Kawasaki ZX-6R Review – Street Test

A new-bike press introduction is kind of like a honeymoon. A nice hotel and an exotic location can’t help but make your partner seem as sexy as possible.
Such as it was at the world press launch for Kawasaki’s thoroughly updated ZX-6R. Riding the new Ninja around Japan’s Autopolis circuit was like sex on wheels. It was difficult to find any fault with the ZX as we consummated the relationship at the fabulous race circuit.
But how would the  ZX-6R perform during the bumps and grind of street riding? And would major engine mods pay off once we strapped the Ninja to the dyno? Would the bloom fall off the rose?
The answers, in order, are: surprisingly well; yes; and no!




Our last few weeks with Kawi’s newest Ninja have proven it has the goods to go toe to toe with the best in the ultra-competitive middleweight sportbike class.
During our time on the ZX at Autopolis, we already learned that the new bike steers sharper than the previous generation, aided by sportier steering geometry and the loss of some 20 lbs. Our biggest question mark revolved around the output of the newly enhanced motor. The 3000-ft elevation of Autopolis muddied the waters somewhat.



But now we’re back near sea level and we have the Area P dyno to tell us things our butt dyno can’t. The ZX spat out an impressive 107.7 horsepower on the ol’ Dynojet, which is very competitive with its rivals in terms of peak ponies and a massive 10 hp jump over the previous model. But that number only tells part of the equation. The Ninja now has some real midrange cojones, something it’s been missing since its 636cc days. Most illuminating is how the ZX’s entire powerband mostly keeps up or exceeds that of Honda’s CBR600RR, easily the punchiest 600 over the previous two years.




On the street, this broad power curve and short gearing provide for strong launches away from traffic lights. Good, usable power arrives as low as 7,000 rpm, which makes for impressive acceleration at street-appropriate revs. And its roll-on grunt is amazing for a 600. Its immediate responsiveness in top gear at 80 mph makes a rider check the handy gear indicator to see if it’s in fifth or even fourth gear.




Engine vibration is readily apparent at idle, but it turns smooth at cruising speeds. The ZX exhibits immaculate throttle response, always delivering a nuanced transition from closed throttle, something all fuel-injected bikes can’t claim. And despite the EPA’s best efforts to make every motorcycle sound like a turbocharged sewing machine, the ZX delivers a deliciously howling soundtrack to its rider. Gearshifts are done with little effort and smoothly for the most part, but re-engaging gears from neutral can be notchy at times.
In commuter use, the Ninja’s riding position is reasonably hospitable for a supersport. Its bars are fairly close to the rider but a bit low for good street comfort. A narrow windscreen allows wrist-relieving air pressure to hit a rider’s shoulders at highway speeds, and the flow around a helmet is smooth. The mirrors provide a decent view and are even halfway attractive. And speaking of appearances, we think this new, sharp-edged design is one of the best looking 600cc Ninjas ever.
But cruising around city streets is just a preamble to the ZX’s main attraction of tearing up serpentine canyon roads. The many changes to the new frame and chassis geometry give the Kawi a newfound agility plus robust feedback from the front end. The stock dual-compound Bridgestone BT-016 tires are impressive - proving to be splendidly neutral while providing excellent grip. The Kawi’s brakes are faultless, being as powerful as you dare yet amazingly subtle when you want to bleed just a hair of speed during corner entrances.

The middleweight Ninja is blessed with a thoroughly modern suspension. Up front is Showa’s Big Piston Fork, a fresh new design that saves weight and potentially offers improved performance (see our First Ride report for further details). At the rear, the shock includes the usual adjustments for preload and two-way low-speed damping, plus the addition of high-speed compression damping. Beefy Americans will appreciate the bike’s stiff springs, although they proved to be a bit too firm for my 145 lb frame. Some spring preload alterations might find a sweet spot for lightweights. We’ll have time for optimizing the suspension in time for our upcoming Supersport Shootout.
So, after a few hundred miles on the street, our favorable impression from the ZX-6R’s racetrack press launch hasn’t dimmed. As we predicted then, this stellar new sportbike has the goods to run with the best in the 600cc class. Exactly how it stacks up against its worthy competition will have to wait until we ride them all back to back, but one thing is certain: The Ninja will not again be finishing at the back of the pack.

2011 Ducati Monster 1100 EVO Review

The Monster 1100 is the latest bike in Ducati's lineup to receive the EVO (Evoluzione Desmodue) up-spec treatment. With 246,483 Monsters sold since the model line’s 1993 debut, creating a model like the 1100 EVO seems a good way to kick off the 18th year of Monster production.
The big-bore naked Italian roadster has been a favorite of the staff here since it first appeared in 2009 as a replacement for the Monster S2R. The strong pulling power of the comparatively simple air-cooled two-valve engine and the overall excellent handling performance from the chassis are key qualities we’re particularly fond of in the biggest of the Monsters.
Now with a revised engine, new exhaust, tweaks to ergos, reduced weight and the addition DTC (Ducati Traction Control) and ABS as standard, there's even more to like about the biggest of the Monsters.


