Motorcycle specifications KawasakiZX-10R 1000 2017 Transfer from Superbike

kawasaki's hypersport is more efficient than ever. Impressively efficient, few rivals come close. Its 2016 evolutions have made it a first-rate asset for seasoned riders. History shows this with every race. And with every memory. It began with a breath from afar, where 4 perfect drops fell from a sword into the sea. From this rustle was born a terror, a nightmare for those who would be pursued; a journey for anyone who wanted to catch up. The Kawasaki ZX-10R!!! The hypersport that stuns World Superbikes, devours Endurance races and decks just about everything in its path. It took some of them a while to get used to it, but the competition is getting organized. With an R1 on the comeback trail, an S 1000 RR still as powerful as a Russian interceptor, an RSV4 RR revved up to the max and a 1299 Panigale pumped up beyond its limits, the Kawa had to evolve to stay ahead. And so it is with the 2016-2017 version, re-lifted, refined, re-packaged in electronics, ready to tear up the track after seriously biting it. Get out the stopwatches, the new Ninja ZX-10R is going to give them a jolt.

with its track record, the ZX-10R has what it takes to impress any racer or competitor. Imagine the look on the face of a CBXRYZ 1000 RS when it sees this missile arriving express in the rearview mirror. You might as well keep on scaring the shit out of people, and only modify the face slightly. The big Ninja hasn't really changed visually; it's just been delicately styled. With its more chiselled headlights, receding rear and tapered exhaust, the machine is more elegant, almost softer. With subtle hints of the 636, it's more accommodating than disturbing. The old"bio-medicalized" rear light unit gives way to a much more successful design. All in all, she exudes that imperceptible something that adds to her class. The bow blades of the fairing are retained, as are the generous tank covers. The design above the fork head has been reworked. Gone is the exception of having a bubble without edges; the cockpit accompanies it on its edges, thus reducing vibrations. Miss Ninja seems to care about the rider, accompanying the effort and giving a little respite on long straights swallowed at full speed. This is evidenced by slightly increased protection and small ears cut almost at the top of the fork head. This would reduce the depression behind the bubble and limit helmet shake.
However, the pencil has not been forced onto the drawing board. You'll have to keep your eyes open to distinguish the two generations of ZX-10R; we've seen more marked evolutions.

in competition, it's not really the evocative design that will be at the center of discussions. Instead, we'll be talking about...
Wait, what are those tubes in front of the brake calipers?! Gosh, that looks an awful lot like an Öhlins pressurized fork. You know, the kind of front end you only find on MotoGP, WSBK, EWC and Greek shipowners. Let's come down to earth and appreciate Showa's technology. The technical approach is much the same as that of the Swedish manufacturer's FGR. Damping is no longer managed in the bushes, but in these small external chambers, filled with nitrogen. As a result, the damping is more stable, the fork works better and lets you appreciate even more what's going on under the wheel. Until now, this type of fork has only been seen in top-level competition. Showa has democratized it with this BFFF (Balance Free Front Fork), just as inverted forks and radial calipers are gradually appearing.
And here's the second bonus. This front drivetrain has not ceased to amaze us. Forget the Tokico and the petal wafers. Smell the delicate, acrid scent of molten metal under Brembo's assault. This time, it's more than serious. The brake discs are 330 mm in diameter (+20 mm), and the brake shoes are M50 monobloc. All under the control of aviation hoses and a radial-pump master cylinder. Enough to make a Ducati 1299 Panigale or an MV-Agusta F4 jealous; and you know how an Italian brakes.
ABS? Always present, and now impossible to do without. KIBS goes so far as to detect a rear-wheel lock-up caused by a hard downshift, and therefore doesn't come into play. It can be deactivated with the electronic key supplied in the racing kit (more on this later). The Öhlins steering damper is retained, to calm the steering.

