News – Everything you need to know about the new 2016 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R – Pre-owned KAWASAKI

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Everything you need to know about the new 2016 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R

News - Everything you need to know about the new 2016 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R - Pre-owned KAWASAKI

The Ninja ZX-10R had a phenomenal 2015 WSBK season. In order to maintain its dominance, Kawasaki has modeled a new Ninja for 2016 in close collaboration with its official Superbike team and its two riders Rea and Sykes. Presentation.

Titled in with Tom Sykes (second in and) and victorious in the Evo category with Salom in 2014, the ZX-10R took it all by ensuring Jonathan Rea his first world title and Kawasaki his first WSBK constructor title. !

To continue to dominate the Superbike World Championship (35 podiums in 2015, 18 wins, 7 pole positions and 17 lap records!), Kawasaki decided to launch a new Ninja based on experience – and the expertise – of its team engaged in WSBK.

It is also in the company of riders Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes (read our MNC Interviews of and of), and their respective team leaders, Pere Riba and Marcel Duinker, that the new machine – on the road! – was unveiled yesterday in Barcelona (in a theater, and not in the workshops of the Provec team, the right arm of the Akashi firm, however based near the Catalan capital).

Official Kawa rider since 2010, Tom Sykes recalls that in 2011, he and his team had worked as a priority on the balance of the ZX-10R in order to limit tire wear during the races and thus be able to stay ahead until checkered flag.

During the development of the 2016 machine, the Ninja n ° 66 this time focused its work – and that of the Japanese engineers at the Akashi factory – on the inertia of the motorcycle, which it wished less "when accelerating, braking, in curves as in changes of angle". The Greens therefore worked on the engine … and on the cycle part !

Mister Rea’s team leader, Pere Riba, insists, for his part, that "to win, a motorcycle must be easy to ride. The 2016 model will therefore be easier to drive, for Johnny as for all the pilots."Good news, no ?!

For the project manager, Yoshimoto Matsuda, the goal was even more concrete: "I wanted the new Ninja to be faster than its competitors, and to run 1.5 seconds faster than its predecessor on the Autopolis circuit". In the end, the house pilot would have gained 2.6 seconds !

Unveiled live, the Ninja was however able to disappoint its fans since its maximum power will not increase in 2016: 200 hp always (and 210 hp dynamically with the forced air intake "ram air"). In terms of torque, the Ninja only nibbles 1.5 Nm (i.e. 113.5 Nm, see the)

But the Greens retort that their new motorcycle complies with the Euro 4 standard. To keep its 200 horsepower while protecting the polar bears, the Ninja’s engine has therefore been revised..

200 horsepower still, but Euro 4

Japanese engineers have made clever modifications to the cylinder heads (intake ducts machined at an angle, wider exhaust valves), camshafts, combustion chamber and piston (-5 gx 4!), Which should improve in the future. change to low and mid-range.

The 10-liter airbox (compared to 8 previously) also allows the 4-cylinder to breathe better, while a new gearbox staging would allow stronger acceleration when the pilot opens wide the throttle, via a new ride-by-wire system.

At the heart of the Iwata mill turns a new crankshaft whose original rubber design "20% inertia"compared to the previous element. At the same time, the primary clutch pinion is also considerably lighter (from 984 to 763.9 g). Tom Sykes will be happy !

The frame has also been revised to improve the feeling of the front axle. The steering column has been moved back 7.5 mm and spacers (supplied in the race kit) allow it to be moved back an additional 4 mm or to move it forward as much.

The swingarm is stiffened and lengthened by 15.8 mm. Thanks to the always race kit, its axis can be raised or lowered by 2 mm. It is mounted to the frame – unchanged – via a state-of-the-art damper from the Showa brand: the BFRC lite, a lighter version of the previous "Balance Free Rear Cushion" damper..

At the front, the new Ninja adopts a fork also "Balance Free", thus having an external chamber – clearly visible in the photos – which provides the damping function. The work and the settings of compression and relaxation are entirely separate. In a word : "this is the closest thing to a real fork from WSBK", summarizes the manufacturer.

At the foot of this Showa BFF fork are new brake calipers, and not just any since these are the Brembo M50 monoblocs, the top of the range of the Italian equipment manufacturer that can be found in particular on and . Aviation-type hoses are used at the front as well as at the rear.

Let the good time pitch, roll and yaw

Like this time, the Kawasaki ZX-10R 2016 hosts a new inertial measurement unit (the famous IMU) which measures "longitudinal, transverse and vertical acceleration, roll angular velocity and pitch velocity. The yaw angle is calculated by the ECU using the original Kawasaki software".

The interventions of electronic assistants are also becoming more precise. "S-KTRC traction control is no longer just predictive but also retroactive", congratulate the Japanese engineers."This new mixed predictive / retroactive system allows a larger panel of pilots to experience piloting at the limitsAfter that, MNC can’t wait to test Akashi’s version !

In addition to traction control, the Ninja inaugurates a starting aid device (KLCM for Kawasaki Launch Control Mode) as well as a KEBC system (Kawasaki Engine Brake Control) which limits the engine braking by selecting the unique Light mode.

Indispensable on the track, a quickshifter – of the "contactless" type – also makes its appearance as standard on the Big Ninja, allowing you to set up gears without unsoldering. The "downshift" function is available as an option via the racing kit.

When used in town, on tricky roads or on wet tracks, the driver / pilot can always use two other power modes, restricting the engine to 80 or 60% of the "Full" version … which will finally benefit the French bikers from !

The Kawasaki Anti-Lock Braking System (KIBS) is renewed on the new ZX-10R, but can now be deactivated, either partially (front only) or completely, using an electronic key supplied in the racing kit.

The manufacturer also emphasizes that the larger fork crown protects better, that the gills of the new screen limit the swirl of the helmet and that "the stepped shape of the front mudguard channels the air better to the radiator, for the benefit of cooling … and aesthetics".

The rear part is further reworked: the end of the Kawa Superbike with a big butt integrating the indicators! Announced wider by its designers, the rear shell nevertheless seems thinner thanks to the Z1000-inspired brake light.

Color question finally, the ZX-10R is available in black (with green fork cartridge) or green "KRT Replica" (with red cartridge)! All that remains is to discover the price of the beast which will arrive in January 2016 in French dealerships, as well as the extension required for the racing kit (which would boost the Ninja of 10 horses). To follow naturally on MNC: stay connected !

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