First Look: 2009 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R
2009 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R first details
An evolution of the 2007 Ninja ZX-6R, the 2009 model takes the performance of its track-oriented predecessor to a higher level. Development of the rider active package has been focused on offering riders more precise control. Changes to engine and chassis for enhanced controllability result in a confidence-inspiring character that enables a calm assuredness as high-level riding is pursued. And it is this ability to push harder – to be able to extract this bike’s full potential – while firmly retaining control, that makes the new Ninja ZX-6R so exciting to ride.
Kawasaki has extensively revised its ZX-6R 600cc sport bike for 2009 – with special attention to weight and handling.
Lotus founder Colin Chapman once said: “Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere.”
Kawasaki has taken that advice to heart. The 2009 ZX-6R has more mid-range torque, improved mass centralisation and, most importantly, 10kg less weight.
The maker says it’s also the first production bike to use Showa’s “big piston” front forks with pistons almost twice the diameter (37mm vs 20mm) of those in conventional forks of the same size.
The oil inside thus acts on a surface area almost four times that of previous units so damping pressure can be reduced without affecting damping force – which means easier slider movement, especially in the vital first few millimetres.
Showa says this provides better control as the forks begin to compress as well as more stability as the bike’s weight shifts forward under braking. The forks are also lighter because many of the components ofi conventional forks are deleted.
Compression and rebound damping are adjusted from the tops of the forks and pre-load at the bottom. The 2009 ZX-6R also has an Ohlins steering damper.
The exhaust system is one of the heaviest components on a modern motorcycle. Bringing that weight back to the middle of the bike results in quicker turn-in and sharper handling so Kawasaki has rotated the engine around the output shaft to make space for an exhaust pre-chamber under the gearbox and a short, side-mounted, silencer instead of the under-seat tailpipe of the previous model.
Engine intake gas flow has been improved with revised cylinder-head porting, longer throttle bodies, re-designed intake funnels and new cylindrical guides on top of the air-filter housing. The result, says Kawasaki, is more accurate throttle control and more mid-range grunt.
New cams, pistons and tappets, ultra low-friction internal engine coatings, low-tension piston rings and revised camchain guides help reduce mechanical losses.
Kawasaki says much of the 10kg weight loss was from inside the engine. Each camshaft is 200g lighter, magnesium engine covers shed 610g and a revised top injector mounting plate about 80g.
Changes to the gearbox, oil pump and starter gears shave another 240g, and inlet pressure pulse monitoring makes a camshaft angle sensor unnecessary.
A close-ratio cassette gearbox (the whole gearbox comes out with the engine still in the frame) allows speedy ratio changes.
Obviously that’s more important on the track than the street but the slipper clutch (prevents rear-wheel hop under heavy braking), large petal brake discs with GP-style radial-mount callipers, and a radial-pump master cylinder are just as crucial on a Sunday breakfast ride as for a championship contender.
In case you haven’t seen one (very few road bikes have them yet), a radial-pump master cylinder has its piston facing outwards, rather than along the handle-bars, and the lever acting directly on it like one leg of a nutcracker.
They’re expensive to make but the mechanical advantage provided by the direct actuation gives phenomenal initial bite and superbly accurate pressure modulation.
The fairing has been redesigned, says Kawasaki, for improved aerodynamic efficiency, the fuel tank and seat have been reshaped “to allow the rider more contact with his machine and thus provide better feedback and control” and a slimmer rear sub-frame alpermitsa lower seat.
The front brake hose has been re-routed through a three-way joint at the lower triple clamp for easier brake bleeding.
The instrument panel now includes a large gear-position indicator – important when you’re co-ordinating four pistons, 16 valves and a six-speed close-ratio gearbox at 16 500rpm.
Hi-res images will be uploaded to the gallery soon…..
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