Monster EVOlution
Where do you start to improve a motorcycle without re-engineering it to the point of losing the original bike in the process? In Ducati's estimation, a useful enhancement to the engine is step one.
Changes to the air-cooled L-Twin include revised cylinder heads with reworked intake ports, inlet valves gaining 5% more lift, and exhaust valve lift increased by 4%. Top-end oiling is improved for better cylinder head cooling, and revised piston shape bumps compression to 11.3:1 from 10.7:1 on the previous Monster. Keeping the pistons spinning is a new, lighter-weight flywheel designed similarly to the flywheel in Ducati’s supersport 848.
An all-new 2-1-2 exhaust migrated from under the Monster’s saddle to the right side of the bike. Although the new exhaust bears more than a passing resemblance to the Diavel’s exhaust, according to Monster 1100 EVO Project Engineer Giuseppe Caprara, the systems are not the same.
What the Monster EVO does share with the Diavel is its “race-like” slipper clutch, which incidentally is not the same as the APTC slipper clutch in the Monster 696, 796 and Hypermotard 796.

Caprara also confirmed to me that it’s chiefly the reworked cylinder head that gives the Monster 1100 EVO a 5-hp gain over the previous model’s 95 hp at 7500 rpm (76 ft-lbs at 6000 rpm remains unchanged from the 2010 Monster 1100).
Considering we live in a world where literbikes make 200 hp at the crank, speed junkies may not get excited by a modest gain of 5 ponies. But what is noteworthy is that this new 100-hp figure allows the Monster 1100 EVO to lay claim to possessing the strongest Desmodue engine Ducati has ever created.
Not bad for applying a few strokes of the computer mouse to an oldie-but-a-goodie air-cooled Twin.
An inverted, fully adjustable 43mm Marzocchi fork replaces the Showa sticks on the ’10 Monster 1100, and a Sachs shock with spring preload and rebound damping adjustments keeps the back-end in check. New, lighter-weight 10-spoke wheels wear updated Diablo Rosso II tires. Pirelli Testing Manager Salvo Pennisi explained the Rosso front tire has improved grip for wet weather riding, while the redesigned dual-compound rear tire has improved braking performance, better grip at maximum lean and is longer wearing.
Without the previous model’s undertail exhaust system to contend with, Ducati gave the new 1100’s tailsection a cleaner appearance, and also gave passenger and rider footpegs separate mounts where the previous 1100 employed a single, large cast piece to which both peg sets were connected. And in the interest of improved rider comfort the 2011 model’s handlebar risers are 20mm higher than last year. A 31.9-inch seat height is the same as last year.


Lastly, the Monster 1100 EVO gets what Ducati calls the Safety Pack.
Standard issue for this Monster is ABS and Ducati Traction Control (DTC). This is the first Monster model to receive DTC. The DTC is somewhat tailored for this bike since there are four rider-selectable traction control levels rather than eight levels on other Ducati models equipped with TC. The fewer levels were simply a matter of tuning the TC to suit the Monster’s 100 hp engine, whereas the extra TC levels make more sense on the 150-ish horsepower 1198. The Ducati Data Analyzer (DDA) – you might utilize this feature to analyze lap times at the racetrack – is also available.
The Monster 1100 EVO has a claimed weight of 373 pounds, compared to the 377 pounds on the ABS-equipped 2010 Monster 1100 and 374 pounds on the Monster 1100S.
Monster impressions
Surface streets in the municipality of San Giovanni la Punta, Sicily (an enclave of sorts of the larger city of Catania of the province of the same name on Sicily’s eastern coast) are in about as good a shape as you should expect of such an ancient part of the world. Pavement on the narrow, winding streets is in decent condition, but there are nevertheless lots of chunked, cracked and patched sections of the streets.
It was while darting through these tiny corridors, like a rat avoiding the local Don, that I first started to appreciate how well the Monster’s stout new Marzocchi fork and Sachs shock gobbled up the broken and battered concrete. Both front and rear suspension were suitably damped for this type of urban assault, keeping the bike tracking true and me in comfort.
Our ultimate route was to climb a curvaceous road snaking its way out of the area of Zafferana Etnea and up the south side of the ever-smoldering Mt. Etna. At approximately 10,900 feet Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and dominates the skyline over Catania. Ascending the serpentine, contorted ribbon of concrete presented a good opportunity to reacquaint myself with the Monster’s grunty engine.

