Dang. Oh well. Never had a blipper yet, anyway. Have had an R6 before, and badly lust after the 17+. The deals on the Z's are hard to ignore though! Thanks for all the feed back guys! Knew I was half mad considering the MV. Now, how about a KTM RC8R? Hahaha. Better or worse than an MV?
I've been racing a 2019 636 since 2019. I came from a 2009 R6. The ZX has been a fun project, but would probably do an R6 again just for simplicity's sake. A ton of spares out there and setup data. It was a lot of work getting the 636 where it is today, some of that self-inflicted. I do appreciate how much easier the ZX is to work on over the R6 though IMO. No blipper on mine, however I do have the EVR slipper. It's a game changer.
Grrrr…just saw the deals on Daytona 765s. Prolly almost as dumb as an MV! Seems like I should just get an R6. Apologies for any thread jacking, but I think we’re mostly on topic!
I've been going though the same decision making process as well since it was time to upgrade to a newer racing bike, and I decided this time to go with the Kawi. (was riding a 2006 R6) My reasoning is probably a big load of BS but my riding habits mean I usually end up a bit lower in the RPM range while racing. Yes, with practice I could fix this, but that makes too much sense. I've heard the Kawi's power is lower on the RPM range, unlike the yamaha where you have to live well above 12K most of the time while riding it. So I'm going to make the switch. I get the Kawi probably some time next week though, then have to build it up, so I can't actually say how much truth there is to any of this, and most of it is just my riding habits that I need to break. The other appeal to the zx-6r, as others have said, is the prices were a bit lower, and on my piddly budget, that was more appealing.
What makes the R6 hard to work on in comparison? I had a ‘13 ZX6R years ago, but it was a street bike.
Get the bike you love to ride but one that wouldnt hurt too much if you end up having to crash and rebuild it...
Werd. No bad choices on the menu! Question is, how much more to run would the 765 end up costing? It does come with some nice, fancy bits…
Everything's a bit more spread out. You don't need a bunch of weird extensions to pull the 1 and 4 cylinder spark plugs. It's a just a bit more enjoyable to work on for routine maintenance. The oil filter location is stupid however.
Was on a 2011 ZX-6R for a while. On a 2018 ZX-6R now. Wish I got the R6. The known setup and operating parameters of the R6 would make my life easier. I hate trying to dial in a bike, and admittedly, I haven't spent enough time trying to do it. I will share this, and it's totally anecdotal: I asked 2 reputable tuners - on the same day - what direction to go on the bike geometry-wise. One said the ZX likes to be nose down with the rear as high as it can go. The other said it likes to squat with the nose up and the rear as low as it could go. So, literally polar opposite recommendations. I've got the bike in a pretty decent place now, but I still have some things I am chasing on it.
I ran my 2009 zx6r with forks 2mm above triples and the rear pretty tall but don’t remember the exact shock length. When I got my first R6 I hated it because I put the forks 5mm above the triples thinking that was correct since someone told me to.
Between the 2011 and 2018 ZX-6R? Not a super fair comparison, as my 2011 had stock forks. The 2018 has Ohlins 30mm cartridges and a much better shock. That said, I'm running the same pace in traffic during trackdays on the new bike as I was during races on the old bike. So, I'm a little faster, but I also took 2 years off from 600s and raced twins and an R3, so I learned how to carry corner speed better. Haven't raced the new bike, yet. Had a kid and have been slow to get back to my old pace. Finally running competitive(ish) times and plan to grid back up in September. I might end up being markedly faster on the new ZX-6R once the red mist settles in.
I got some numbers from a race team that are working OK. One of my massive issues was when I got my forks back. Installer was supposed to lengthen them 10mm, but they didn't. I am dumb and didn't check or realize it, so I was running geometry numbers 10mm off what I was supposed to. Bike was a mess. Someone finally picked up on the issue, and we were able to make better decisions from there. Big issue now is the bike doesn't hold a line well and runs wide. Tightening or adjusting a line mid-corner ain't happening.
Sorry, I mean with the front end high or with it low. Both might work, both tuners gave you different opinions because different riders like different things.
I'd try the suggestion from the tuner with racers further up in the results, at least to start . Depending on which one works, you get to add another person to your "they don't know what they are doing" list. My list grew no matter which bike I was riding.
I've had good results jacking the rear up and running the forks at the top of the tubes (not caps). Also shortened the bike up this year and wish I would have done that 2 years ago.
Wide on gas? Both of those issues suggest while compressed, the bike is too low in back vs front. Whether this is on light throttle or more will determine what you change. But I like to crank the preload as a quick conformation test.
One thing I hate the Kawis for is how low the nose is in relation to the front fender. Such a pain in the ass to get a lift stand in there. Not sure running the front low is the answer on this bike.
