TEN MINUTES WITH… MARTIN LAMBERT
KAWASAKI EUROPE.
FB: Why did you stop the ZX-6R in the first place? ML: In that form, as a focused Supersport 600 in a market that was declining in Europe (in overall sales terms) it made sense for the Ninja ZX-6R to bow out and for Kawasaki Heavy Industries to assess the market and have a rethink. As multiple World Supersport 600 Champions it seems right to stop on a high and reassess, then move on.
FB: What’s changed since then and where is the biggest demand for 600s?
ML: A lot has changed in the full-on Supersport market. Sales are a fraction of what they once were and the market overall has changed almost beyond recognition. Tell a Ninja owner a few years ago that their next bike would be something like a Versys and they would not have believed you but the market is now a totally different entity. The main market by far for this bike is America and Kawasaki Motors Corporation (KMC) did much of the development work on the specification. We are just the happy recipients of their hard work.
FB: What was the design brief?
ML: Simple. Try to keep the iconic sporting and track oriented nature of the ZX-6R and add a road friendly, every day usability to it without compromise on either side.
FB: And what was the thinking behind using the same chassis and engine?
ML: If it isn’t broken, then why fix it? And also, retail price has to be an issue. Not much – if anything – could share a ZX-6R chassis platform so the cost to develop would push the retail price to a place that would not be acceptable.
FB: The bike seems more road going – comfier seat, 636cc engine etc. Is racing not so important on this model, and are there plans for a homologation special 600cc or anything?
ML: I’m delighted you think so and yes, it has been created to be just as much an everyday bike as a track weapon. Okay, you might not tour for two weeks in the Picos but you could if you wanted to. As for racing, there are no plans yet for a homologation special but watch this space.
FB: Like other manufacturers have done in the litre market, you’ve upped the capacity over the standardised threshold by gifting the ZX-6R a 636cc motor. Would you ever take this approach on the ZX-10R?
ML: The 636cc capacity is almost a heritage thing now as we have had this element to the ZX-6R 636 for so long. Kawasaki have a history of making bikes that punch above their weight performance wise like the original Z650 and the GPz550. The benefits of small physical size and superior performance cannot be denied – as I say to myself every time I try to cycle up a hill! But we don’t have plans to do the same with anything else just yet…
FB: Was there anything you’d have liked changed?
ML: I rode a pre-production bike a long time ago in Japan on track and I managed to get round at a fair lick in just top gear; so the engine is uber flexible and the chassis is classic Ninja, so, no, in a sense. I think it fits well into the 2019 range as is.