2007 Kawasaki ZX-6R Photo Gallery

A very nippy Barber circuit played host to Kawasaki's '07 Supersport intro.

Team Green will be a major player in this year's AMA Supersport championship.

Duke Danger forgets about his Orange County home and returns back to his cold-as-hell Canadian prairie upbringing to survive the freezing Alabama temps.

The emissions get channeled through a pre-muffler/catalyzer located under the engine, which allows for a smaller undertail muffler.

We can't complain about the ZX's hard-to-read tach any longer, as it's now a simple white-faced analog rev counter with red numbers that take just a moment to assimilate.

Red looks very good on the new Kaw.

Front stoppers on the ZX-6R.

Two optional gear sets are available on the ZX-6R for the cassette-style transmission that enables trackside internal gearing changes, the only middleweight with this racer-desirable component.

The exhaust powervalve on North American 6R models close at high revs to meet noise regulations, but a quick modification can reset the ECU to more powerful European standards.

The name is Danger. Duke, Danger.

Duke felt kudos must be given to the 6R's excellent slipper clutch, which was as good as any OEM unit he has ever tried.

This thing goes up and down 275 times a second at the ZX's redline of 16,500 rpm.

When you got the nickname 'Danger', you have Shift stitch it into their leathers for ya.

The new ZX-6R is slimmer though the middle with the rider sitting closer to the front wheel, giving the bike a more compact feel.

Throttle response on the new supersport is super smooth, with none of the on/off throttle abruptness we despise.

It was a chilly 23 degrees at the 2007 ZX-6R intro at Barber.

Our editor-at-large Neale Bayly chases down editor Duke over one of several substantial hills at Barber Motorsports Park.

The ZX-6R's new, smaller engine gets air through polished intake ports and 1.5mm larger intake valves.

In addition to two mechanics in the pits, we had former World Superbike pilot Akira Yanagawa blazing around Barber and scrubbing in tires!

Kawasaki's PR literature claims the new 6R 'churns out way more midrange torque than its predecessors,' but whoever wrote that must not have ridden the burly ZX-636.

The 2007 ZX-6R sports a competitive price, with its $8999 MSRP, the ZX is $200-$300 cheaper than the R6 and $500 less than the CBR (the GSX-R is just $8899).

A testament to the ZX-6R's stability, Duke turned laps thankful of the steering damper only to find out later in the pits that there wasn't one on the new Ninja.

A cheater no more. For 2007 Kawasaki reduced the displacement on its ZX-6R down from 636cc to the same 599cc as its Supersport rivals.

The new supersport's chief test rider was a former 125cc GP rider, and Duke here found the new R stable through the corners, where it excelled.

Oval 38mm throttle bodies mix air and fuel, but they are now 8mm shorter which might offer a high-rpm benefit to the new Ninja supersport.

The '07 ZX-6R sports a new set of duds to go with the new everything else, looking more chiseled than the previous version and its soft curves. Note the flush-mount front turnsignals.

A ZX-6R rider sits noticeably closer to the front wheel this year, helping contribute to an enhanced feeling of communication with the front end.

The new 6R doesn't have the grunt we loved about its larger-displacement '06 forbear, but a quick tuning trick to get the ECU onto European specs will help add some juice.

The 23-degree temps at the Barber ZX-6R intro may have been chilly, but at least Duke was able to find one with a warm color scheme, one of four colors available.

There was no real danger on the ZX. Its surefootedness at Barber was highly impressive, and we can't wait to find out how it stacks up against the others in the middleweight supersport class.

Kawi's engineers claim the '07 ZX-6R can lap Kawi's Autopolis racetrack a good 2 seconds quicker than the old RR and at least 3 seconds quicker than the ZX-636.

Is the 2007 ZX-6R Kawasaki's best handling Ninja to date?

2007 Kawasaki ZX-6R Photo Gallery

Photos of the 2007 Kawasaki ZX-6R. 2007 Kawasaki ZX-6R First Ride.