before tackling the chapter on the ever-increasing number of impressive electronic aids, let's let the engine have its say. It's a supercharged muscle with the performance of a madman. Don't get stuck on the maximum power of this 4-cylinder. Kawasaki maintains its 200 hp (210 with forced air intake), just like yesterday, and that's enough to dislodge 99% of what's running. The engine-makers' work, largely influenced by KRT's work, is going in the direction of a fuller, better-breathing engine, with less inertia when revving (was there any?). I'll spare you all the technical modifications... But if you really want to know, you'll find all the details at the bottom of the page. Highlights include a larger airbox and a much more aerated filter, a lightened crankshaft, thicker cylinder walls, optimized camshafts, new exhaust valves and a new, more compact engine.larger exhaust valves, improved gas evacuation, lighter, stronger pistons, a refined intake and a more compact gearbox. Gears 2 and 6 have been shortened, making it easier to get out of corners and hit top gear. Oh, by the way, the gearbox is located higher up, so you can open it without having to drain the mill. How convenient.
The power is there, with a desire to be more exploitable. The choice of cartography supports this approach. 3 modes are available, delivering 60% (low), 80% (middle) or 100% (full) of the 998 cm3's watts.
With all these evolutions, it's enough to make you wonder if the Kawasaki Racing Team doesn't want to invite itself into your garage. The electronic arsenal too?

for the most part, yes. Theold ZX-10R already had its answer in this respect. Now it's time to move on to the next stage, between power-assisted driving and a manned mission to Mars. KIBS, as we've already seen above. But the ZX-10R"phase 6" has even more underneath. The big change on this Ninja is the adoption of Bosch's UMI, 5-axis inertial control (longitudinal, transverse and vertical acceleration, roll rate and pitch rate). And there aren't many bikes on the market with this intelligent control module. The latest 1299 Panigale and R1 do their thing brilliantly, and the 10R is now up to speed. The Akashi-based manufacturer adds a personal touch with the calculation of yaw angle, provided by the ECU. This allows the on-board electronics to "see" in 3D where the bike is in space and how it reacts, enabling it to act with great efficiency.
Traction control takes full advantage. The S-KTRC no longer relies solely on the difference in wheel speeds to intervene. With the help of UMI measurements, it can act according to track conditions, tires, machine glide and wheeling. Amazing! It can now be set to five levels instead of three.
The new ZX-10R is also equipped with Launch Control, even more effective than that of the H2 and H2R, and KEBC, which acts on engine braking.
If you're going to steal things from the H2R, why not steal its KQS? This is Kawa's shifter, allowing you to shift gears without clutching. On uphill only. For downhill, you'll have to check with the Racing Kit.

s-KTRC, KEBC, UMI, KLCM, KIBS, KQS... Haven't we forgotten someone? Well, doesn't this Kawa have a structure? Arf, electronics are so much in the forefront on these cars that you'd almost forget about the chassis. But the bugger does most of the work. Even better from this point on. We've seen that the front drivetrain takes its standards up a notch. To transform, it relies on the double-beam aluminum perimeter frame, modified only in the thickness of the walls, which are thinner but just as solid. The main changes concern geometry. The steering column has been moved back 7.5 mm, while the swingarm has been lengthened by 15.8 mm. The increased wheelbase should provide a little more stability, although no one has complained about this. As for the chassis modifications, they result in more weight on the front wheel, favoring corner entry feel.
That's right, the weight. One wonders where Kawa slipped a brick onto its sporty 1000. The specification sheet announces an extra 5 kgs, or 206 units. Probably the catalytic converter and other crap.
The rear monoshock and its quasi-horizontal kinematics are retained; the Showa BFRC Lite is lighter, with a separate damping function (as for the fork) and easier adjustments. The ZX-10R is a weapon! Finely honed to cut through the competition.

the bar graph on the dashboard, not always appreciated, has also been retained. The instrument panel has a few more lights, the digital window has a slightly different layout, and a brightness sensor automatically adjusts the brightness of the instrument panel.

