Kawasaki ZZR 600

I had my ZZR600 for about 2 years, trading in a 1998 Bandit/s (the half faired one) at GR's Sportsbikes in Poole. I paid £2200 in all. I wanted something with a full fairing and decent performance. The ZZR was a 2002 model (E5?) and fitted me like a glove. It was thoroughly reliable, never once breaking down or even getting a puncture or blowing a headlight bulb.

The only problem I had with it was when moisture somehow got into one of the spark plug holes and caused a misfire, which I eventually traced and fixed with a dry cloth and a few squirts of WD40. I rode the bike to work and back through a winter with no problems, keeping it outside under a cover in all weathers and the finish stood up well, with a bit of TLC. The biggest job I did on it was checking the valve clearances, which necessitates removing a lot of the plastics. The centre exhaust valves were the most difficult to check if I remember correctly, needing a bent feeler gauge to get a good reading. with regular oiling the chain and sprockets lasted well, needing little adjustment.

I rode the bike up to Scotland one summer to visit family, and the bike was great, averaging around 60-70mpg on the motorway(at about 70mph) and around 50mpg on the normal A and B roads and around town. These bikes handle and corner well enough, and the brakes are ok if not great. I had to replace a set of discs, and made the mistake of buying a cheap Chinese set, which I eventually had to replace with a decent brand maybe EBC, I can't quite remember. The fairing gave good protection but I put another aftermarket screen on it to reduce the turbulence for longer trips.

I'm only 5 foot 5 but I could easily reach the floor, and since the bikes are quite light I had no problems with it size-wise, but maybe bigger riders might struggle for room on them. All in all a great bike, and one which I wouldn't hesitate to buy again if a mint example came up locally, which is surely the best recommendation.

Recently got back into biking after a 5yr lay off and after scouring the ads for bikes locally and coming up empty handed I came across my recently acquired 03/ZZR600E-11 "located in" Blackpool believe it or not...

Not the first time I've owned a ZZR6 as I used to own a D3 model a few years back too...

These are well built, super quick (for their age) mid-weight sports-tourers. Cheap, reliable but not without their quirks, the transition from 1st to 2nd can be a bit clunky if you're not a particularly careful rider, keep the chain tensioned properly, the clutch adjusted properly and make sure the cush-drive rubbers are in good knick and you'll have no problems...

The engine is in typical Kawasaki fashion 'an absolute monster' for a 600, smooth, powerful and very rideable below about 7-8k but it's above this where the motor shows its true colours, not so much a wolf, think more 'El Diablo' and you'd be about right as it howls its way up to the redline/limiter with consummate ease, click it up another notch and it does the same all over again and you'll soon find yerself in top and still searching for another cog...

They recommend a semi-synth 10/40 for the motor and I'd stick to it too, mine came with full synth in and when hot it makes the clutch very grabby so I'll soon be changing it...

The brakes aren't the best but having been brought up on 70's and 80's muscle bikes they're certainly not the worst I've ever had to deal with and are more than capable when required but planning ahead is a must, as for the rear brake, does it have one ?...

Much the same as any other bike I've owned though, to efficient and they just lock up or at the other end of the scale, completely useless, nuff said...

Later/post 95 front forks got adjustments for damping and pre-load (to match the rear shock) as pre 95 had naff all, just a shame they didn't upgrade the rear shock accordingly as its the same unit throughout the entire production run from 1990-2003...

Once set up "properly" though the ole ZZR handles reasonably well for a bike weighing a touch over 200kgs and I've certainly never really found them particularly wanting in that respect, obviously it's no scalpel but it certainly carves a sweet line through the corners and due to the extra mass and length is very stable in a straight line which is where it really comes into its own...

Regular servicing is the key to maintaining that sweet motor although "they're tough" so don't panic if you miss a service interval by a couple of thou or so as it's not gonna start whinging any time soon...

Personally I'd have liked to have seen this little trooper sporting a 900cc motor as well as I think there's to much of a gap between the 6 and the 11...

