Kawasaki ZX-6R 1997 - 2001

Honda had been having its own way for too long. A succession of CBR600s had held the top spot in the sales charts and held sway in the hearts of the bike-buying public for the best part of ten years. Someone had to do something about it.
Kawasaki finally delivered the goods with the new ZX-6R. Their own ZZ-R600 had been the fastest 600 for years, but soft suspension and wobbly handling made it a sports-tourer and also-ran to most middleweight sports-bikers. Then Kawasaki hit on the rowdy 'n' raw formula and constructed the new ZX-6R for 1995.
Suddenly the sporty and practical CBR was blown into the weeds.
The ZX-6RF1 had a stoating, all-new 599cc motor which, allied to Kawasaki's ram-air system gave the bike a rear-wheel 93bhp and an intake roar to die for.
Handling was similarly superb, thanks to good quality suspenders. Suddenly Honda had a fight on its hands and the changes to the 1995 CBR weren't enough to keep it in top spot. The 6R had won the hearts and minds of the racier middleweight massive.
We reckon it goes even further than that. It's because of the 6R of 1995 that we have today's racy middleweights. Fact.
Kawasaki maintained the pressure with the ZX-6RG of 1997 and '99's J, by which time Honda had released a CBR600F with an ally beam frame and Yamaha had upped the ante with the racier-still R6. These made the ZX-6RG and J the sensible option with a wild streak running through 'em, perfect for most of us bikers, then...