The Kawasaki Z800 had us in its thrall the moment we swung a leg over it.
Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R ‘World Champion Edition’
Kawasaki have announced an all new special edition Ninja ZX-10R to go on sale in the United Kingdom. Now before you even plan on shelling out some money on this special edition ZX-10R, let us give you some low down on it – only a mere 25 bikes have been made. So you might be thinking that there is a probability of getting one, but we must sadly inform you that 24 units of the ‘World Champion Edition’ have already been spoken for.
So now you might just ask us as to what makes this Ninja ZX-10R so special? Well, the ‘World Champion Edition’ ZX-10R features the 2013 Kawasaki Racing Team sticker kit, a beastly-sounding Leo Vince Evo 2 exhaust, a tank protector and an additional air box cover signed by Sykes. To add the icing of the cake the signed plaque indicates that each machine is one of 25.
Speaking at the official unveiling event in UK, current WSBK World Champion – Tom Sykes stated, “Last year was a dream come true and it’s great to be a part of Kawasaki’s racing heritage. Now we have created these limited edition bikes, 25 people can get hold of a little piece of Ninja history for themselves.”
The Ninja ZX-10R ‘World Champion Edition’ has been priced at £12,749 (Rs 13 lakh).
Story: Sayem Syed
Kawasaki D-Tracker Steps Up
Alpha Male – Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R Road Test
In the 1900s motorcycle manufacturers were obsessed by making the world’s fastest production motorcycle, for the marketing advantage and prestige of the title. [Read more…]
Kawasaki Ninja 250 Superlight out!
Kawasaki Motor have launched a new single-cylinder 250cc motorcycle – the Ninja 250 Superlight (SL) – and it’s quite a stunner to say the least.
Stonking-new Kawasaki Ninja 400
Kawasaki Japan have unleashed their latest streeter – the Ninja 400 – and it’s everything we in India would love to have. Isn’t it? [Read more…]
Kawasaki Ninja 300 and 650R with ABS
Kawasaki Thailand have introduced ABS-equipped models of the Ninja 300 and the Ninja 650R for 2014. The same bikes in India are yet to receive the safety feature. [Read more…]
Monster Energy: Kawasaki Z800 breaks free
India Kawasaki Motor have launched the Z800, one of the most powerful street bikes globally and at a price tag to really ruffle some feathers.
Kawasaki J300 : Monster Scoot in the metal
Kawasaki has always created many attractive, smooth and powerful motorcycles while, undoubtedly, also having a monstrously-styled evil little brute or two lurking about their range. What happens when they decide to mix a bit of both, and then add even more practicality? Well, we get a big scooter!
The J300 is the latest addition to Kawasaki’s range in select markets around the globe. Ever wished your scooter had more power? Well, there’s the Suzuki Burgman or Aprilia SRV850, but they can seem like a bit of an overkill now, can’t they? This, the J300, actually seems to make a lot of sense. Here’s why.
The J300 uses a four-valve, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected 299cc single cylinder motor. The output figures from that motor are equally potent: 28 PS at 7,750 RPM and 28.7 Nm of torque at 6,250 RPM. Power flows through a CVT ‘box to a wide rear wheel. The rubber on the bike is in tune with the rest of the bike – 120/80-14 up front and a 150/70-13 at the rear. The brakes on the J300 are a 260mm petal disc up front with a 240mm petal disc at the rear too. The brake levers are adjustable too. The scooter weighs 191 kg, and thus, the setup for grip and handling seem more than adequate. A power-to-weight ratio of 146.5 PS/tonne isn’t half bad either. Then, there’s the 13-litre tank which will take you a fair distance before a fill-up is needed. You also get a sealed glovebox with a 12V charging point.
What isn’t very pleasant, is the £4,049 (Rs 4.05 lakh) price tag, and that’s in the UK. We don’t want to put figures for India here, so just enjoy the fact that it’s a peppy scooter which can give you bike like fun without the bother of a clutch.
Story: Jim Gorde
Images: Kawasaki Europe
Kawasaki Ninja 1000 : More Responsive, Better Equipped
We savour the revamped Kawasaki Z1000SX (Ninja 1000 in India) in the Alpine foothills of southern Austria.
Like many successful formats, the Z1000SX’s seems obvious with hindsight. Of course, not all the riders abandoning sports bikes would defect to adventure bikes. Plenty were bound to prefer a sharp looking, sporty, 240 km/h fully-faired four with a more upright riding position, some all-round ability and a sensible price.
A bike, in other words, like the SX — although even Kawasaki didn’t expect the relatively simple Z1000-With-A-Fairing to be one of their top-selling models in many markets for the last three years (their absolute best-seller in the UK), as well as one of the most popular sports-tourers of any make.
That’s what has happened, though, and even before that third year is out they’ve revamped the SX to make it sharper, more responsive and better equipped. This makes plenty of sense as I throw the updated green bike down a spectacularly twisty road in the Alpine foothills of southern Austria.
Its 142-PS motor is hurling the bike forward at an entertainingly rapid rate with a fruity howl from the re-tuned airbox. The screen is keeping the wind and most of the fat late-summer bugs off my chest. The tweaked and firmed-up suspension is giving a reasonably comfortable yet impressively taut and well-controlled ride — even under severe provocation from the powerful new Tokico monobloc front callipers. And the sleek new panniers are keeping my waterproofs and other junk neatly out of mind.
In short, the revamped Z1000SX is proving a blast to ride. And equally importantly, it’s giving every indication of being well up to the job if I had to strap on a bit more luggage and ride it 1,000 kilometres home rather than back to the relatively nearby launch hotel.
That’s hardly surprising because the original SX was a good place to start and this update is fairly thorough. The 1,043cc, 16-valve engine gets new cams with shorter duration and revised air intake trumpets of the same length. (Different length intakes are so last year…) Kawasaki claim an extra 4 PS, with that 142 PS maximum arriving at 10,000 RPM and say the motor has more low-rev and mid-range performance.
