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Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R after-test the brake

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First sensational at the premiere, then with a big question mark in the comparison test – the brakes of the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R screamed for another test.

Review: After the superbike test (PS 05/2016) we stood in the pits in Aragon, a bit at a loss. The PS tester, ex-racing driver Christian Kellner and his Spanish colleague Sergio Romero were off the brakes Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R disappointed. When we happened to meet our English colleague from MCN in Aragon and after their test was just as critical with the Kawa brake, we felt confirmed. At the presentation of the new green superbike in Sepang (with deactivated ABS), the braking system was still so sporty that we simply couldn’t understand why it didn’t allow us to act just as precisely in Aragon (ABS cannot be deactivated).

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R after-test the brake

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Ninja ZX-10R didn’t get any top lap times.

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Aragon panes reassembled

To really get to the bottom of the matter, we asked Kawasaki to inspect the machine and test it again. It took place during a spear training session in Hockenheim (speer-racing.de). Kawasaki initially criticized the fact that we should definitely have changed the brake pads on the racetrack test before chasing lap times. Accordingly, if the pads are slightly less than half the pad thickness for racing use, they should definitely be replaced.

We drove off with the pads slightly broken in and were able to confirm immediately that the brakes were now working a lot better. The delay was noticeably better. But also the conditions, because the cool temperatures in Aragon were contrasted with the spring sun and warm asphalt. The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R braked just as well with the discs that were on the bike in Aragon and the identical tires that we had fitted again for comparability.

So is it because of the thickness of the pads whether the brakes on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R work well? The test made it appear. We still lacked the crisp feel in our fingers and the progression of a real racing brake, but the progress was obvious.

Superbike-worthy brake with deactivated ABS

Second part of the test: The Kawasaki technicians complied with our request to bring a dongle, a part from the race kit, actually a small plug with which the ABS can be switched off. Quickly plugged into the corresponding cable connection under the seat, we deactivated the ABS, as in Sepang, and did our laps again. And – bang – there it was again, the superbike-worthy brake of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R! Crisp pressure point, the delay increased with every touch of finger strength and the Kawa hit every vertex like a fine race iron.

How is that possible? To find the answer, you first have to have a rough idea of ​​how the Bosch braking system works. There is a graphic to illustrate this [in the booklet and in PDF download]. After the test, we had the technicians explain how it works again. In principle, braking takes place via the primary circuit of the ABS brake system and the brake pressure is recorded by a sensor. Depending on the brake pressure, the inlet valve in the primary circuit reacts and closes it when the brake pressure is too high or the sensors on the wheel detect an impending locking. Then it is braked via the secondary circuit with the known ABS reactions.

Single issues in the PS shop

Single items in the e-kiosk

Unfortunately only one mode for ABS

However, this system also has what is known as gradient control, which already acts in the primary circuit. If an experienced driver brakes sportily in ABS mode on the racetrack, for example on the basis of his experience, the pressure in the brake circuit also rises very sharply and quickly, and if the conditions are appropriate due to cool weather and tire mix, the inlet valve slowly closes and opens to switch to the secondary circuit. This could be interpreted as the first control stage of the ABS. The brakes of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R are correspondingly toothless, because you feel the valve closing in the lever and not the pliers biting the discs.

The crucial information, however, is that each manufacturer usually applies this gradient control themselves, i.e. determines when the system reacts accordingly. In order to be able to react to country roads, racetracks or even wet roads, some vehicle manufacturers have meanwhile installed an ABS system with several modes. Chosen accordingly by the pilot, the system reacts sensitively in the rain, a little more generously on dry roads, even more generously on the racetrack.

Dongle for racetrack drivers

For the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, however, Kawasaki has only chosen one mode for the ABS and has chosen this accordingly conservatively so that nothing can go wrong on the worst country road even in the rain. Correspondingly early, the system regulates strong brake pressure with the inlet valve in the first instance – with the effects we experienced, reinforced by the cool weather and the extremely soft tire compound (K1 in the Metzeler Racetec RR). And mainly because of this, the brake did its job with ABS better in Hockenheim than in Aragon. The plugged-in dongle now ensures that the inlet valve always remains open and, when ABS is switched off, it is only braked by the primary circuit, so this system works immediately, as we have always done know about brakes. This is why the Brembo M50 calipers now feel like a real racing brake when you drive accordingly. The pressure point is crisp, the delay finely adjustable and progressive with the hand force used. You can now feel the covering "bite" into the panes.

For this reason, we recommend experienced pilots who only use the ZX-10R on the racetrack to get the dongle for around 22 euros. It is part of the race kit, if used on public roads the operating license expires. Anyone who drives the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R exclusively on the country road will probably not have the problem, unless he drives and brakes above the conditions.

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