Is 2007 kawasaki Zx-6r a bad bike?

[krono]

Hey guys,

I was thinking about buying a 2007 kawasaki ninja 6r and i usually research alot about anything im going to buy, I've started reading around and i have heard a few bad things but its been real hard to locate hard evidence to it being a bad bike. The reason im asking is because most of the threads im reading on other forums sound like its just the dumb ass riding the bike thats F'in it up rather than the bike being bad quality.

Does anyone have personal experience with these bikes or know people who are close to them that can vouch or confirm the quality or "lack of"?

Thank you guys in advance, I'm a total motorcycle newb atm but that will change soon as i keep on researching.

If you do believe it is a bad bike please state which bike you liek the most "QUALITY" wise, out of the following

CBR600rr
GSXR600

I had been tryign to stay in the 07's for all the bikes but if the 08 ninja 6r is a better quality than the 07 i might just get the 08, i really like the design.

[crg914]

What bikes have you owned previously to compare them to?

[NA350Z]

From a performance aspect all 600 R series bikes perform almost identically. When choosing a bike nowadays, it comes down to what the rider is ready for and aesthetically what looks good to his/her eyes. As far as the ZX6R, its a wonderful bike in my opinion. If I had to buy a 600, that would'v been it. It just looks a little tougher than all of the other 600's to me. That, and it comes in all black

[krono]

im not comparing to any other bikes bu i have been reading about how the bikes are dieing or giving them big problems under 1000 miles which sounds terrible to me as a future purchaser. The bike i buy will be my first bike and yes i have read page after page of recommendations about starting off with 250s but to be honest I am willing to take the risk and i have a very good attention span and reaction time and I am willing to take it easy on the bike for as long as it takes to be comfortable to ride it properly. I'd ratehr not buy a 250 and then want to upgrade a few months later, i do not have money to throw around like that.

I figured i would add this in before the "dont buy this kinda bike" comments start even though i know they will come either way.

[krono]

Originally Posted by NA350Z

From a performance aspect all 600 R series bikes perform almost identically. When choosing a bike nowadays, it comes down to what the rider is ready for and aesthetically what looks good to his/her eyes. As far as the ZX6R, its a wonderful bike in my opinion. If I had to buy a 600, that would'v been it. It just looks a little tougher than all of the other 600's to me. That, and it comes in all black

it not so much performance I am worried about, its quality. i dont want somethign i will have to take to the dealer every other day, performance wise i know i will be happy with anything since 600's are faster than most stock cars.

This purchase is also due to the fact gas prices are getting outrages, I'm spending about 300$ a month on gas for the 350z and if i could use my bike to commute to work i could finance a bran new bike and still pay less in gas while having both. so the bike will be a work commute mainly but also a joy ride on the side =). ( just so you guys know where I am coming from)

[leykias]

if your purpose of the bike is to save gas...you're looking at the wrong bike.....sv650/ninja 250/ex500 are your best bets

[doug]

i'll put money you will wreck that bike in less than a year

[RxZ]

Originally Posted by leykias

if your purpose of the bike is to save gas...you're looking at the wrong bike.....sv650/ninja 250/ex500 are your best bets

+1

As with cars, low displacement low power gets you the best mileage. Also, these bike mentioned are much more comfortable for commuting than the ZX6.

I would add the Ninja 650r to that list as well for mileage and comfort. And is has more performance than most people will ever use, along with the sv650.

[SHIFT_KNOWLEDGE]

For what its worth I just bougth this very bike, "Monster energy edition". the fit and finish on its is the same as every other 600 r in its class, very nice. My dealer also told me that these things have little no problems, service wise. The reason i chose the 07 zx-6r was because of its riding position... It seems like all the new 600 are getting narrow.. from the gas tank to the handle bars. I just prefer how wide the bars are on my zx-6r.

By the way the 08's are basiclly the same bike as the 07's .. they just gave the 08's green wheels now... I bought an 07 because I prefer the black wheels.

[Phantom Menace]

"Bad" as in the antonym of good or as in "Michael Jackson-Bad?"

[krono]

Originally Posted by doug

i'll put money you will wreck that bike in less than a year

Well from the posts i have read about you falling every other day i would doubt that you think everyone rides the same as you do. I appreciate the worries but try to keep positive please. its not cool to bet on someone getting hurt cause the bike getting wrecked is the least of my problems.


For the others who posted helpful comments thank you, i know that a 250 would be ideal for gas but that is why i mentioned that its not only for commuting to work, i would also like a fun bike for when im not counting miles =). as far as the other bikes liek the 650s i just dont liek the way they look at all and if i cant see myself riding one then im def. not going to buy one.

If all the 6r's are the same across makes than i will just settle on the ninja. just trying to find out if there are alot of lemons or if its just the riders ruining the bikes cause they want to red line the day after they take it off the lot.

[wastedyolk]

ZX-6R is a great bike. Like mentioned above the 600 class bikes are pretty much the same, it comes down to looks and feel. Sit on all of them and you'll see the difference in comfort.
I'm a total gsx-r guy, currently on a 06 750.
When I was looking though I always loved the kawi. Again it's a great bike.
Alot of the negatives you hear are because alot of new guys to riding are complaining.

[krono]

Originally Posted by wastedyolk

ZX-6R is a great bike. Like mentioned above the 600 class bikes are pretty much the same, it comes down to looks and feel. Sit on all of them and you'll see the difference in comfort.
I'm a total gsx-r guy, currently on a 06 750.
When I was looking though I always loved the kawi. Again it's a great bike.
Alot of the negatives you hear are because alot of new guys to riding are complaining.

