2005 Kawasaki ZX-6R

The 636cc Kawasaki works as good as it looks. Kudos to Team Green for creating a stylish set of clothes that don’t require flashy decals to make it look exciting.

New Showa suspension and revised chassis geometry make this the best handling ZX-6R ever.

Supersport riders might have to get accustomed to this view of the 2005 ZX-6R.

Sunshine was all too rare during our first day aboard the ZX-6R.

This Candy Plasma Blue color really popped when the Spanish sun came out.

Note the divot in the top of the fuel tank that allows a rider to tuck in behind the steeply raked windscreen.

The ZX-6’s new ram-air intake looks prettier and nastier at the same time. Oh yeah, it also works better.

This cutaway clearly shows the ZX’s split fuel tank. Note the height of the airbox for maximum volume and how compact the engine is from front to rear.

The exhaust valve is shut at lower rpm which adds backpressure which in turn boosts torque. It opens up at higher rpm, increasing flow of spent fuel, allowing the ZX to breath better at WFO.

Here’s a shredded Bridgestone courtesy of Mr. Duke and Almeria.

With handlebars about a half-inch closer to the rider, the ’05 ZX-6R isn’t the rack one might expect for something that works so well on the racetrack.

Check out the multitudinous hues of blue that play off the sculpted surfaces of the ZX’s new bodywork.

Despite that gaping ram-air inlet, the new ZX-6R is a smooth and flowing design.

Good stuff seen here are the new petal-shaped brake discs, Showa inverted fork, larger radiator and daintier turn signals.

Testing the new brakes was pure joy. Add into the mix the nifty slipper-clutch and you are rewarded with incident-free corner entries almost every time.

Kawasaki has finally ditched the huge, blocky turnsignals used since the original Ninja in favor of these stylish angular indicators. Note the panel under the '636' script that holds cool flush-mount beauties on European versions.

Finally, someone makes a slim and attractive set of passenger peg brackets (the rider’s pegs are sweet, too).

The semi-flat black section of the lower fairing diminishes the impression of a lot of plastic bodywork and makes the bike appear shorter.

Here's Duke Danger showing Roadracing World's Chris Ulrich the fast way around Almeria. Well, he's in front of him anyways.

Danger is heading right into your office at triple digit speeds aboard the all-new Kawasaki ZX-6R

New Showa suspension and revised chassis geometry make this the best handling ZX-6R ever.

The original 600 Ninja looked like a pure-bred racebike back in the mid-80s. Now, it looks like a classic bike from an era long since gone. But you know you wanted one bad back in the day.

The twin cables that wrap toward the left side of the picture push and pull via a servo motor on the 2005 Kawasaki ZX-6R exhaust valve in response to rpm and throttle position. It's the first exhaust valve fitted to a middleweight sportbike that you could buy at a dealer outside of California.

Kawasaki has created four vibrant colors for the new ZX-6R. The "red" is actually a hot burnt orange, the silver is understatedly seductive, and the traditional Kawasaki lime green has been tweaked a tad lighter to make it more vivid.

The '05 ZX gets a much needed aesthetic upgrade for 2005. Our tester arrived in a cool titanium paint scheme.

Despite a heavy front end, the ZX turns in as well as most of the competitors in the middle weight class.

The ZX instrument cluster was universally panned by our group of testers. The LCD tach is extremely difficult to read in all situations.

Kawasaki fitted the ZX with an underseat exhaust in 2005.

The ZX boasts some of the best binders in the middleweight class.

Brian Chamberlain selected the ZX as the winner in our 2005 Supersport Shootout.

The ZX pulls the frontend up on acceleration in second gear no matter what you do.

Although Duke's tail isn't all that, the new Ninja exhaust is worth looking at.

Sean Roberti said he was never a Kawi-guy but the 2005 ZX-6R changed his mind.

Ken seemed to dig the ZX motor, but there's more to track riding than just having a mondo-powered bike beneath you.

Hutch gets his ZX groove on at Infineon Raceway.

You get bonus points if you notice the front fender has been swiped from the omnipotent ZX-10R.