Powerful torque, particularly noticeable starting around 4000 rpm and building all the way to the 8500-ish rev limit, develops in a deliberate but linear manner. This steady delivery of power proved useful for digging out of the numerous hairpin switchbacks that at times made the road seem as though it was layering over itself. It was also during the climb that I found myself cursing ever-stricter emissions regulations that have caused Ducati to burden the 1100 with gearing taller than I would like in cogs 2 and 3.
While torque is plentiful, run a gear too high while attempting to exit a slow speed corner and you’ll likely find the engine lugging and chugging. These less-than-ideal gear ratios aren’t limited to the 1100, as we’ve bemoaned tall gearing on the Monster 796 and Hypermotard 796, too.
After reaching the road’s highpoint we stopped for a cappuccino, café Americano, espresso or whatever injection of Italian water you like, at a café located in the alpine-like village of Rifugio Sapienza. Here, small roadside stands and average-looking shops sell the usual array of tourist-y trinkets, most of which are made from or have something to do with lava rock. The stuff’s plentiful, after all, since it covers much of the mountainside, creating a lunar landscape for mile after mile up and down the mountain.
If you’re really feelin’ your alpine oats, there’s downhill skiing action in Rifugio. Just don’t get disappointed by the single chairlift if you’re used to Summit County, Colorado.
After inhaling a couple of the best cannolis I’ve ever had, it was time to go down the mountain toward Nicolosi where the road straightens and re-enters city life. This portion of the ride, like the climb up, gave me new opportunities to assess different aspects of the new Monster’s performance.

Steering ease, mid-corner stability, front-end feedback and overall chassis performance is excellent. The unflappable chassis inspires a rider’s confidence in the front-end, with the whole bike tracing an effortless arc ‘round each bend. The Monster 1100 EVO’s nimble but planted chassis (as well as the 696 and 796’s for that matter) is a genuine and defining strength of this Duc.
Since there’s so much loose, sand-like lava rock dust in certain spots, both going up and down the mountain, there were lots of chances for DTC to put itself in action. Level 2 seemed ideal for my riding, as it prevented spin up in low traction sitches (gravel, sand) but never struck me as overly intrusive. However, at low speeds, like when getting on the gas while pulling away from a stop in low traction conditions like gravel patches, even DTC Level 1 can intervene rather abruptly, to the point that the bike feels as though it's going to stall.
DTC access via a single Mode switch on the left-side switch pod – the same switch that also accesses all other settings in the LCD instrument panel – isn't intuitive enough.
It took several attempts to discern that holding the switch one way accesses a DTC submenu, and that changing DTC levels requires the switch move in the opposite direction. It takes some time to get the routine down, but once figured out the process is less complex. You can disable DTC altogether, and the system will retain its setting when the bike is switched off. The ABS system is also defeat-able but defaults to ON each time the ignition is turned on.
ABS, like DTC, is a good and practical feature, but the anti-lock system struck me as “first generation,” and not as refined as ABS on some current model sportbikes.


At times the system produces some serious backpressure or “pump-up” when ABS activates. The sensation is that the Brembo radial master cylinder’s lever has stopped moving. This intermittent but funky feel is more profound at the rear brake pedal; it’s as if the pedal or lever has reached the end of its travel despite not actually doing so. Hard to say exactly what the ABS is or isn’t doing, but its as though the system isn’t opening and closing the control valve quickly enough to allow the brakes to apply and release as often they should.
To clarify, it took routinely aggressive application of the radial-mount Brembo calipers to get the ABS to act up; under normal use the system was trouble-free. And, in fairness, this delayed pulsing at the lever isn’t exclusive to the Monster 1100. I’ve had similar experiences on other ABS sets from different manufacturers.
The new back-torque-limiting clutch works well. Despite my best efforts to induce rear-wheel hop after rapid-fire, high-rpm downshifts, the clutch kept the gearbox from binding under engine braking. The slipper-style clutch and smooth-shifting 6-speed transmission performed on par with some of the best clutch/transmissions around – Japanese-bike-like, if you will.
Summary
The Monster 1100 EVO replaces the standard, as well as the Ohlins-equipped S model 1100, in the 2011 Monster lineup. While it usually isn’t good to eliminate choices for the consumer, all the updates on the EVO only serve to make a bike we liked before even better. Sweetening the deal is an MSRP of $11,995, the same price as last year’s base model.

2011 Suzuki GSX-R600 and GSX-R750

American Suzuki surprised the industry last year by deciding not to import 2010 streetbikes while it tried to clear inventory in a depressed market. But for 2011, it’s rebounding in a big way with the introduction of a comprehensively reworked GSX-R600 and its identical-twin brother, the GSX-R750.

The GSX-R series is integral to Suzuki, so the Gixxer 600 and 750 received a major investment in technology and updates.

