Reasons Why I Ride Kawasaki’s ZX-6R
I currently ride KAWASAKI ZX6R.
Many people ask me why I chose this motorcycle, and I thought this would be a good time to write about the reasons why I decided to ride KAWASAKI’s ZX6R.
Well, first of all, I am Japanese living in Japan, 165cm (5feet 5 inches) height and 55kg weight.
Second of all, when I buy a motorcycle, I focus on four points.
1) shape,
2) seat height,
3) weight, and
4) manageability,
because based on my experience, those are most stressful if they do not fit you.
I do not much care about fuel efficiency or kind of function installed on the bike.
I always wanted a full covered bike with more than 400cc engine displacement so that I started with looking for a nice looking bike with more than 400cc engine displacement.
At that point, candidates were Kawasaki’s ZX-6R, ZX-10R, ZZR 1400, Honda’s CBR 1000, Yamaha’s FJR1300A, and Suzuki’s Hayabusa.
Also, I included Kawasaki’s ZZR 600 and ZZR 1100 if they are on the second- hand markets.
Among these candidates, I cut Suzuki’s Hayabusa out because my friends always told me that it is a dangerous bike.
Next, I cut FJR1300 out because it weighs 296kg and thought it is too heavy for me.
I have experience of riding Kawasaki’s ZZR 400 which weighs 193kg and having a hard time handling it.
I had no confidence handling the wike which weighs 296kg.
Then, I cut Hond’s CBR out because my impression of CBR is too popular and many people ride it.
Also, I have ridden Kawasaki’s bike only so that I decided to stick with Kawasaki.
Remaining candidates were Kawasaki’s ZX-6R, ZX-10R, ZZR1100, ZZR600, and ZZR1400.
Among them, I cut ZZR1400 out first because I thought it is too big and I don’t need 1400cc for just riding it within in small Japan.
Next, I gave up ZZR600. This bike is produced only for export, and I could not find a good conditioned bike in the second-hand markets.
By the time I narrowed the choices down to three, I felt like buying a brand new bike; thus I gave up ZZR1100 also.
Then, I had to decide between ZX-6R and ZX-10R.
So, I compared the seat height and weight of both bikes.
ZX-6R has 85cm seat height with 194kg in weights.
ZX-10R has 81.3cm seat height with 198kg in weights.
ZX-10R was heavier than ZX-6R but only for 3kg, and it has a less seat height than ZX-6R.
At this point, my feeling tilted toward buying ZX10R because I thought its seat height fits my size.
Next, I compared two bikes by reading review articles and watching review videos.
One article said that ZX-10R does not need to change gear from the first gear if you only run in a town and it shows the best performance on the highways.
Since I do not like to run on the highways when I travel on a bike, I felt ZX-10R might not be for me, but I still could not decide which bike to buy.
At last, I decided to buy ZX-6R by listening to the suggestion of a lady working at the bike shop.
She said “there was a gentleman who bought ZX-10R, and he rode that bike for a half a year, but he came back to the shop saying that I feel like I am driven by this bike and it is boring. He finally sold ZX-10R and bought ZX-6R."
Well, I think every bike is comfortable when it runs at high speed, but I believe they differ when it runs at a low speed, and it stops.
I already told you before that I focus on shape, seat height, weight, and manageability when I buy a motorcycle.
So, I suggest if you are considering buying a motorcycle, compare the wights and seat height by reading specs first, then, if it is possible, test ride the bike but not only riding it at high speed but also ride it at low speed. And, try to push the bike and see how comfortable you are with handling the bike.