 Kawasaki's ZX-6R Ninja has always been one of the most popular bikes in this 600cc middleweight class
and has always been rated a great all-rounder. With the
introduction of the 2001 model
not too much has changed in that regard.
The SuperSport Ninja handles quite well but the bike does get better with a little fettling to your tastes. My first move would be to raise the rear ride height a little which the Kawasaki easily accommodates as it comes with adjustable ride height. The next spanner would add a little more compression damping at the rear. I do prefer the Ninja's confident handling over Yamaha's R6 but feel that it does fall a bit behind Suzuki's GSX-R 600 and Honda's new perfectly balanced (but needing a little more clearance) CBR 600 F4i. Some of you will be surprised at my rating the Ninja ahead of the R6 in the handling department but I honestly feel that 95% of riders would be a lot more comfortable with the balance of the Ninja over the Yamaha. Racers of course completely modify suspension so race results should not be the measuring stick to rate these road bikes. However you do feel the extra few kilograms that the Kawasaki carries over the opposition, wet weights with full tanks are as follows. I think the more upright riding position that the ZX-6R possesses maybe amplifies this difference more than it would if the seating position was more aggressive.
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The 600cc engine
could be a little more refined and the unit we tested did need a little
sorting in the carburation department. Performance is good though
and the bike can crack 11-second quarter miles
with ease. The ZX-6R still uses carbs and a reserve switch rather than the warning light and automatic reserve that most new bikes are equipped with. A drawback of the carb' system is that the Kawasaki is a bit hard to get up to operating temperature on those cold mornings. However I must say that as the ZX-6R
got more miles under its belt this did improve somewhat. Kawasaki recommends the use of premium unleaded
only.