Driving report Kawasaki ZZR 1400

Posted on by admin

Menus

Driving report Kawasaki ZZR 1400
Artist

Driving report Kawasaki ZZR 1400 (2006)

Full program

With the ZZR 1400, performance is program: 200 HP make it the most powerful series machine of all time. After the presentation in the USA, the European journalists were able to find out how it feels on German streets.

Pfffff ?? take a deep breath when you turn into the motorway exit. After all, even a test editor does not drive 300 km / h every day. A very special experience. The third dimension dissolves, the world is a straight line. The tunnel vision focuses the truck on the horizon. Or is it two? And does the rear one really stay on the right? Don’t stress now. Three seconds later you whiz past shadowy obstacles with a good 200 km / h excess.

You need space for 300. Not much for the start-up with the ZZR. This makes it all the more important to have space to the front in order to brake the part from 300 to 80 in an emergency. When the truck starts the elephant race, although the ZZR’s glistening headlight battery lights up in the second leg. 300 are no fun, this is not for the hothead. It applies here,
to keep a cool head. Seconds later, the 5-series BMW, which was just jammed in a traffic jam, is only a miserable spot in the rearview mirror. These are other dimensions. Absolute dominance, the sheer power.
To demonstrate this, Kawasaki did not send the international trade press to the sunny south, but to
invited to dreary Germany in April.

Rain showers instead of Mediterranean sun, cold instead of pleasant spring temperatures and a bleak winter landscape instead of blossoms. But a “German Autobahn” with free travel doesn’t exist anywhere else. However: Real 300 km / h are not possible, at 299 it is over. Like other big bikes, the ZZR is limited on a voluntary basis. She could be faster, jerks into the speed cutter. But no matter whether 299 or 312 ?? One can always argue about the meaning and purpose of such speeds. At least this pace can be enjoyed relatively relaxed on the ZZR. Nothing wobbles, the handlebars don’t even begin to hit, even without a steering damper. The high speed cuts with the precision of an arrow-
Shot the atmosphere. That keeps the stress within limits. You have to duck deep behind the flat pane to avoid the thundering hurricane.
Anyone who is interested in such an overpowered machine is more concerned with excess power, superiority and absolute sovereignty rather than 300 km / h. Which can only be hinted at in numbers and values. There is a lush 200 hp
Kawasaki on. With ram air effect. Without the wind from the front, 190 horses gallop up. How does it feel on the country road?
First of all, surprisingly unspectacular. The engine hangs incredibly gently on the gas, almost seems tame. The ZZR 1400 pampers you with a buttery smooth throttle response. No wonder, thanks to the transitional arrangement, it is still homologated to Euro 2. In addition, two balancer shafts minimize vibrations extremely successfully. So the usual Kawa feeling does not arise, this rough, aggressive character of other models. Only the clone when engaging first gear and
are sometimes a bit hard gear changes
typical Kawa.
The seating position is a good compromise between comfort and sportiness. You sit relaxed, but tall pilots have to live with a sporty, acute knee angle. The wind protection is neat, the flat, far forward cladding creates a laminar flow with little turbulence and noise under the helmet.
So you glide with sovereign Las-
through the landscape, is from
huge boost promised by the data-
chen to feel nothing. When cruising with
3000 / min in the sixth initially little happens when accelerating. Just time
a rolling ski from the wrist-
overtake kane? Not in without one or two
Shift down gears. »We wanted the ZZR to be safe and user-friendly
make ”, the Kawa commented–
saki delegates. It definitely is
succeeded. The danger of provoking a highsider with the slightest turn of the throttle is thus eliminated.
The chassis also contributes to the harmonious overall impression, the ?? fully adjustable front and back of course ?? filters out all the inadequacies of road construction with excellent convenience, without ever being diffuse or in-
to act differently. Around 255 kilograms
the ABS-ZZR should weigh with a full tank, so it is on the level of the Hayabusa. It falls playfully into the bends and requires little effort in alternating bends. And remains completely neutral in any inclined position without corrective interventions on course. An indication of the lucky tire choice, the Bridgestone BT 014 fit perfectly with the chassis geometry. Sure, the big bike doesn’t ride quite as directly as a super sports car. Which is because the driver is not sitting so far forward over the steering head.
But the gentle glider can also do something completely different. Namely, if you let the aisles stand a little longer. If you step down two or three gears for the intermediate sprint and pull the cable to the stop, it sets in between 5000 and 6000 rpm
primeval, not up to the top-
letting in thrust. There it is again, the kawa feeling, concentrated power. The ZZR
explodes, so that one clings convulsively to the handlebars. Turn out the gears up to 11500 revolutions? No chance, too much pressure on public transport. Consequently, exactly what performance fetishists want: power in excess-
river that you rarely need, but can be called up at any time if you wish.
To emphasize the safety aspect, the ZZR in Germany is only available with ABS. In combination with the stretched chassis and the high-quality brake components, the Nissin ABS works very well. If you want to get into the control range, which also works fine over waves, you have to reach immensely. The ZZR stays on course like a board, the stern sticks to the ground. A comparison with the foreign version without an anti-lock device shows that the transparency hardly suffers.
13,995 euros are for the ZZR 1400
including ABS due? with which she herself
between Suzuki Hayabusa and BMW
K 1200 S placed. In terms of performance, it has the edge. How they are usually in
You will find out soon in MOTORRAD.

