Let’s face it, 600cc motorcycles, no matter how powerful, are no match for full-blown liter-class superbikes. However, contrary to popular belief, in this drag race, a proud Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R owner takes on a Honda CBR1000RR and the result is….well, let’s get into it.

The Contenders

Our first contender is a 2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R. }

The motorcycle was heavily updated in 2019 and made 130 horsepower and 52 pound-feet from its Euro 4-compliant 636cc, inline-four mill. Shortly after, the bike fell prey to the stricter Euro 5 norms and was discontinued in those markets that complied with European emission norms.

It’s worth noting that the bike here boasts a full race fairing, which should give it an improved power-to-weight ratio and better aero over the stock bike.

Going against the ZX-6R is a bright white 2012 Honda CBR1000RR. }

The CBR1000RR went under the knife in 2012 and adopted a sharper design language. Back in the day, the CBR1000RR pumped out around 180 horsepower and 85 pound-feet from its 999cc, inline-four engine.

The bike here seems to be a more or less stock motorcycle, probably just with an aftermarket exhaust.

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R vs Honda CBR1000RR Drag Race

Now that you know the specs, the ball’s clearly in the CBR1000RR’s court, and that was exactly the case once the lights went out as well.

However, the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R rider got the better launch (less power = easier to launch) than the CBR1000RR rider.

But as they say, there’s no replacement for displacement, and once the CBR got going, it quickly caught up and passed the Ninja ZX-6R just a few meters from the finish line.

Check out the quarter-mile times for both bikes below:


Bike

Run 1

Run 2

Run 3

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R

11.855s @122mph

12.042s @120mph

11.844s @121mph

Honda CBR1000RR

11.455s @131.75mph

11.490s @132mph

11.263s @132mph


What Did We Learn?

Well, simply that a 600cc supersport is no match for a full-blown 1000cc liter-class bike on a drag strip. However, the race was surprisingly close and had there been a professional racing rider aboard the Ninja ZX-6R, the latter could’ve beaten the CBR1000RR.

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You can watch the full video here: