There will be a new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R for the 2019 model year, of this much we are certain.
It is a story that has been floating around for over a year now (I thought we had reported it already, but apparently not), but now this rumor is heating up, and we have some details to share.
First off, the confirmation. Making filings with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), we see that Kawasaki has plans for a new ZX-6R. It will have a 636cc (cheater) displacement, and produce roughly half the emissions of the previous model.
Likely ready for the coming wave of Euro5 emission regulations, details from across the pond show a power decrease and weight increase for the 2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, and point to a whole-new motorcycle coming from Team Green.
The big change in the emissions scheme for the ZX-6R is a three-way closed-loop catalyst, which replaces the two-way oxidizing catalyst on the previous model.
To that end, we see a report from Britain’s BikeSocial saying that the peak power output will modestly drop from 129hp to 128hp. Meanwhile, the weight will also increase, going from 428 lbs at the curb, to 432 lbs ready to ride.
Both are modest changes, and could signal only basic engine changes to make the bike pass the government standards, but details are also leaking that the rough dimensions of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R are changing for 2019 as well.
As such, the 2019 model will get wider than the previous edition, by a quarter-inch; it will be shorter too by 2.5 inches; and it will be lower than its predecessor, by half an inch.
We can expect other changes to the bodywork and electronics, but those are tougher to guess with the information available.
What we do know is that we can expect the 2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R to debut at INTERMOT or EICMA later this year, and that one of the color options will surely be a shade of lime green.
Whoever said that the supersport market is dead, clearly didn’t send the memo to Kawasaki. Get excited for next year’s crop of bikes.
Source: BikeSocial, CARB, & Bothan Spies
