Kawasaki’s 636cc ZX6R has been around 21 years in 2024, making it one of the longest serving supersport machines available today. It’s only been outlasted by the CBR600RR and GSXR600 here in America, and those two are becoming rarer by the year as markets around the world slowly phase out the 600cc inlinefour engine.
Supersport rules are changing across the globe, the new rule set ushered in by bikes like the Ducati Panigale V2 and the Triumph 765 Street Triple RS (that you need to convert to racespec). This new dawn in the class has even given the longest continuing sportbike from a Japanese manufacturer—the Suzuki GSXR750—a new lease of life.
With that in mind, it may seem surprising Kawasaki has chosen to remain stagnant by keeping their supersport machine at 636cc, rather than pump some development into it and boost it to 700cc or more to remain competitive with the new breed of rides.
Does that matter? We took on for a spin at The Ridge to find out.