Thanks i really appreciate the responses guys i welcome all feed back, even negative if you can back it up.

I had a feeling that most of the stories i was reading were because people like to abuse machines. you dont hear many stories or bikes having long life spans whether it be the bike getting totaled or people just over working the bike

[98BirdLS1]

Why are you set on getting a new bike? The 04-06 636's are fantastic bikes and you can get a well-maintained, low-mileage 636 for cheap. Then you won't feel bad when you drop a new bike.

As for getting an R bike with NO experience, good luck. I have the feeling you suffer from SPS. Very few people on this board could use even a SV650 to its full potential, let a lone a race replica bike.

Luke

[cheshirecat79]

From what I've heard it's a good bike. I would go with something older myself, but it's your money. Best of luck.

[terrasmak]

How much are you really going to save when you factor in $300 to $400 every 3k to 5K miles for tires. Have you priced full coverage insurance, yes you need it , bikes like to disapear if you leave them out of your site.

[2Cool4Skool]

If you're talking about motorcycles from any one of the major Japanese manufacturers, you'd be hard pressed to find a "lemon". Most, if not all are supremely reliable machines and last a long time assuming you maintain them regularly.

As an anecdote, I notice that stunters like to learn on a Honda cbr600F4i. They can be dropped over and over and they still run great.

I got an 06 ZX6R. I just traded my 06 GSXR1000 for this guy's 06 ZX6R with many expensive aftermarket parts. It's been great so far. I see little things like larger diameter oil drain plugs than my GSXR and the oil drain plug even uses a large thick washer instead of crush washers on the GSXR.

The 2007s actually have less power as Kawasaki no longer makes the ZX6R in the 636 size. They are also slightly heavier than the 06s. Like others, I like the older 03-06 ZX6R as they are lighter and have more torque.

The guy that I traded bikes with was his first bike too. He had it for 10,900 miles and he never dropped it. He couldn't even flat foot it cuz of the high seat height.

I think he never dropped it cuz he made a major commitment to ride well.The way he rode was very deliberate and demonstrated he was thinking about everthing. I noted where he chose to park his bike. He parked it where he could touch his feet on the ground and not have to back out. He took his time to get the feel of the GSXR as it feels way different than the ZX6R. He asked me about the controls and how the suspension was setup and took off quite slowly. Other little things too.

It showed with his choice of parts and his choice of gear he was wearing. He wore an expensive Arai helmet and a nice Dainese jacket. The parts were well thought out and professionally installed. Like.... the exhaust and power commander was tuned on a dyno.

If you're the type of person who thinks things through and doesn't go off all half cocked, then a ZX6r would be fine. It just that way nowadays as the HP to weight ratios have gone down drastically which requires more of the average rider. Most people aren't ready for that kind of commitment to learn the skills.

Just keep in mind that a ZX6R... even with an 07s 100 or so HP... is way faster than you think it is. 600cc sport bikes have been doing 10sec 1/4 miles for quite some time now.

And who says a Ninja 250 would not be fun eh? I'm thinkin about gettin one. I saw a You Tube vid.... Tuono, GSXR1000 (my favorite bike!) and Ninja 250.... goin for a ride on a twisty road. The Tuono was ahead all the way, but in the end, the Ninja 250 passed the GSXR1000. I bet the guy on the GixxerBigDixxer was afraid of high siding with all that power LOL!

[nicoG35]

If power is what you feel you will get bored of just keep in mind this - Anyone can go fast in a straight line. But it takes experience to move slow in all the other aspects of riding. Some examples:

-If you can't hold your line because the bike is to much for you, it will take
you longer to get better at riding had you started it bit smaller.
-Or what about traffic? Can you handle balancing a bike in tight traffic and sneaking between lanes if necessary when an ambulance or police needs to baricade themselves through traffic?
-WHat about when a motorist decides to change lanes and nearly cut you off, do you think you will have the necessary skills as a new rider to grab the right amount of Front brake/Rear brake and downshift with your left hand side controls all at once?

These are just some examples to give you an idea that all these will happen no matter what CC bike you are on. THe fact of the matter is that the throttle response is a lot different from a 250 to a 600. THe brakes are much more sensitive on a 600 which if you are not ready for them can throw you over them. the size is also a factor a 250 will also be a smaller however the SV650 will be closest to a regualr 600 SS bike.

[krono]

^^ owned!! i bet the dude on the Gixxer was pissed lol.

actually the 250 from kawa looks pretty beast, if i didnt get one of the 6r bikes i would probably get that but i pick up on things really quickly, i didnt want to say anything cause i know the smart comments will roll in but i consider myself a very good driver, anythign i put my mind to i get good at because i keep my eye on the prize and never get dazzled.

[doug]

Originally Posted by krono

Well from the posts i have read about you falling every other day i would doubt that you think everyone rides the same as you do. I appreciate the worries but try to keep positive please. its not cool to bet on someone getting hurt cause the bike getting wrecked is the least of my problems.


For the others who posted helpful comments thank you, i know that a 250 would be ideal for gas but that is why i mentioned that its not only for commuting to work, i would also like a fun bike for when im not counting miles =). as far as the other bikes liek the 650s i just dont liek the way they look at all and if i cant see myself riding one then im def. not going to buy one.

If all the 6r's are the same across makes than i will just settle on the ninja. just trying to find out if there are alot of lemons or if its just the riders ruining the bikes cause they want to red line the day after they take it off the lot.

please quote where i said i fall every other day.. please please do quote me.. and if you have the attention span to read that i said i fall every other day and i did not.. you don't need to be on a bike.. you will be dead in 6 months