2x2: 2009 Honda CBR600RR vs. 2009 Kawasaki ZX-6R

Green to the extreme.

By Don Canet | Photos by Brian Blades

July 2009

Photos: Honda CBR600RR vs. Kawasaki ZX-6R >>

Green, it seems, is the freshest buzz-word to sweep the planet. "Green this, green that," exhort the Capital Hill privileged that purportedly represent us overtaxed payers. While politicians produce enough hot CO₂ to feed a forest and burn through newly printed notes as if they grew on trees, my idea of eco-friendly transportation is the pair of irrefutably green machines we have here.

The latest in a long line of green sportbikes, Kawasaki's lime-colored Ninja ZX-6R has been thoroughly reworked for 2009. Now even Big Red has boarded the G train, offering its CBR600RR in a timely metallic-green-on-black paint scheme. Either of these middleweight sportbikes represents a righteous purchase at a time when excess may be viewed as a self-indulgent character flaw. Fact is, both of these bikes are powerhouse performers well capable of running with the liter-class elite on many roads and racetracks.

Honda has locked down the honor of Best Middleweight Streetbike the past two years in Cycle World's Ten Best Bikes balloting. Aside from offering a sport-ABS option (our testbike was the non-ABS version), Honda has elected to play out its hand in 2009 with no significant changes to the 600RR. Kawasaki has risen to the challenge with a host of 6R updates aimed at improved midrange delivery and sharper handling. Headlining the list of ZX-6R chassis changes is the use of a Showa Big Piston Fork, providing improved damping control, primarily during the stroke's change of direction.

Before we pitted the two bikes head-to-head at the track and on the street, each was rolled onto the Cycle World scales and dyno. At 398 pounds without fuel, the Kawi has shed an impressive 16 pounds, closing up on the 386-pound class-featherweight CBR. Comparing dyno charts reveals the fruits of Kawasaki's labor. A very broad torque spread builds steadily off idle and hits its stride at 8000 rpm, maintaining 40-plus foot-pounds beyond 14,000 rpm. The Honda holds a slight edge in torque production from 8000 to 12,000 rpm, but it rolls over on top with a 10-hp disparity to the 6R's impressive 110.2 peak horsepower at 14,000 rpm. Both offer generous over-rev with power tailing off out to their respective 15,000-rpm rev-limiters.

Pulling cleanly away from a stop is equally easy aboard either bike, with very little throttle application or revs above idle required to do so. Neither bike suffers from any hint of hesitation at basement revs in its lower gears, making each a pleasure to ride in town. The same holds true for the slick shifting action when working through their six-speed gearboxes. A tangible difference is revealed at freeway cruise speeds: Both run in the same 6500–7000-rpm range at an indicated 70–80 mph, but the ZX-6R clearly stands out, with only a hint of vibration seeping through its bars. Not that the mild, high-pitched tingle felt in the CBR grips is a deal-breaker, but the difference is noticeable.

Larger riders will find the ZX-6R more spacious than the CBR, its riding position a bit more spread out with a slightly longer reach to the bars. The tinted ZX windscreen is also taller, offering a little more wind protection, but shorter riders may find that the turbulent airflow over the top of the screen rocks their helmets. Both have very roomy saddles allowing plenty of fore/aft movement and making it easy to fold into a full-tuck position. Both saddles are narrow where they meet the tank, resulting in less leg-reach to the ground, with the ZX's slimmer midsection and .4-inch-lower seat height favoring shorter riders in that regard.

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