With the recent penchant for 800's maybe Kawasaki ought to re-birth the ZZR ?...

All in all a proper mid-weight scoot with more than enough poke to make yer mates on their CBR6's/GSXR's sweat, more than enough comfort/speed/tank range/power to handle touring and if you really insist I'm sure it'd handle some proper intercontinental excursions too although you may wanna look for something a touch bigger should the missus insist on coming with you, 1100 anyone ?...

i bought my ZZR600 about three weeks ago,im a big man 170kls and road it 13 hours back home from ballina nsw.i couldn,t get any gear to fit me as im a big fella,it raind most of the time traveling back home and the bike handled unreal,doing 110klm on the free way and 100 on the old high way with rain and wind it just sat there and didn,t budge a bit,infact it could have gone even quicker as it was so stable.

the only thing that was not good was the soft back shocky i had it adjusted before i left and now im getting it fix.but that's about it although i get about 230klms to 240klms with the reserve.so fuel is good considering its carrying me and 50klos in the back sack.

i would recommend it for any one.there were bigger bikes going past me and some very fast cars and if i wanted to could have eaten them alive if i wanted too.so much power if you needed it ay.the bike is capable of doing 280klos so if you get introuble and need to pass a B double no problems.

unreal bike and great value as well.

Overview:

I bought my 1996 ZZR on a whim and after watching clips of their acceleration on YouTube. The intention was to use her as a cheap, fast winter hack. Whilst she did fill this role (well, until she broke) I find the ratings given by a lot of riders hard to justify. Here's what I found out the hard way.

Engine:

The engine is the best part of the bike. It's rough as a fragged sewing machine at idle - coming from Yamahas and Hondas I felt a huge difference in the vibes and general feel of quality engineering. Everytime I revved the engine the whole bike would shudder and the clattering from the engine would throb through the frame. Annoying and disconcerting.

But once above 4,000 RPM, the engine whines like a demon and explodes with a huge surge of power. Very entertaining and enjoyable. But it's an annoying engine to maintain. Oil and filter changes every 3k miles are impractical for an all year around rider. Not to mention the valve clearances and plugs which are very, very annoying to do at home in a garage. All in all, the engine is a corker but it's not easy to look after and it's not refined.

Equipment:

The ZZR actually comes very well setup - boasting some basic kit that many newer bikes fail to bother with. Practical touches I liked

were the instrumentation (speedo, revs, fuel and temp guage) the extendable hooks and the pillion grab rillion. The centre stand made

chain maintainance easy but had a tendancy to ground out riding two up. There's a good underseat storage box and a lockable glove box in the left fairing panel - both handy additions that more bikes should have.

Suspension:

Pretty rubbish to be honest. Most bikes would have a knackered rear shock at this stage of their life but even so, my ZZR had a tendancy to wobble through corners and even for the rear wheel to spin up on rare occasions. I got tired of trying to sort it - acceptable but not great. The lack of feedback and connection at the rear hampered my riding enoyment and I'm very experienced. For newbies it would be down right scary! The front forks were better but also bottomed out when pushing on. Pretty naff.

I guess both problems could be improved, but with such a shoddy general ride, why bother?

Riding position:

A good riding position - even for a large man like myself (6'1, 14 st.) Comfort was good, the bars just right and the pegs nicely placed.

It's a sports touring bike so does kant the rider over slightly but compared to a supersports, the ergonomics are great. The longest I rode

was three hours but I could have kept going for a long time without discomfort. The full fairing did a great job of protecting me from the worst of the winter and the bike proved very stable in high speed crosswinds.

Brakes:

A lot of people slate the ZZR for its rubbish brakes and they do have a point. The rear is basically a wooden bowl being stopped by a stapler and this does...not a lot. The twin front disks are much better and do actually bring the bike to a halt quickly. Not advanced, not as good as other bikes but acceptable. They are easy to bleed and easy to maintain I guess.

Build quality.