Confusing model policy

Powerful and large-capacity athletes and sports tourers have
Kawasaki has a long tradition where the boundaries between sport and touring were never clearly defined. The 147 hp ZZ-R 1100 came in 1990, the ancestor of all speed bikes. In 2001 it was in the program for the last time, followed a year later by the ZZ-R 1200 (left) with 152 hp, trimmed a little more touring.
At the same time, there was the ZX-12R (center) for sportier speed freaks from 2000, a whopping 178 hp and still in the Kawa range today. You come in terms of performance
the current ZX-10R (right) with a nominal 175 hp, quite close, from the character
The super sports car is of course more uncompromising. The ZZR 1400 is for the time being
the pinnacle of performance fetishism. By the way, it’s called the ZX-14R in the USA. After the discontinuation of the ZZR 1200, the ZX-12R will soon also bless the time, so that Kawasaki would be more clearly positioned in the segments. Is missing
just a sporty tourer. However, this is already announced for 2007 and will get the ZZR 1400 engine with reduced power.

Technical data – Kawasaki ZZR 1400

Engine: water-cooled four-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine, two balance shafts, two overhead, chain-driven camshafts, four valves per cylinder, cups-
tappet, wet sump lubrication, injection, ø 49 mm, uncontrolled catalytic converter with secondary air system, generator 490 W, battery 12 V / 14 Ah, hydraulically operated-
Actuated multi-disc oil bath clutch, six-speed gearbox, O-ring chain.

Bore x stroke 84.0 x 61.0 mm
Cubic capacity 1352 cm3
Compression ratio 12: 1

Rated output 140.0 kW (190 hp) at 9500 rpm

Max. Torque 154 Nm at 7500 rpm

Chassis: Monocoque made of aluminum, upside-down fork, ø 43 mm, adjustable spring base, rebound and compression damping, two-arm swing arm made of aluminum, central spring strut with lever system, adjustable spring base, rebound and compression damping, double disc brake at the front, ø 310 mm, four-piston fixed calipers , Rear disc brake, ø 250 mm, two-piston fixed caliper, ABS.
Cast aluminum wheels 3.50 x 17; 6.00 x 17
Tires 120/70 ZR 17; 190/50 ZR 17

Dimensions and weights: wheelbase 1460 mm, steering head angle 67.0 degrees, caster 94 mm, spring travel f / h 117 /
122 mm, seat height 800 mm, ready-to-drive weight 255 kg, load 180 kg, tank capacity / reserve 22.0 / 2.0 liters.

Two year guarantee
Colors gray, blue
Price 13,995 euros
Additional costs around 170 euros

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *