the turnsignals look much better in this application than on the 1000.
Funny thing is that you can get a new 1000cc 2008 bike OTD for the price of a 2009 600 cc bike. On public roads you can't use the 10/10ths handling advantage that a 600cc has over the 1000, but you definitely can use the massive torque bonus the 1000 has over the 600.

Børk! Børk! Børk!

louemc
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 15451

Posted 11/4/2008 12:47 PM (GMT -8)

I'm eager to get reports on the BPF tech forks, as soon as someone flogs the 09's on knarly rough pavement.

Actually, I'll look at headshake as a good sign, of a performance level to kick wussy bike ass. And.... OEM (even Ohlins) dampers don't cut it, get the best on there or stay home lol

Focus the forces, Be The Force

YellowDuck
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 4130

Posted 11/5/2008 7:20 AM (GMT -8)

Funny, it has been so long now that the 600 shootout has been the Big Story of the Year, and every Japanese manufacturer has fought hard to be the best, and each one of them has won at some point or other, and the bikes get more and more and more refined.....fly by wire, secondary throttle plates, slipper clutches, radial brakes, now this new fork design...

Yet it seems like most of us are just getting weary of it. Maybe this class is failing to capture people's attention the way it used to?

Maybe its just me. I am getting kind of old, after all.

Cynicism is what passes for insight among the mediocre - Joe Klein

YellowDuck
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 4130

Posted 11/5/2008 7:29 AM (GMT -8)

The BPF is very cool though. Does anyone understand how that preload adjuster works? You can see the adjuster in the photo, but for the life of me I can't understand how that controls the preload - it's on the side!

I also really like the "nude" photo of the bike. Very tidy packaging.

Cynicism is what passes for insight among the mediocre - Joe Klein

louemc
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 15451

Posted 11/5/2008 12:37 PM (GMT -8)

Reading the little bit from Sport Rider, the chassis changes to quicken responses, sounds very desirable as well. The 09 Ninja's should do very well in the yearly dog fight.

Focus the forces, Be The Force

Smitty
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 18448

Posted 11/6/2008 12:17 PM (GMT -8)

So they now have the bike down to 421lbs. Thing is Spec Sheets tend to sound different. Like I can remember when the '97 Yamaha YZF-600R was with 412 claimed pounds & many claimed the bike was HEAVY. True less top end power to the 600cc bikes of then (Reason they came out with the R6 in the next year or two) then & later but not "Heavy" though the bike did have a good mid-range power plant over the other makers. But as I say the "spec sheets" sometimes throw us a bit.

Good write-up & Adam on the bike looked good.

Remember all the others on the road are crazy & out to kill you.

louemc
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 15451

Posted 11/6/2008 12:30 PM (GMT -8)

Spec sheet weights have to (should be) be taken, with a major grain of salt. First thing is..... they are famous for being less than accurate, and second thing is... bikes feel heavy or not heavy, with all the factors of chassis geometry and weight centralization, and ergonomics, and tire profile, tossed in there.

And......(drum roll) the owner that knows things, can change things, so it isn't carved in stone anyway

Focus the forces, Be The Force

jon
Registered Member

Date Joined Aug 2004
Total Posts : 4569

Posted 11/6/2008 3:37 PM (GMT -8)

Smitty said...

Like I can remember when the '97 Yamaha YZF-600R was with 412 claimed pounds & many claimed the bike was HEAVY.

back then, most of the spec sheets list 'dry' weight. therefore, the yzf-600r with a dry weight of '412' lbs. was a little heavy compared to its' rr counterpart. the 421 lbs. you see for the new zx-6r is 'wet' weight so its' dry weight should be around 360ish lbs.

YellowDuck
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 4130

Posted 11/7/2008 6:05 AM (GMT -8)

Hmm...my crude little air cooled 1000 cc bike weighs (as in *weighs*, measured by me) the same as a cutting edge 600 supersport. How cool is that?

Once I get Carrozzerria wheels on there, it will be 10 lbs lighter. Course, making *me* 10 lbs lighter (or even 15) would be cheaper!

Cynicism is what passes for insight among the mediocre - Joe Klein

Smitty
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 18448

Posted 11/7/2008 11:14 AM (GMT -8)

Good one YD for how true that is & put a smile on my face for we & our riding gear are the extra pounds on our bikes. Trying to keep the weight down & just a while ago I finished my 1.5 hrs of daily work-out in my living room on a Concept2 rowing machine I clock a lot of still miles on to also using a balance ball (wish I had a low bench to work from) along with variations of different weights in dumb bells.

My personal gym & yes saving on not using fuel to only short runs to & from the gym in my town with far more equipment. Like if I am clocking 10 minutes on their rowing machine I would get the dirty eye as others want to use it for their 3 or 4 minutes, but in fact one must clock 30 minutes or more to get the use out of the machine.

So reason I have my own 8' long monster in my living room.

Remember all the others on the road are crazy & out to kill you.

louemc
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 15451

Posted 11/7/2008 11:31 AM (GMT -8)

I think my Race face is 50 lbs (or more) lighter than my non-Race face, because of the radical change in how the bike works when it goes on lol

Focus the forces, Be The Force

Post Edited (louemc) : 11/7/2008 9:37:39 PM GMT

cloud9
Registered Member

Date Joined Sep 2008
Total Posts : 30

Posted 11/13/2008 9:03 AM (GMT -8)

YellowDuck said...
Funny, it has been so long now that the 600 shootout has been the Big Story of the Year, and every Japanese manufacturer has fought hard to be the best, and each one of them has won at some point or other, and the bikes get more and more and more refined.....fly by wire, secondary throttle plates, slipper clutches, radial brakes, now this new fork design...

Yet it seems like most of us are just getting weary of it. Maybe this class is failing to capture people's attention the way it used to?

Maybe its just me. I am getting kind of old, after all.

Not that I'm weary of it, just feels as though they are as good as they can be in their current form. Like the under tail exhausts were a huge thing, then the radial mounted calipers, slipper clutches etc. Any changes they make from now on just don't seem as drastic as what has come in the pass 5-10 years. Now I think were ready for something radically different from the big 4. Such as taking the triumph approach and working on a three cylinder Japanese bike. Nonetheless if you counted the amount of views an article received the 600 and 1000 shootouts would probably still rank the highest.

AdamW79
MCUSA - Associate Editor

Date Joined Sep 2007
Total Posts : 26

Posted 11/25/2008 9:51 PM (GMT -8)

yeah guys it be me--adam. i went to the now defunt freddie spencer school and he gave me some hot style-- so props to him and his crew... their operation was really great, hopefully it comes back.

and yes new '08 1000 equipment is def. way to go with current economic state, etc.

Desmolicious said...
Is that Adam in the photos? If so, nice form!
As for the bike, like GAJ sez, same thing, different year. I think the turnsignals look much better in this application than on the 1000.
Funny thing is that you can get a new 1000cc 2008 bike OTD for the price of a 2009 600 cc bike. On public roads you can't use the 10/10ths handling advantage that a 600cc has over the 1000, but you definitely can use the massive torque bonus the 1000 has over the 600.

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