Shrugs...this was the death knell for this bike. It's just not that well made. Bolts corrode, paint gets chipped easily and things break. I pamper my motorcycles but the ZZR was by far the poorest in terms of quality I've had. She wasn't that braw when I got her, but after only two months of winter riding (cleaned every night and sprayed with ACF50) she was looking bad. More importantly, she popped one morning and then refused to start. Ever. This after oil change, spark plugs, carb sync, new battery, etc, etc. Time and effort and money - all ill spent. The starter motor was toast as was other electrical compotents but by then, I'd stopped caring.

Parting shots:

The ZZR is the average looking girl at the party; slightly overweight, specs, a bit greasy, OK body and acceptable face (if you're drunk.)

Fast, cheap and has a wide following. If that's your taste, bash on.

But for me, she's an inferior machine made of poor quality components (in comparison to Yamaha & Honda.) Dull looking, rough ride and poor construction made my love affair with this bike very short lived. Good in a straight line, cheap to insure, parts are widely available and there's a big following. But so what? So do much better bikes.

Comparable machines are available for the same money so I'd avoid unless you are totally obssessed with Kawasaki. Or spending all day in a garage trying to squeeze your hand into impossibly tight nooks and crannies to re-attach clips. What a pain in the rear...

Would I recommend - no, I wouldn't.

Hello, I want a short $ rice rocket. I ride an HD streetglide. I found an 04 and 06 low miles and cheap cheap....im late 40's it felt good sitting but its New England in Dec I cant take it for a rip...any tips ??? Thx

low slung cumphy seat, easy on longer rides, loads of usable power 100 horses, bit heavy in the front, solid good stoping front brakes back not much to say,good on the hills, stable on the sweepers,quite fast for an old girl easy to keep looking great and parts avalable,good on gas,great comuter,it goes easy on the tyres & chains as well,pricing will hold its value, over all great all rounder.

All the power u need very good bike hi can't fault it apart its a bit on heaver side

I love this bike, apart from a regulator/rectifier it has not let me down once, I use it every single day in all weathers. The bike has done 63000 Miles! and runs as good as new. I recently replaced the Micron 4 -1 exhaust (fitted by previous owner) with a stock as I had enough of the noise and the difference was amazing, smoother, more power through the range and a better idle. Keep them as stock and show a bit of TLC and they will go on forever. The gearboxes can be a bit clunky, I find that Castrol power 1 oil helps with this a lot.

I regularly have comments made about the age and mileage but get it on the road and it holds its own against any of the other 600's. I get around 40-45 MPG, insurance is cheap, ride is comfortable and easy but don't be fooled into thinking this bike is a boring tourer, if/ when you need it the power is there! I would reccomend this bike to anyone, including sensible novice riders, And don't be put off by high mileage.

I'd had a 600 Bandit for two years and was happy with it, commuting, some touring and running around. Fancied something with a full fairing and saw the ZZR locally so chopped the Bandit in against it.

Had the ZZR for two years now.

It's been totally reliable, economical and cheap to run and I still look forward to riding it. It's got a great engine which thrives on revs, but can potter about town at less than 2000rpm.

Give it a fistfull and it leaves most things at the lights. Take it easy as I did recently on a trip to London and it will return over 70mpg.

Brakes are good, handlings fine, it's reasonably comfortable and it uses no oil.

Downsides? Clunky gearbox when pottering about at town speeds. Standard screen is a bit low for high speed touring, otherwise I can't fault it.

Oh, they go for peanuts. Some complain about suspension being soft, but it's fine for me, but then I don't do trackdays..

Had a 1995 ZZR600 as my first bike. Performance-wise, it was good for a 600 and more than enough for a new rider. Handling was OK too, as was comfort. On paper, it's a decent all-rounder.

Where the ZZR suffers is build quality. I bought it with only 12,000 miles on the clock and the exhaust headers had already rotted through. Paint on the engine cases was bubbling up too.

I used the bike all year, and the first winter really showed it's limitations. Halfway through winter, the brake calipers seized solid! The pistons could not be removed from the calipers. This meant I had to buy new calipers, which were expensive.

Due to the poor build quality, I would not have another.