'Soup is testing the '07 Kawasaki ZX-6R this weekend at a very cold Barber Motorsports Park. Under those leathers are three sets of thermals. image by kevin wing

(Editor's note: Superbikeplanet.com is well-known for sending unholy fast riders to OEM press intros in order to extract the very last drop of ten-tenths performance from the machines. Trying to add some variety to our testing duties this time we have sent writer Jim McDermott to test the new ZX-6R. McDermott—well known for his Valencia MotoGP story—is a medium-fast street rider with over twenty years riding experience. When he partakes in a track day, he's in the medium-fast group. Here is his day one story.)

Soup is live at Barber Motorpsorts Park for the world introduction of the 2007 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R. Jack Frost was most definitely nipping at our nads this morning, with the temperature reading an Al Gore-defying 19 degrees Fahrenheit at 8:00 am. Apparently, global warming hasn't hit Alabama just yet. The fountain just outside the hotel lobby froze just about solid overnight, and as the assembled full time journos stepped outside to board the bus to Barber, the sound of chattering California chicklets was nearly deafening.

Me, being from New Yawk, I'm used to freezing six months a year, so I just zipped up my parka and got on the bus. What was making me feel a bit ambivalent, to be honest, was the fact that I had a) kind of sworn off sportbikes after selling my 999 earlier this year, b) had never ridden at Barber before, and c) Dean casually mentioned that wadding a brand new Ninja would not be good for either his wallet or my health (not necessarily in that order.)
Normally, I write about roadracing, from the warm safe confines of a press room, where you write about world class riders making mistakes that costs them race wins, or championships. But to be on the track, with all these fast guys that test ride bikes for a living? Would my slow, old, middle-of-the-road ass be worthy? Is the fact that I paid real money for, well, all of my motorcycles and rode so that they would not be destroyed even relevant?

Kawasaki's event this weekend is tagged "The Ultimate Track Day", and although I'm an easily impressed n00b when it comes to model intro schmooze fests, it is apparent that they've pulled out all the stops to truly make this event special. WSBK rider Akira Yanagawa, Soup columnist Roger Hayden, and even Pere Riba are on hand to show us the fast line around the track. The actual Japanese Project Managers and Engineers that designed the 07 6R were here. Even "Manako", the Kawasaki's development rider, a former world 125 and 250 GP racer, was here to answer questions. And each rider was assigned a mechanic and a tech that were at our disposal to customize settings and personalize our Ninjas to make them work perfectly for us. This was a good thing, as most sportbikes come tuned out of the box for 165 pound riders, and I haven't weighed that little since Ben & Jerry's got national distribution in the 1980s.

Saddling up at about 205 pounds sans gear, I got my mechanics working straight out of the box to get a little less sag out of the rear end of the bike. The tire warmers were on all the machines, and huge humid clouds of came out of everyone's mouths as they spoke on pit lane, looking kind of like cartoon bubbles ready for someone to write dialogue in. Luckily, I was wearing Supermoto leathers, which are cut kind of roomy vs. roadracing leathers, so I was able to wear wool long johns under the suit. I also brought a silk balaclava and neck warmer, and silk liners for my gloves.

I cannot express enough how apocalyptically cold it felt at 9:30 in Birmingham today. If I was home in NY, riding a motorcycle would have been the last thing on my mind.

Kawasaki's event this weekend is tagged "The Ultimate Track Day", and although I'm an easily impressed n00b when it comes to model intro schmooze fests, it is apparent that they've pulled out all the stops to truly make this event special. WSBK rider Akira Yanagawa, Soup columnist Roger Hayden, and even Pere Riba are on hand to show us the fast line around the track.

Sitting on the new Ninja, the first thing that struck me was how comfy the bike felt, and how easy it was to move around on the machine. The new generation of 600cc Supersport bikes are tiny, and I was kind of worried that I would look and feel like the fat guy with the monkey hat riding the tricycle at the circus, but it only took a few laps for me to feel totally comfortable on the bike. Unlike my 999 (or as I referred to her after every ride, "The Italian Inquisition"), I didn't' feel like there was much weight on my wrists, or that I was too stretched out. It was really nice to ride a nimble, roomy machine that didn't constantly remind me of that second Kruller I had at breakfast this morning.

While I do occasionally ride inline 4 motorcycles, most of my personal streetbike experience over the past ten years has been with European twin and single cylinder bikes. So it took two sessions for me to really start winding the new Ninja up to redline, into the teens, 13, 14, 15, 16,500 rpm, to That Place Where NO Twin Will Go.

Part of the reason why I wasn't screaming the bike was that I didn't need to. Unlike some competing 600cc bikes I have ridden, the Kawasaki 6R has midrange lungs, and pulls very nicely off corners from 7 or 8000 rpm. The now deleted 636 Kawi' won many street shootouts in Supersport comparisons, because the bike's additional 36cc of displacement gave it more midrange, and on the street, more midrange equals better rideability. It's fine to brag about your bike being able to rev to 20,000 rpm, but when it won't pull the skin off a glass of warm milk below 12 grand, how much fun will the bike be anywhere but a racetrack?

With the new ZX-6R, Kawasaki has developed a no compromises, race ready Supersport 600, but the street spirit of the 636 has not been completely discarded. This is a bike that will go really well around a racetrack, you can scream the bike up to redline and enjoy the shrill roar of the induction intake, but on the street, where probably 99% of the potential purchasers of the new Ninja ride exclusively, the 6R will provide enough punch to thrill anyone from a beginning to an advanced rider.

the fit and finish of the pre-production ZX6R was, as you'd expect, perfect. image by first, let's kill all the photographers

The new Ninja accomplishes this through tried & true technology. There is no fly-by-wire-throttle, variable valve timing, or ultra exotic materials used in the engine, Kawi' developed their first all new 600cc motor in a decade for this bike, and spent a lot of time on the gear ratios, so that the loss in displacement does not equate to a narrow powerband. If you buy this bike to ride on the street, you will not have to scream around at 15,000 rpm just to have fun. If you do wind the bike into nosebleed territory, you can be confident that it moves. Coming onto the front straight, I got a bit ham fisted with the throttle, whacked her right open at about 13,000 and got shoved back into my seat. It wasn't violent, but it was surprising, given the big & tall guy in the saddle.

Back when Scott Russell was riding for Muzzy in World Superbike, I spent a lot of time riding ZX-7Rs, a charismatic bike which had amazing front end feel, but in terms of fit and finish was miles behind Honda and Yamaha (ahh, memories of black Hoover-esque air intake tubes boinging slinkily into the gas tank...) Kawasaki's fit and finish has come a long way since then, and in this regard, need not make any apologies when compared to any other bike manufacturer, from Japan or elsewhere. In particular, the front headlight and directional indicator lenses fit flush with the bodywork, with no uneven seams, and the smoothly finished bodywork flows consistently and organically from nose to tail. In the past, some of Kawi's bikes have gotten small details wrong, an exposed wiring harness here, an unfinished passenger footpeg there. There are no such warts on the 07 6R, and I found myself admiring minute design elements on the bike throughout the day, something I didn't do that often on older Kawis. This machine certainly affirms a new level of quality in the bikes coming out of Kobe, in both look and feel.

Much has been written about the Mecca that is Barber Motorsports Park, and as a first time visitor, it certainly didn't disappoint. No matter what period of motorcycling is your poison, you will experience sensory overload at the Museum. For me, it was awesome to see every influential 80s-early 90s Superbike, from the Slingshot GSXR to the RC30, OWO1 and of course, ZX7R and ZX10 machines, absolutely bone stock and clean like the day they were built. And of course, there were racing versions of many of these bikes on display also. If you can't stand the thought of paying the gouger hotels in Monterey quadruple standard room rate for the MotoGP next year, then drive your bus to Birmingham for the AMA race instead. The museum and the track are every bit as compelling and essential as experience as the USGP is, perhaps more so, because there is something for every bike enthusiast here at Barber.

There is hope for a possible World Superbike round here at Barber in the future; if someone passes a petition for this your way, make sure to sign it. This facility deserves more international events and the associated exposure.

Slowing the ZX-6R down from well over 120 miles on hour on Barber's front straight, I was amazed at how composed the chassis felt on the brakes, with no shaking, diving, or histrionics from the front end. The 6R just pulls down onto the tarmac with almost magnetic force, in a dead straight line, and flicks into turn one. The gearbox is absolutely superb, no false neutrals, no notchiness, with minimal effort, just click click click. The harmony between chassis, brakes, and motor makes the new Ninja a real pleasure to ride. You never get the sense that you have to work at it to make the bike go fast.

Kawasaki had a cut-a-way machine on hand to help illustrate where and how things are what they are. image by first, let's kill all the photographers

Fast being of course, a relative term. When I do track days, I ride in the intermediate group. I have never been one of those hotshoe guys but I've always loved sportbikes, loved bike racing, bought the bikes with my own money to live the dream a little. I've taken a few track schools, an average level track rider. As Dirty Harry said, "A Man's Got To Know His Limitations.", and at 41 years of age, I do know mine, at least on a motorcycle. If, dear reader, you want to know how the 07 Ninja ZX-6R rides at 9/10ths, or 10/10ths, I'll be honest, my review is not the one you wanna read. But if you, like me, are competent street rider, looking to do track days, and want a bike that will give you miles of smiles in both environments, this new Ninja will certainly satisfy.

As your skills grow, the 07 ZX-6R should prove to be a bike with a sufficiently wide range of ability. To be sure, the Ninja was quite kind to me while I squidded around in 19 degree weather, learning the track. As I got smoother and faster, the bike just got more fun to ride. It's trick, user friendly, fast, handles like a bicycle, and is less than 10 grand, which truly impressed this "real world" rider.

So do I feel "worthy"? Well, I was probably the slowest guy on the track, but I didn't crash, nobody flipped me the bird, and I was a lot faster in the last session than I was in the first. I will probably never win a motorcycle race, but for me, like it would for most guys just getting into track days, today felt like a victory.