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Kawasaki Ninja buying guide: Part 4 - late 2000

By Chris Newbigging
Updated: 19 November 2014
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This week Kawasaki is celebrating 25 years of the Ninja series – one of the most famous model lines in the motorcycle world.

MCN has compiled a list of the 20 best Ninjas for a special poster FREE in August 12 2009 edition of MCN  – but in the mean time here’s a quick guide to the bikes of the late 2000 and how much you can pick one up for.

ZX-6R A1P Year: 2002
Price: £2400 – £3600
636cc liquid-cooled inline-four, 116bhp, 165mph
What to do when your 600 is lagging behind in sales? Kawasaki’s answer was to cheat – adding an extra 37bhp gave a power increase across the rev range without adding any extra mass, or price. The ZX-6R was a well-rounded bike already – the extra grunt made it even better.

 

ZX-6R B1H Year: 2003
Price: £3200 – £4100
636cc liquid-cooled inline-four, 125bhp, 167mph
After years of lagging behind rivals with overweight, slightly soft sportsbike, Kawasaki hired Mazda MX-5 designer Shunji Tanaka to revamp the brand – the 2003 ZX-6R instantly returned Kawasaki to building fast, light, sharp and utterly bonkers sportsbikes.

 

ZX-10R C1H Year: 2004
Price: £3400 – £9499
998cc liquid-cooled inline-four, 175bhp, 184mph
Following from the revamped ZX-6R, the ZX-10R used the same formula but with the frightening speed a litre bike brings. The ZX-10R is a focussed machine that wheelies of it’s own accord at any point up to 140mph or lay arcs of tyre rubber out of corners at will. Since then, it’s evolved to become even madder.

 

ZZ-R1400 Year: 2006
Price: £4600 – £9499
1352cc liquid-cooled inline-four, 187bhp, 186mph
The ZX-12R never captured the imagination like the ZZ-R1100, and the later ZZ-R1200 couldn’t either. Kawasaki reinstated the ZZ-R’s flagship position with the ZZ-R1400, giving it the same qualities of huge power, turbine-smooth delivery and plenty of comfort. It can be a wheel spinning monster, but it’s happy to tour more sedately too.

 

ZX-6R P9F Year: 2009
Price: £7899
599cc liquid-cooled inline-four, 134bhp, 170mph
The B1H ZX-6R put Kawasaki back in contention in the supersport class, but development lagged behind rivals. More midrange, Big Piston forks with better control and feel and a better overall package means Kawasaki is once again competing with the best in the supersport class it invented 24 years ago.

 

If you’re thinking of buying one of the above models from MCN Bikes For Sale, get insurance quotes from a number of motorcycle insurance providers in one place with MCN Compare. 

Chris Newbigging

By Chris Newbigging