The Ninja saga celebrates 25 years !

In 25 years of career, Kawasaki Ninja sports cars have largely contributed to forging this reputation for performance which has made the success of the Akashi brand. From the first GPZ900R in 1984 to the ZX-6R 2009, Site looks back at the Ninja legend !

The 300 km / h hunt with the ZX-12R

But the Japanese are going very (too?) Far in mechanical excess: while the road repression begins to seriously harden, developing production motorcycles capable of crossing the barrier of 300 km / h as laughing is widely pointed out by Public powers…

Cautiously, Kawasaki gives up the arms race after a final evolution in 2003 … Before putting the cover back in 2006 with a ZZR 1400 200 hp (!) Disguised as a road sport (read our)! That said, between an aging ZX-9R and an overly intimidating ZX-12R, the Ninja family suffers from the lack of a 1000cc Hypersport in their offering….

Considered as the benchmark since the appearance of the Yamaha YZF R1 in 1999, the "Mille" now represent the sporting flagship of manufacturers: ultra powerful and increasingly light, the R1, Fireblade and other GSX-R occupy the front of the sports scene, whether in dealerships or on the circuits !

Kawasaki obviously cannot stand idly by watching its rivals grab sales and podiums with these fantastic technological showcases! In 2004, Akashi’s crest brought out the Ninja ZX-10R (read our), a radical hypersport of 170 kg dry, sharp as a scalpel and propelled – it is little to say it! – by an incredible 175 hp four-cylinder (184 with forced air) !

The machine, cut with a billhook, is devilishly expressive. But once again, Kawasaki has got its brushes a little tangled in the design of its lethal weapon: while other manufacturers begin to make the incredible performance of their track bombs more exploitable, the ZX-10R detonates with its explosive mill. , as bloody as a barely broken-in thoroughbred…

Backtracking with a less exclusive 2006 vintage but heavier and less sensational than an R1 or a GSX-R, Kawasaki seems to find a happy medium with the 2008 ZX-10R: very powerful and as agile as a ballerina, the 10R last of the name suffers only from a physique difficult to assume and a cruel lack of results in World Superbike. But the recipe for pleasure is indeed there and the "Zak" is the joy of rave owners on the driving character of this Ninja, more than ever faithful to the sporting connections of the Japanese firm !

While awaiting its logical evolution in 2010, the ZX-10R represents today the top of a Ninja range which celebrates its 25 years of success this year and whose offer has never been so effective and supplied since the launch in 2008 Ninja 250R (read our). With great reinforcements of charismatic and ever more successful models, the Kawasaki sports cars continue more than ever to make the thrill of enthusiasts beat, stung with the same green blood as the bikers discovering the first Ninja in 1984…

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