Take a look at our article previewing Kawasaki’s 2003 ZX-6R. At 636cc, Kawasaki’s new ZX-6R has found a sure fire way to win the horsepower wars raging in the “600 class”. Just ignore the 600cc displacement limit, and make a bigger motor (by the way, Kawasaki sold a 636 in Europe last year, but not in the U.S.).
The only thing special about the 600cc limit is the supersport racing that has developed. This is why Kawasaki has a limited-edition model which will displace less than 600cc, and be legal for supersport racing. The high-volume model is 636cc, with more torque for street riding.
It is hard to argue with Kawasaki’s strategy. Very few buyers are looking to race their bikes. The vast majority of showroom customers are looking for a bike that will be used only on the street, and the added mid-range punch offered by a bigger engine will be appealing to them.
Now that Honda has introduced the CBR600RR, and kept the more street-oriented F4i in the line-up, why not make the F4i a 650? With significantly more mid-range, it would be a better street bike. We wouldn’t be surprised to see Honda follow this strategy.
If other manufacturers homologate limited-edition supersport race bikes, they might build big-bore 600s, as well.
They might need to in order to compete with Kawasaki.
