The latest Kawasaki ZX-10R has developed into one of the best production sports bikes you can now buy.
Whereas the original 2005 ZX-10R was crushingly quick but never less than a handful, demanding 100% of your concentration at all times, even when you didn’t always feel like putting in the effort, the latest 2016 model offers incredible speed, crisp handling and the most assured ride of any of its predecessors.
This is a bike that tips the scales at just 198.5kg yet cranks out an awesome 175bhp. That is enough raw power to keep you focussed on the job in hand as you rocket your way through its incredibly smooth six-speed gearbox.
The engineers at Kawasaki have created a superb machine that does everything you would expect it to do through meticulous attention to detail. The gear change for example is pure class, selecting the next cog with the slightest of input from your boot.
The basic price is £13,649 for the 2016 ZX-10R which now features dual high-spec Brembo M50 monobloc calipers gripping larger 330mm discs, specially prepared radial-pump master cylinder and race-quality steel-braided lines aimed to deliver an astonishing braking performance.
Talk bikes in the pub with a bunch of mates and sooner or later the old nugget that Kawasakis are quick but don’t handle is sure to emerge. Like many such chestnuts, there’s a grain of truth there insofar as Kawasaki’s Akashi plant had a 1km straight that for many years acted as their test track.
Small wonder that handling considerations were seen as secondary to outright speed. Kawasaki realised this shortcoming of their production bikes and bought the amazing Autopolis test facility.
The results since then have been conspicuously evident. The 2016 ZX-10R is poised and balanced in the tightest of bends and delivers the power smoothly and effortlessly throughout its rev range.
The latest ZX-10R now feels like a bike that has the potential to destroy your personal best lap times. It’s no longer edgy, having increased front end bite, has less nervous steering and with a stiffer but lighter frame and a throttle that’s been remapped to allow the rider to apply power more smoothly as he exits a corner, it has become a front runner.
Consequently, the 2016 ZX-10R is now likely to be the best Japanese sports bike available. It is light, agile and extremely quick, all delivered with ease and comfort.
From previously being an edgy member of a quality pack of bikes, the 2016 Kawasaki ZX-10R is likely to become the new class leader of race replica sports bikes. Enough said.
THE FACTS
Bike: Kawasaki ZX-10R
Price: £13,649
Engine: 998cc 16v liquid-cooled, in-line four-cylinder, four-stroke, dohc
Power: 197bhp @ 13,000rpm
Weight: 206 (wet)
Seat height: 835mm
Fuel tank: 17 Litres