Officially they are still tight-lipped, but it seems that Kawasaki will come up with a heavily updated version of the ZX-6R 636. In the United States, Team Green has registered two new versions for 2024: the ZX636J and ZX636K .
The global market for 600cc supersport motorcycles may have completely collapsed since the credit crisis in 2009, but that does not mean that there is no market for it anymore. It is certainly still there, but not in the way it was 15 years ago, with purely track-oriented high-revving engines that make you completely lost on the street.
More usability for the street, in other words, a motorcycle with which you can still take to the track and even race in competition, but then user-friendly for the street. Engines such as the RS 660 and R7 are good examples of this and at the beginning of this century it was also the argument for Kawasaki to launch the ZX-6R 636, which was more usable on the street thanks to its cylinder capacity too large for World Supersport homologation.
Since the Euro5 obligation, the ZX-6R 636 has been removed from the range in Europe, but in the United States – where the 600 supersport is still quite popular and the environmental requirements are less strict – the engine is still available.
However, the two new models that have appeared on the EPA’s list of approved street models in the US betray that Kawasaki – as one of the few – has continued to invest in this segment. The adjustments also reveal that it will not only remain with the US, but that the updated version will also be put on the market in Europe in 2024.
All right, what do we know. According to the documents, the two new versions, which have the internal code ZX636J and ZX636K, are good for a peak power output of 122 hp at 13,000 rpm. Compared to the “ZX636G” (127 hp @13,500 rpm) launched in 2019, this is 5 hp less, compared to its predecessor “ZX636E” 7 hp.
The reduction in top-end power could have been done for several reasons, but two of them seem to be evident in this case: more favorable emissions values ​​and better mid-range torque. In other words: meeting the stricter requirements of Euro5 while making the engine more usable for the street.
The reference to Euro5 stems from the fact that environmental requirements in the United States have not become stricter since the launch of the current ZX-6R 636. California, which has the strictest requirements of all states in the US, is considering adopting the Euro5 standards, but that is still far from final. The need for better emission values ​​was therefore certainly not in the US for Kawasaki, but can only have been done for the European market.
The EPA documents also show that Kawasaki modified the final drive of the 636 with longer ratios, presumably to compensate for the lower maximum rpm.
However, the weight seems to have remained the same. The EPA lists an Equivalent Inertial Mass value, intended to represent the curb weight of the bike including rider and luggage, of 310 pounds, the same as its predecessor.
The same weight also suggests that few changes have been made to the chassis itself, although we certainly expect the suspension set-up to be more street-oriented now. Which is not to say that the engine will not have undergone any visual modifications. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if Kawasaki brought the ZX-6R completely in line with the ZX-10RR in terms of design.
In addition to an aerodynamic fairing, a TFT color display and modern electronics will also be used, such as cornering ABS, slope-dependent traction and wheelie control, launch control and stability control.
The fact that Kawasaki has registered two versions, “J” and “K”, suggests that there will be two versions: a ZX-6R 636 and a ZX-6R 636 SP, where the extensive electronics will be reserved for that SP version .
We have also contacted the Benelux importer, where the comment “no comment” was everything.
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.