“We built our brand from the GSX-Rs,” said Steve Bartolamedi, American Suzuki’s senior communications manager. More than 300,000 Gixxers have been sold over the years, and the GSX-R600 has long been America’s best-selling sportbike.

An all-new frame underpins the GSX-R revisions, trimmed by nearly 3 lbs on its own. This, plus a plethora of other weight-saving items, has resulted in a Gixxer some 20 lbs lighter than previous. An anticipated 410-lb curb weight (full of 4.5 gallons of fuel) would tie the Gix Six with the class lightweight, Honda CBR600RR.

Yep, that’s Italian Brembo calipers on a Japanese bike. The Showa Big Piston Fork is also new for 2011.

New front-end components are more than 2 lbs lighter and promise improved performance. A 41mm Showa Big Piston Fork weighs less and offers better damping performance than a conventional fork, as we’ve learned from a similar fork on Kawasaki’s ZX-6R. And, in a surprise move, the Gixxer receives radially mounted Brembo monoblock brake calipers, the only Japanese bike we can think of with the respected Italian binders.   Smaller front and rear axles and wheel hubs are claimed to reduce weight by a significant 1.3 lbs, and the fully adjustable Showa shock now uses aluminum seats instead of steel for a 90-gram reduction in weight. Although final specifications aren’t yet available, it appears as if the previous bike’s steering geometry numbers are retained. However, the new frame (with sections as thin as 3mm) tightens up the wheelbase by 15mm. A new swingarm is the same length as previous, but it’s now constructed from three melted/gravity-cast sections instead of five high-pressure plate castings.Powertrain The GSX-R’s 599cc mill is architecturally unchanged, retaining the same bore and stroke (67.0 x 42.5mm) as the existing bike and every other 600 supersport. But everything inside has been updated, and the motor has been rotated 3 degrees more upright. It’s also a massive 4.4 lbs lighter. Shorter-skirt pistons have 14% less mass, and the connecting rods are 12% lighter. New cams with reduced overlap are purported to boost low- to mid-range power, and they continue to actuate 16 titanium valves. New vent holes between cylinders reduce mechanical pumping losses. Suzuki Dual Throttle Valve (SDTV) technology carries over, now better directing fuel into the combustion chamber via a steeper angle of the throttle bodies to improve responsiveness. A smaller ECU shaves 330 grams of weight and allowed it to be relocated in front of the airbox. Suzuki Drive Mode Selector (S-DMS) now has just two settings instead of three, and the softer setting now defaults to full power when the throttle is pinned. A considerable 3.75 lbs was pared from the exhaust system’s weight, thanks to thinner-wall header tubing and a smaller under-engine pre-chamber and titanium muffler. Fuel economy is said to be improved by 10%, somewhat offset by the new requirement for premium gas.

We’re told to expect 123 crankshaft horsepower delivered at 13,500 rpm, which should translate into about 108 horses at the rear wheel. This should put it at or near the top of the herd. Torque peaks at 11,500 rpm with 51.3 ft-lb measured at the crankshaft.

The transmission has its internal gearing juggled, now with a slightly taller first gear and closer spacing throughout its six speeds. Suzuki reps allege smoother shifting along with the gearbox being 185 grams lighter.

Ergonomics

The GSX-R600 retains the lowest-in-class seat height of 31.8 inches, and its narrower shape allows short legs a direct path to the ground. The clip-on handlebars are now spread out 1 degree extra for better leverage, and a lower tank top allows easier tucking in. Footpegs retain their class-exclusive three-position adjustability and are lighter by 53 grams.

A compact instrument panel is borrowed from the GSX-R1000, now including a lap timer and a four-step adjustable shift light. A large analog tach is augmented by an LCD panel with speed, gear position, clock and dual tripmeters.

The 2011 GSX-R600 seems to have all the ingredients to vault it to the top end of the 600cc sportbike class, and we’re excited to sample it to find out how well its lighter weight and Brembo brakes work early in the New Year.

“It’s hard for me to explain the leap we made with this model,” said Derek Schoeberle, American Suzuki’s field service manager and one of the few people outside Japan to have ridden the new Gixxer. This exciting new GSX-R is scheduled to arrive in dealers in February or March for a list price of $11,599. You’ll have your choice of the familiar Suzuki blue and white or a black-and-silver combo.2011 Suzuki GSX-R750 The 749cc version of the Gixxer 600 makes an appreciated companion, sharing virtually all the updates its little brother inherited this year. It, too, has lost about 20 lbs, now with a stated curb weight of 416 lbs – that’s just 6 lbs more than the 600. But the best news is that Suzuki has juggled the 750’s MSRP in relation to the 600. Instead of the $1300 difference in 2009, the added cost for the 750cc version is now just $400!