ANOTHER BIG gulp of air into that re-designed snoot is swallowed in a breath and kicked back into my face as a wall of raucous sound. Up another gear as I tuck beneath the screen for an unadulterated listen (you don't want to waste it, do you?) This is perfection. If you see me head-on along the A605 of a morning, I'm normally astride a smiley-faced Kawasaki ZX-9R, but today those two, slightly upturned ram-air intakes are replaced by the manic wide-mouthed scowl of the latest, year 2000 model. Pigeons scoot out of my way, narrowly avoiding being sucked up into the airbox as I lurch out from behind the screen and drop down two gears. BROARRRR... BROARRRRR... Yes. If I could sustain an erection in leathers in sub-zero conditions in December, this sound would do it for me. Who needs 0898 numbers?

The new sound reflectors near the airbox act like a 40-a-day habit for this Ninja, an expectorant that gives the 9R a deeper, more soulful rasp.

That new growl, matched to the front-end's devilish good looks, means it has better aesthetics and acoustics than a top-of-the-range Bang and Olufsen sound system.

Right, enough of this drivel. I've got to get off this devil-bike and gather my thoughts. Is this new ZX-9R better than the old one? Yes, it is. But before you skip the rest of the article, I have to be honest and say I can't immediately put my finger on why. There are tweaks. Engine-wise we have a higher compression ratio (11.5 to 12.2), new carbs, new liners, new intake ports and new intake timing, which adds up to a little more torque than last year's, but supposedly no more power. For hard proof, we tested a standard Cl against the new 9R and found that the new bike produced both more torque and 3bhp more (see Technical, p80). On the road this, combined with new ignition timing, does make it feel a little more responsive than the old bike.

Chassis-wise, Kawasaki has reduced the fork offset from 35 to 30mm, but moved the steering head forward to keep the same wheelbase (as Honda did to the '98 Blade). Hmmm... yep, it certainly feels a bit more, well, composed, planted. Damn, the cliches are coming far too easily. Oh, and the brakes are better than the previous model, too. Disc diameter has risen from 296 to 310mm. The tyre size has increased to a 190 at the rear, a nod in the direction of fashion rather than handling. And if, like me, you're a rare racetrack visitor the Bridgestone BTIOs will be plenty for the road.

Some may criticise this little bit of polish to the old C2 model 9R, but I don't. For years Honda has mildly updated its sportsbikes to make them a little better year-on-year and now it seems Kawasaki and Yamaha (see new Rl test on page 6) are doing the same. It seems that, in the crucible of sportsbike design, a bi-annual facelift is a necessity to stay in the game. So maybe that's the secret? A few, minor mods all add up to a greater overall feel. And classier, too. The cockpit looks smarter - even if the dials are finished in dull Mondeo grey. An extra button means no more stabbing frantically in thick gloves to change between the handy clock and trip meter. Instead the trip and odometer live on one LCD gauge and the clock and temperature on the other.

No more LCD temperature bars to look at, either. Cl and C2 owners who faithfully wait for three bars to light up before ripping off will find the new model has a readout to tell you exactly how hot (or not) your Ninja is. Riding both of these bikes back-to-back made me realise that I've always had a soft spot for big Kawasaki fours.

When I was 13 years old, I had two stolen magazines under my bed. The first was a copy of low-rent boob n' beaver mag Escort, and the other, nestling in between its pages - somewhere between centrefold Bridgette and Wife of the Month, MrsJ, from Hants - was a brochure for the all-new Kawasaki GPZ900R. The grot-mag was pilfered from my father's expansive collection, while the brochure was nicked from my local Kawasaki dealership.

Perhaps I digress, but what I mean to say is that these bikes have some serious heritage. The GPZ was a milestone, like the Zl before it. The swoopy bodywork, purposeful nose fairing, 130-section rear tyre (God, did we think that was wide?). Add this to the advertising slogan 'Who can catch a Kawasaki?' and it got my blood up in a way that Escort's Mrs J from Hants never could.

Nowadays the big-bore Kawasaki fours aren't the biggest of the big hitters, and the advertising slogan is a pedestrian 'Let the good times roll'. But while the latest generation of Kwak 900s are overshadowed by the Yamaha YZF-Rl, we can't ignore their huge following.

One passing ZX-9R rider, Liam O'Toole, spotted us and popped over for a chat, Meanwhile other ZX-9R owners are setting up their own club, to meet other Ninja fans.

Have Rl owners done that?

Kawasaki still sells these bikes by the shedload - more than 3000 this year – and you'll find that C2 bargains are there to be bagged as the new model comes out. A quick shufty through MCN BikeMart showed C2 models at prices like 6795 and 6495. The new model sells for a whopping 8350. That's a saving of almost two-grand. So, the question you want answered is this: 'Should I fork out 8350 for a new one or 6495 for an old one?'

My answer? Yes. To both. Get what your pocket can afford. Perfection is boring and you can have too much of a good thing. That's why the old ZX-9R has sold so well and why the new one - even though it's no Rl beater - will do so too.

Thanks to: PDQ for the loan of the immaculate C1. It's up for sale. If you want it, speak to Larry.

Vital statistics

KAWASAKI'S WORST nightmare must have been to make loads of improvements to the ZX-9R and for nobody to notice. By changing the styling they've guaranteed attention, but are the bikes really any different? Bertie's back-to-back riding reveals the new bike feels more together and turns slightly quicker, while remaining planted. But to find the real differences we put them both on the dyno and the runway to see if the figures agree.

POWER AND TORQUE
Peak power is what everyone talks about and Kawasaki has squeezed another 3bhp out of the new ZX-9R, which might just be enough to recruit a few converts from previous models. The important bit, though, is that it arrives a useful 1000rpm earlier than on last year's bike. In fact, there's about 3bhp more from 8OOOrpm all the way into the redzone, which seems to make the mods worthwhile. But below 8OOOrpm, where road bikes spend a fair amount of their time, things are a little wobblier, with the old bike clearly ahead up to 6000rpm and trading blows between 6000 and 8000. You could argue that the figures don't matter unless you're rowing like hell, but low rev torque can make all the difference on emergency overtakes and in-town plodding. Looks like Kawasaki has sacrificed a bit of low-down growl for top-end wail.

TOPSPEEDS
We got the new bike to slither 1 mph faster through the lights, which may be down to the power, aerodynamics or luck. But 177mph compared to 176mph is going to be impossible to detect on the high street. We had a slight following wind and both bikes were tickling the rev limiter at 12.750rpm.

STANDING QUARTERS
The old bike went a shade quicker, but that was more down to rider input than the differences between the bikes.

It's worth dwelling here on the fact that both incarnations of ZX-9R do 0-140mph in just over 10 seconds. In anyone's book that's fast. And no slower than a Yamaha R1.

So in performance terms there's very little in it, but the new bike wins it by a whisker.

Steve Westlake

The facts

1999ZX-9R

Top speed 176mph (reading 195mph) @ 12,750rpm
Standing quarter 10.49 seconds @ 138mph
Power 131bhp @ 11,600rpm
Torque 68Nm @ 9200rpm

2000ZX-9R
Top speed 177mph (reading 190mph) @ 12,750rpm
Standing quarter 10.56 seconds @138mph
Power 134bhp @ 10600rpm
Torque 71.5Nm @ 8900rpm