Yamaha Racing has debuted its “Race-Blu” livery at Misano today. The work of Aldo Drudi (of Valentino Rossi helmet fame),…
Officially debuting the 2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R in New York’s Times Square today, Kawasaki has unsurprisingly brought a stroked-out 636cc machine to a 599cc supersport battle. While the chassis of the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R is the same, the motor has obviously been reworked, along with the bodywork. However, the big news from the reveal is the addition of Kawasaki’s three-mode KTRC traction control to the supersport-class motorcycle, once again proving that electronics are the new horsepower. Other additions to the 2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R include Showa’s new SFF-BP front forks. Combining Showa’s Separate Function Fork (SFF) with its Big Piston (BP) technology, Kawasaki hopes the suspension units will provide the optimal balance between street and track riding.
Just like the 2013 Yamaha YZF-R1, the 2013 Yamaha YZF-R6 gets an update to its blue, red, and black motorcycle livery color scheme choices. Available in September 2012 (wait, that’s…now!), the new R6 is just like the old R6, but umm…newer. Yeah, we are having a hard time writing anything of note about the tuning fork brand’s latest true-600cc supersport offering. The new colors do look like an improvement over last year’s though, and the Graves-inspired racy Team Yamaha Blue/White color scheme is our favorite from the bunch. Is it worth the $200 price premium ($11,190 MSRP)? We’re not so sure about that, but it is nice.
Unless Yamaha has some Steve Jobs-esque “one more thing” trick up its sleeve for its 2013 sport bike line, fans of the tuning fork brand should prepare themselves for a color and graphics package-only update to the 2013 Yamaha YZF-R1 & 2013 Yamaha YZF-R6. Simply stating that the “2013 YZF-R1 and YZF-R6 come back in a variety of new and exciting colors,” Yamaha’s press release is void of any mentioning of an update to the R1 or R6’s electronics package or other technical add-ons, let alone any revision to the major components of the machines.
If you believe the Honda CBR 250 Forums, Big Red is set to drop some 500cc machines at INTERMOT/EICMA later this year. Expected to be lower-spec models built in the company’s Thailand factory, the 2013 Honda CBR500 & 2013 Honda CB500 are interesting offerings that fall in between matrix of the Honda CBR250R, Honda CBR600RR, Honda CB1000R, and Honda NC700S. It is not clear what market Honda intends to drop these models in, though we are having a hard time seeing either the Honda CBR500 in North America, but both bikes do represent an added stepping-stone in Honda’s model lineup for new riders. One thing is clear, manufacturers like Honda are starting to question the previously proscribed displacement categories with their new models.
After news emerged at the end of last week that Kevin Schwantz is suing the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), the track…