Ninjapalooza - Motorcycle.com

To encourage steep lean angles and aggressive riding, Kawasaki shod the participating Ninjas with some stickier-than-stock Bridgestone rubber then ushered riders onto the track, in counter-clockwise fashion, which, as of now, is my preferred direction of travel at this particular venue.

While circulating the 17-turn, 2.7-mile-long track I was both the passer and passee. Oftentimes I was aboard the underpowered Ninja 300 or Ninja 650 going up the inside or around the outside of a lesser skilled rider piloting a more potent machine such as a 636 or even a 10R.

When I was passed while aboard the 300 or 650 it was evident that cornering speeds between the pedestrian and supersport models are incredibly similar (a testament to the ability of quality tires to up your game). The more powerful bikes left the diminutive Ninjas inhaling exhaust fumes on corner exits but for a few brief seconds, at the corner’s apex, the 300 and 650 Ninjas were equal to their supersport superiors.

Whereas the 300’s throttle remains pinned 98% of each lap, the Ninja 650 outputs enough rear-wheel horsepower to require some throttle manipulation lest you spin the rear into oblivion getting on the gas too forcefully while at full lean. When this happened to me while cresting Turn 9 it reignited long-dormant riding tactics. Soon thereafter I was clicking off downshifts while hard on the brakes dumping the clutch and enjoying the resultant hopping and squirming of the 650’s rear end – common to hard riding a bike sans a slipper clutch.

No such antics on the technologically advanced Ninja 636. While some lament the intrusion of rider aids it was never more apparent than when swapping the Ninja 650 for the 636, or especially the ZX-10R, that traction control, slipper clutches, ride modes and other technologies go a long way into sweetening the supersport experience.

With the performance of modern sportbikes outstripping the abilities of most riders, these electronic mechanisms allow motorcyclists to more safely explore, and sometimes go beyond, their personal limitations. Pushing the envelope on a bike as effortless as the ZX-6R is reasonably manageable, whereas a literbike is constantly provoking a rider to explore his or her subjective performance thresholds.

On a tight track like Chuckwalla, where the longest straight is a mere quarter of a mile, the Kawasaki ZX-10R is, to state the obvious, a challenge to control. Incredible speeds are realized in the short distances between corners demanding more braking and often inciting over-braking resulting in slower corner speeds. On fast tracks such as Willow Springs, literbikes get to stretch their legs and put their monstrous horsepower to work, but such wanton performance can overwhelm both rider skill and technological safeguards.

For testing my mettle, the 10R is certainly the measuring stick of choice among Ninjas. But the physically exhausting nature and mental depletion during such an activity can only be safely tolerated for short durations.

I found the rare experience of piloting the 300 and 650 Ninjas around a track to be enticingly fun and challenging without the fear the 10R injects into the situation. But, given a choice I prefer the performance a mid-displacement bike, such as the Ninja 636, has to offer.

What this all stands to confirm is the age-old expression that it’s better (funner?) to ride a slow bike fast than it is to ride a fast bike slow. You can also add to that the self satisfaction of passing a faster bike with a slower one – that’s like bringing a knife to a gunfight and winning.

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2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R Review
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2012 Kawasaki Ninja 650 Review: First Ride [Video]
2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R Review
2011 Supersport Shootout - Track [Video]