KAWASAKI NINJA ZX-6R 2024 | FIRST LOOK REVIEW
According to Kawasaki, the collapse of the supersport category has been overblown. Kawasaki may be detecting a sport bike revival by introducing a radically redesigned Ninja ZX-6R for the 2024 model.
It is expected to launch in india in august 2023 at a price range of ₹11,00,000 -₹11,50,000 .
The modified 2024 model has surfaced on the EPA’s most recent list of authorised bikes for use on public roads, disclosing important facts and dropping hints about additional significant alterations when we eventually get to see the bike in person. The bike for the next year will, however, be less powerful than the one we had from 2019 to 2023. When compared to the model before it, the “ZX636G” to employ Kawasaki’s internal code, performance had already somewhat declined.
While the decline from the “E” to the “G” model was minor, dropping from 129 horsepower to 127 hp while maintaining the same high revs of 13,500 rpm, the change for the new bike—two variants are mentioned, internally called “ZX636J” and “ZX636K”—is more significant. The EPA paperwork puts it at 122 horsepower and indicates a rev peak of 13,000 rpm, implying that Kawasaki has reduced the engine’s maximum revs to assist satisfy pollution standards. Because there is no change to US emissions requirements, the changes are most likely the result of an effort to satisfy the most recent Euro 5 standards issued in Europe and abroad, which have seen the previous ZX-6R pulled off the market throughout Europe.
The emissions listed in the EPA document for the new model are basically identical to the prior one, with just minor increases in NOx and CO production over the previous model. However, under Euro 5 regulations, there is a specific restriction for “non-methane hydrocarbons” that is particularly difficult for high-revving bikes to meet. Essentially, the significant valve overlap necessary to adequately replace the charge in each cylinder at high rpm results in too much unburned gasoline escaping into the exhaust at lower RPM. By retuning the ZX-6R’s engine and lowering the outright peak power and revs, it may be possible to remedy that issue without having to start from scratch.
The EPA document also shows a change in final-drive gearing, with longer overall ratios to accommodate the lower-revving engine, but it appears the 2024 bike weighs roughly the same as the current model (the EPA lists an Equivalent Inertial Mass figure of 683 pounds, which remains unchanged). That means there won’t be any major changes to the chassis, but we can anticipate some more modern looks, very probably based on the aerodynamics of the newest Ninja ZX-10R, as well as a slew of electrical enhancements. A colour TFT instrument panel is almost certainly a given, and electronics like as IMU-assisted cornering ABS, wheelie control, launch control, and stability control are likely to be the absolute minimum on a modern sportbike.
