Ridden: Kawasaki ZX-6R

IT will be stable, they told me. Kawasaki's new ZX-6R is the first production supersports bike to have BPF (Big Piston Forks) and they're supposed to significantly calm a potentially choppy ride.

The technology has been used for the last three years in various championships, including World Superbikes, and now we're about to benefit from a system that feels quite unlike anything I've experienced before.

Duty calls, so with the throttle to the stop, I find myself charging towards turn one of Kawasaki's Autopolis test track like a woman possessed. The clock reads 150mph, I'm flat-packed to the tank and mustering every ounce of willpower to keep it pinned to my new-found braking marker. It's there in a flash and in a blur of activity, my right hand grabs a fistful of front brake, my left pulls in the clutch, while toes stomp down four gears in a private race against time and I brace myself for the bike's response ...

Gallery: Kawasaki ZX-6R

The basic principle is simple. Put crudely, the internals in a conventional cartridge fork have been replaced with a bigger piston that moves up and down against the forks' internal walls. The pistons' larger surface area in the BPF system mean damping forces can be more controlled, so the forks compress with a smoother control that feels much more linear.

There's almost no front-end dive as you haul on the anchors, and no heavy pitching motion as the weight shifts from front to back or vice versa. It's a strange, but incredibly confidence-inspiring feeling. But it's far from dull - the excitement is building as lap times tumble with every inch more I dare to push.

After two days steaming around the test track, I rolled into pit lane at an urban pace and launched one final surprise attack on the bike (just like the persistent Cato in the Pink Panther movies). With an imaginary car pulling out from an equally imaginary junction, I grabbed a massive handful of brakes (which remain unmodified for this model) and braced myself for the front to plunge lower than a Baywatch swimsuit's neckline. But each and every time I tried to trip it up, the ZX-6R resolutely refused to fall face first.

it behaves pretty well on track…

For 99 per cent of riders (including myself) this new evolution of the ZX-6R only increases and encourages confidence. The bike's so stable, I found myself braking much harder and later than I normally would. But it's also possible that some riders (the select few perched high on the very tip of the skill tree) may prefer a suspension set up that reacts a bit more to extreme provocation, to judge where the bike's absolute limit point lies. Me, I'm just happy as is - very, very happy.

It's not just the BPF that made me want to pack the bike in my suitcase and carry it home on the plane. Just like celebrity new-mums chase dramatic weight loss the instant they give birth, Kawasaki has lost 10kg from the ZX-6R to improve both the bike's figure and its handling. The slimming includes 3kg from the engine and 2kg from the frame and sub-frame. Add a revised and stiffer chassis, improved mass centralisation by swapping the under-seat exhaust to a side mounted muffler and raising the centre of gravity of the engine, and you've got one flickable, nimble bike.

On standard suspension settings, it behaves pretty well on track, although it is worth stiffening the bike's softer side with a few tweaks to front and rear. With less squatting at the back, the BPF keeping the front focused and the Bridgestone 003s sticking to the track like chewing gum on jeans (it comes with 016 tyres as standard) I felt like I was cooking on gas. It all became more immediate, more rewarding and more enjoyable, without being sudden or sharp. There's no need to ask for a tighter line with a really forceful input on the bars, a mere hint brings the bike back to the kerb for double apexes and very little persuasion's needed for sudden changes in direction.

faultlessly smooth power delivery…

It feels like a highly polished version of an already impressive model. The gearbox is almost unbelievably smooth, I actually snuck a glance at the gear indicator on more than one occasion to see if I'd really succeeded in down changing, the transition was literally that seamless. The slipper clutch (again, the same as the current model) prevents squirreling from the back end, as my turn one antics proved beyond a doubt. And the steering damper, designed specifically for this bike in conjunction with Ohlins, helps to hinder head shakes.

The 599cc engine has also been reworked. Kawasaki is keen to keep its supersports bike track-focused, hence all the performance enhancing changes. But it also rightly recognises that many owners will spend a great deal of time riding their bikes on the road and a stronger midrange benefits both camps. With a faultlessly smooth power delivery, the acceleration now kicks in earlier and propels you from corner to corner on track. And on the road, you shouldn't have to keep the engine constantly singing a high-pitched rpm note to keep it on its toes. I've yet to ride the bike in the real world, but I suspect it'll be more rider-friendly and more forgiving than ever before, on several levels.

And with that in mind, the riding position has to be mentioned. I'm well over six foot and this is a 600cc supersports bike, so by rights it should fit me about as comfortably as a ballerina's tutu (not that I've ever worn such a costume, apart from that one time in a Christmas Pantomime, but that's an entirely different story...) but it all works. The ergonomics have been slightly altered, the handlebars now sit a tad closer to the rider and the seat's also lower and narrower than before. The ZX-10R shaped fuel tank is one of the many styling cues borrowed from its bigger brother, and it lets you wrap around the bike, laying an arm over the top for a snug fit and real sense of connection in corners. It all contributes to feeling very comfortable and at ease, even for someone of my stature.

More pictures of the Kawasaki ZX-6R from Live Search
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