Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Good evening punters,

I do not own a 2004 ZX6R, but one of the locals down here does - he is not a member, so I am asking some questions on his behalf.

Old mate has the opportunity to buy an 04 636. It will be a dedicated track bike.

What is the general opinion of these little jiggers ? Is there anything that he should be on the lookout for ? I think its the first FI model 6, so any tips or traps for newbies would be greatly appreciated Hang out the dirty laundry, we want any advice warts and all.

cheers
Gosilla

Hi Gos,

I had one brand new in 2003 and my current trackie is a 2004. Pretty good bikes, don't like the bumpy stuff, stock suspension is super hard and the range of adjustment wasn't all that useful, I had more tank slappers riding the road bike than in 15 years riding prior to that, they also had a tendency to run wide/resist holding their line.

they were the first model with radial brakes and for some reason they went to a really small disc size on the front, perhaps 280mm from memory, never been an issue for me but I know some got spacers made for the calipers and installed larger discs.

Only one recall while I had my new one for a trivial stock muffler mount issue. I love the trackie but getting hard to find after market stuff due to their age.

As anyone here can tell you I'm no Mick Doohan so just my opinion.

Cheers,
Matt

Hi Gos,

Ive just done the same and purchased an 03 ZX636 to track it .60k on odometer and was really abused and used as a commuter.

Things i came across on my bikes after i purchased it and stripped it down for a clean and some maintenence were;

Front caliper bolt heads are really soft and the allen key heads strip out.

Thermo fan wasnt working on temp alone, rewired it to a manual switch.

Instrument panel/mirror bracket was cracked from a previous crash. should inspect to make sure as it looks like a vulnerable part of the bike.

Brakes do feel a little spongy. New pads and bleed made it better.

Mine has a very heavy clutch lever compared to newer bikes.

Apparently all of the later ZX-6R rear shocks fit right on as a straight swap and are a ton better than the 03-04 model. As matchan noted his bike runs wide maybe that to do with the stock rear shock? I have just done a track day on the south circuit @eastern creek and it did really well and i was surprised how well it went. It did everything just as good as the latest generation ZX636R does. Mine owes me about 2 k all up including new Bridgestone R10 tyres, tyre warmers, new brake pads etc . Couldnt fault it and it has a lap timer built in!

There are a couple of ZX636 pages on facebook that sell and trade parts , just picked up a power commander for 80 bucks U$ plus postage.

Hope this helps,

Shayne

thanks gents, much appreciated I will let old mate know

Hey Gos

I had an 04 zx6RR which had the 600 motor. My first crack at club racing and was a great little bike.

The 04 came with DLC coated forks which I think was the only change from 03. The 636 seemed to have a little more grunt and those that rode them loved them. Sensational little bike and only had the one problem, it jumped out of 2nd ( and maybe 3rd ) hard on the gas so I had to undercut the gears.

My 2c worth

thanks Rob

R

grundor wrote:Apparently all of the later ZX-6R rear shocks fit right on as a straight swap and are a ton better than the 03-04 model. As matchan noted his bike runs wide maybe that to do with the stock rear shock?

I have a 06 zx6 rear shock that i no longer need if anyone wants (free if pickup, postage to be paid for) it.....has had a few things done to it by a 'suspension shop', but modified in a way that its only really any use to a trackbike.

So I had a 2004 RR.

It was the best 600 "race bike " kawi made till the latest model.

Mine was an ex superstock bike. Had the RR extras on it such as adjustable geometry which I never changed. Slipper clutch and better engine internals.

Was an awesome bike so much so when I got my latest 09 model I did wonder if I had made a mistake as it was only a little bit better. Mainly at adjusting lines mid corner.

Mine did a big end bearing around southern loop. But I think that was my fault. The engine got starved of oil when a pin was missed putting it back together.
Mine had a race ecu on it which gave me an additional 1000rpm. Made 113hp.
It ran hot though. I also wired in a switch to run the fan constantly and tried different fluids to keep it cooler.
Had I still owned it I would've put a larger radiator in it.

One of my mates has a 03 model. Which he can get around pretty quick on, especially considering it's stockish.

Cwidova wrote:

grundor wrote:Apparently all of the later ZX-6R rear shocks fit right on as a straight swap and are a ton better than the 03-04 model. As matchan noted his bike runs wide maybe that to do with the stock rear shock?

I have a 06 zx6 rear shock that i no longer need if anyone wants (free if pickup, postage to be paid for) it.....has had a few things done to it by a 'suspension shop', but modified in a way that its only really any use to a trackbike.

Ill take it if you still got it. PM me