LONGTERMER KAWASAKI ZX-6R

Last month, I was gearing up to consign my ZX-6R to the back of my garage while I disappeared for the best part of three weeks to work at the TT with Batham's Racing.

- JOHNNY

Price from new: Modifications: ₤10,599

RUNNING TOTAL £0

TIME ON TEST: TWO MONTHS

I did, however, get the good people at Arrow Exhausts to order a full system for it for when I got back. I want to get the exhaust system changed over on my ZX-6R to de-cat it and see just how much power all that Euro5 stuff is costing, not that I'm desperate for more power. Alas, at the time of writing, the system has not yet arrived, so I can't report back on what the gains are.

However, the Kawasaki is, mile by mile, proving to be quite the little star and winning me over despite 'only' being a supersport bike.

Now that I'm getting out on it more regularly than I did when I first took ownership, I frankly just can't get enough. This is due to a combination of a number of factors, and at the heart of everything that's good about the ZX-6R - aside from the chassis - is the marriage between the engine and gearbox. I've no doubt that without the passage of time and sheer number of years that the ZX-6R has been in production, Kawasaki has been fettling and tweaking at all the combinations of gear ratios and final drive to the point where any concerns about it being a peaky, revvy engine that needs to be revved like mad to get anywhere are just not the case.