benefiting from the expertise of the KRT and the advice of two SBK world champions (Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes), the new Kawasaki ZX-10R is more an evolution than a real overhaul. It does, however, significantly improve an already high level of efficiency. Perhaps we would have appreciated the option of semi-active suspension... The most hardcore riders will focus more on the racing kit. The steering column can be adjusted by 4 mm using a set of spacers. Another set of parts can be used to modify the swingarm axis. There are also a whole host of engine parts, as well as the electronic key mentioned in the ABS chapter. This allows you to deactivate the anti-lock braking system, fine-tune the riding aids, reprogram the ECU to gain 10 horsepower and smooth out the power curves; and finally, with the racing harness, the shifter works both up and down the gears.
Now, turn the key in the ignition, close the visor, let it express itself, ride... You're in pursuit mode, while the stopwatch sweats.

M.B - Manufacturer's photos

a little more technique:

all the evolutionary work Kawasaki has put into its new ZX-10R fits on 29 pages. Let's concentrate on the engine and its main technical modifications:

- The intake ducts are machined using a cutting-edge technique borrowed from Kawasaki's WSBK team: their outlet ports are machined in two stages, first with the valve seats and then at an angle. In this way, the air follows a straighter path as it enters the combustion chamber. While smoothing the flow, this wider, straighter duct geometry enables a greater volume of air/fuel mixture to be drawn in, to the benefit of power. As before, the intake ducts are polished.

- In the same spirit of increased power, the exhaust ducts are also wider, straighter and now polished.

- The larger diameter of the exhaust valves (Ø 24.5 mm -> Ø 25.5 mm) also increases power, particularly at high revs. Inlet valve diameter remains unchanged at 31 mm.
/ Both intake and exhaust valves are made of titanium, a material with high thermal resistance and reduced moving mass.
The reworked cam profile lengthens the crossover period, for greater power (especially at high revs).
/ Chromoly camshafts contribute to the overall weight reduction. They benefit from a nitride surface treatment.

- Combustion chamber shape evolves for improved intake and exhaust efficiency

- To handle the higher engine load, the pistons have been shortened (39.2 mm -> 37.7 mm) and their crowns redesigned. Each piston is 5 grams lighter, for improved engine response. In addition, they are made from a new material that is both more robust and extremely heat-resistant. Finally, the addition of a dry lubricating film on the skirt reduces friction at low revs and facilitates piston running-in.

- The crankshaft's moment of inertia is reduced by 20%, one of the most important results of the lessons learned by the Kawasaki WSBK Team. The performance gain is noticeable at all levels: acceleration, deceleration and cornering.

- The new material of the connecting-rod bearings enhances their endurance at high rpm, while their new coating improves resistance to seizure.

- At cylinder level, the bore walls are thicker (5 mm -> 6 mm) to match rigidity to power gains, which also benefits reliability.

- The use of electronic throttle control justifies the adoption of a new 32-bit electronic control unit (ECU). Resin-free, its aluminum casing promotes heat dissipation, and therefore reliability.

Recall campaign :

On February 20, 2018, Kawasaki launched a recall campaign on its ZX-10R and ZX-10RR (2016-2018) hypersport models. At issue was the strength of the transmission sprockets, which could sometimes not be sufficient to withstand certain impacts when shifting gears too 'manfully'. To avoid any risk of gearbox lock-up and the associated risks, Kawasaki has recalled certain ZX-10R and RR models from 2016 to 2018 to replace several drive sprockets (2nd, 3rd, 4th) and one drive sprocket (2nd).

Serial number range of the machines concerned :
Model Year Serial number range
ZX1000S (R) 2016 JKAZXT00SSA000089 to JKAZXT00SSA005375
ZX1000S (R) 2017 JKAZXT00SSA008003 to JKAZXT00SSA011870
ZX1000Z (RR) 2017 JKAZXT00SZA008532 to JKAZXT00SZA011731
ZX1000S (R) 2018 JKAZXT00SSA014003 to JKAZXT00SSA015556
ZX1000Z (RR) 2018 JKAZXT00SZA014035 to JKAZXT00SZA015331