All Tests – Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R Review: more difficult for 2016 – 2016 ZX-10R: a little closer to the stars

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Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R test: sweeter for 2016

All Tests - Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R Review: more difficult for 2016 - 2016 ZX-10R: a little closer to the stars

To stay at the top of the Superbike category after its first WSBK constructor title, Kawasaki is launching a deeply revamped 2016 Ninja ZX-10R that Site was able to test on the Sepang circuit (Malaysia). Try: on the attack !

2016 ZX-10R: A Little Closer To The Stars

The new Ninja ZX-10R was unveiled in full in early October in Barcelona. On site, Site had carefully relayed the information provided by Kawasaki (read).

Le Journal moto du Net also took advantage of the event to talk to the two Kawasaki factory riders who were naturally present in Spain: the 2013 world champion and his new teammate, titled in his first season with the Greens….

Ninja ZX-10R 2016: availability, colors and prices

  • Available: immediate in the

  • Colors: Gray or KRT Green (+200 €)

  • Price: 17 599 €

Besides these two "pilot" titles and David Salom’s victory in the Evo category in 2014, the ZX-10R launched also brought Kawasaki its very first "constructor" title last year. The Ninja has reaped the circuit path doing "40 wins, 32 pole positions and 39 lap records", underlined the Greens during the first presentation.

Impressive results which command admiration, which command respect … and which were naturally recalled by the Kawasaki Europe press manager in the introduction of the second presentation – dynamic, this time! – organized in Malaysia.

The Japanese manufacturer had indeed invited us to the Sepang circuit, as beautiful as it is distant and demanding: please realize, dear readers, that this magnificent 5.5 km route nestled in the heart of the Kuala Lumpur jungle requires 25 hours of flight, that the temperature is close to 35 ° C in the shade and that the humidity exceeds 85% !

The Malaysian track is also one of the most famous of the WSBK and MotoGP calendars and it is here, ten years ago, that the Motorcycle Journal of the Net had the pleasure of .

Ninja ZX-10R 2016: MNC Videos

But let’s come back to this Kawasaki ZX-10R 2016, whose main mission is crystal clear: to stay at the top of the World Superbike category! For this, the Ninja was jointly developed by a Japanese team of Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) and by the Kawasaki Racing Team (KRT) based in Spain..

Before entrusting us with the controls of their new racing beast – approved for the road -, the Greens viciously stuff us the slack gently refresh the memory. Site readers – who, as everyone knows, have a little more RAM than others – will be satisfied with a brief reminder.

This year, the new "Zedixediss" arrives with a revamped engine-transmission assembly and advanced electronics, a resized frame and reinforced swingarm, new Showa suspensions and new Brembo brake calipers, a more enveloping fork crown and a rear more prominent.

As he had done in Barcelona, ​​the "Development project leader", Yoshimoto Matsuda, explained to Sepang that "a high-performance motorcycle is an easy motorcycle". According to him, it is by adopting this philosophy that we offer the best machine to top riders … and to customers, whom Kawasaki does not forget. !

"The rider must fight against his competitors, not against his motorcycle", observed the former head of the Kawasaki MotoGP project."By thus developing the best possible machine for the World Superbike, we are also greatly improving the road model.".

World Superbike or road: same fight

By discussing between two taxiing sessions with Marcel Duinker, chief engineer of Tom Sykes, Site is confirmed that it is indeed at the express request of its pilot n ° 66 that the KRT and the KHI have decided to reduce the inertia of the 4-cylinder.

"For us, reducing the gyroscopic effect is almost anecdotal", reveals the chief mechanic,"and the gain in nervousness and engine response only represents 10% of our target". If Kawasaki has revised its engine, it is in fact to facilitate the work of its driver when entering a curve, not when exiting. !

"With the 2015 version of our racing ZX-10R (less prepared than in the past, in accordance with the new WSBK regulation), Tom was braking harder than the engine was going down in the turns. The motorbike therefore pushed him out of the path and he struggled to reach the rope", describes his chief mechanic.

"To be honest, I seriously doubted at the start of last season that Tom could win a single race. In the end, we got around the problem and it won four times". And with the new 2016 engine, Marcel is convinced that Tom will do much better….

"We have less and less the possibility of playing on the standard chassis", also regrets the former suspension engineer of the Kawasaki MotoGP project."This is why the steering column is set back 7.5mm on the 2016 model and the swingarm is extended by 15.8mm, adopting a geometry closer to our WSBK machine.".

Focused on its success in the Superbike World Championship, Akashi’s firm had to take into account the increasingly restrictive regulations in terms of preparation in WSBK to improve its Ninja. But she also had to fulfill another obligation…

To be able to evolve on the road, the Ninja had to comply with the Euro4 emission standard. Direct and happy consequence for the ZX-10R in France: it becomes the only machine in the category to come out of French dealerships directly in "Full" version (200 hp according to the technical sheet on the last page).

Unlike the, great novelty 2015 which largely dominated last season commercially in France and achieved a very respectable sales volume despite its restraint – and the retro-fit still not recorded! -, the new Kawa therefore leaves with a head start on its rivals.

In return, the Ninja sees its full weight changed in the wrong direction: from 201 kg with ABS in 2015 to 206 kg (ABS as standard) in 2016, i.e. the weight of the R1 … old generation! On paper, the Kawasaki therefore loses one point against the latest R1 of 199 kg and S1000RR of 204 kg, equipped with ABS … but only respecting the Euro3 standard..

Good news that fell during the holidays: the ZX-10R announced between € 18,000 and € 18,500 last November is finally offered at € 17,599 in its gray black version. For the record, the old vintage (2014 on the official Kawasaki website) cost € 17,199 with ABS.

Even selected in its "Replica" KRT colorway, the 2016 Ninja remains less expensive than its two main rivals: count € 18,499 for the R1 and € 18,165 for an S1000RR equipped with the Race pack (mainly including DDC traction control).

But the time is not – yet! – a comparison of the best in-line 4-cylinder sports cars … If Kawasaki brought together journalists from all over the world on the Sepang circuit, it was for the sole purpose of showing that the ZX-10R is so easy that effective.

For MNC, it is a question of verifying the slogan "Get close"that Kawasaki has chosen to illustrate its brand new bike. Does the 2016 Ninja actually allow you to get closer to the stars of the official Kawasaki team? Will it make MNC flirt with the limits of grip, without making it exceed them? Check on next page…

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