2019 ZX6R is FUGLY

arogal

arogal

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Kawasaki really dropped the ball on the newly designed 2019 ZX6R. To me it looks like a beefed up version of the Ninja400. I just can't wrap my head around how fugly the front end is. The rear end is "OK", but overall, I am not a fan. Yes, they have dropped the price to $9,999USD (not sure what it's going to retail for in Canada), added a quickshifter, LED low/hi beam headlights, and finally included a fuel gauge in the cluster (finally)...but it is definitely nothing special to look at.
Performance and price seem on point, but I would never be proud to own something that looks like this cheap. '09-'12 and '13-'18 were the nicest looking years IMO.
What do all of you think? Do you think Kawi made the right move here taking the design from its little brother 400? Or do you think the 2019 is one of the nicer models they have made?
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Couldn't agree more with your comment on how it's a 'beefed up 400'. Personally, my favourite was the 05-06 ZX-6R.

The quick shifter is a nice touch tho (although only up shift).

Wished they brought back the all green look or majority green look.
 
slow said:
The quick shifter is a nice touch tho (although only up shift).
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Quick shift down is so much harder (instead of ignition cut, you need to open up the throttle to help minimize the jolt and I'm not sure that is even enough). I figured most were just quickshift up and letting the slipper clutch deal with messed up downshifts, am I wrong?
 
GreyGhost said:
Quick shift down is so much harder (instead of ignition cut, you need to open up the throttle to help minimize the jolt and I'm not sure that is even enough). I figured most were just quickshift up and letting the slipper clutch deal with messed up downshifts, am I wrong?
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I believe most are just up shift but many bikes also have auto blip downshift. The new 2019 ZX-10R(R) will come standard with up and down quickshifter. I believe the BMW S1000RR has had up/down quickshifter for many years now.
 
slow said:
I believe most are just up shift but many bikes also have auto blip downshift. The new 2019 ZX-10R(R) will come standard with up and down quickshifter. I believe the BMW S1000RR has had up/down quickshifter for many years now.
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R1 and 10R have both had the auto blipper since 15 and 16 respectively
 
I'm not crazy about the front end either. Seems to have lost sharp profile of the nose that I love about the '09-'12.
Tail looks ok, reminiscent of the '16+ ZX-10R --which begs the question, why didn't Kawasaki pick-up MORE styling cues from the latest gen ZX-10R? That's exactly what Yamaha did with the latest R6 by pulling more cues from the R1.

My biggest criticism with the latest gen Kawasaki SS lineup is the lack of TFT displays.


Sent from my SGH-M919V using GTAMotorcycle.com mobile app
 
I was pretty disappointed with the looks as well - too much like a Ninja 400. I like what Yamaha have done with their whole lineup - the new R3, R6 and R1 share some similarities but they are all unique in their own way and all look great. Looking forward to a GSXR 600/750 update, whenever that happens...
 
The black one is ok looking. Not a huge Kawi fan overall but they need someone better to work on graphics. I guess we will have to see how it compares on the track against the competition.
 
Didn't front end for the previous (or 2 previous) model share similar look as ninja 300?

I know because you could put in zx6r headlights into ninja 300.

Either way the new one looks fine to me. It still has distinction from ninja 400 in other areas.

My fav is 05-06.
 
first thing i thought too. the front looks just like the ninja400.
cheaper and uglier than the previous gen.
05-06 best year, meanest looking then got sharper and sleeker.
don't know what happened, it looks like a sad cat.
 
I wouldn't call it ugly. It's just not as aggressive as the zx6 keeps progressing towards.
Still looks like a Kawi.
 
D-J said:
I'm not crazy about the front end either. Seems to have lost sharp profile of the nose that I love about the '09-'12.
Tail looks ok, reminiscent of the '16+ ZX-10R --which begs the question, why didn't Kawasaki pick-up MORE styling cues from the latest gen ZX-10R? That's exactly what Yamaha did with the latest R6 by pulling more cues from the R1.

My biggest criticism with the latest gen Kawasaki SS lineup is the lack of TFT displays.


Sent from my SGH-M919V using GTAMotorcycle.com mobile app
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Lack of TFT displays? sure, just add $2k extra
 
JollyGreenGiant said:
Lack of TFT displays? sure, just add $2k extra
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Prices are dropping all the time and I am slightly surprised everyone hasn't switched to soft displays yet. VW wants <$1000 for their glass cockpit (as a replacement part). If a manufacturer stuck with a common screen shape (for instance an 8" tablet screen), it may even be cheaper to produce/install than gauges. On the upside for manufacturers, they'd still probably charge $1000 for replacement screens.
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