Tuning vs. Series – Kawasaki ZX-10R

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The best Kawasaki ZX-10R of the year

Tuning vs. Series – Kawasaki ZX-10R

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"It’s so green" – when Kawa’s tens glow! The 2011 ZX-10R is a bomb: almost 200 hp, traction control and sports ABS make the production bike a hell of a lot. But what else can established tuners release?? PS drives the series tens against three tuning variants. You can read the result here.

Bang bang, fire at will! Hockenheim, June 2011: The biggest PS event on the calendar is coming up, the PS Bridgestone Tuner GP. Although this year marks the ninth anniversary of this event, it is always something special to see so many tuned motorcycles in one place – and to be able to test them. After the dominance of the BMW S 1000 RR last year, there are three new ones this year Kawasaki ZX-10R at the start. As if the tuners had agreed, the green rockets differ considerably and represent the entire spectrum of the tuning world. Ready to test: the long-distance machine of the PS-LSL-X-lite team, the tens built according to stock sport regulations from the Luchow bike shop as well as the "unlimited class" competing ZX-10R from Bikerbox-Racing. As a reference vehicle, PS requested a test machine from the Kawa importer – and was rejected for lack of dimensions. Karsten Bartschat from Bikeshop-Luchow, who simply packed his demonstrator in the trailer and drove the 600 kilometers to Badische, was responsible for the fact that a series tens nevertheless turned up in Hockenheim. Thank you very much for that!

ZX-10R Series

Hockenheim is a good environment for the ZX-10R. Here, its top performance does not become a problem like in Almeria (see PS 3/2011), no, here it always comes out of the corners in the correct speed range. Its handy landing gear literally lets it fly through the Motodrom while obediently following the pilot’s line request. Its braking stability is already at the top level as standard – braking at the hairpin at top speed is a lot of fun. Throttle response, load changes or actuation of the gearbox are at a high level, as are their steering precision and stability. So what else do you want to tune here? One thing is clear: the athlete, which is mainly designed for everyday use, has no feedback with its road chassis and tires, and handling can be further improved. In addition, the footrest nipples and other little things that are sometimes attached. So into the colorful world of the tuning specialists.

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The Kawasaki of the PS-LSL-X-lite team.

Long haul: The tens of the PS-LSL-X-lite team should already be known to one or the other reader from the pit lane of the last PS issues. In the GEC, the German Endurance Cup, she already earned her first merits and won victories under PS colleague Uwe Seitz and his team partners Rene Raub and Marco Apel. ABS and traction control are standard equipment, the latter is also flanked by a Bazzaz-TC.

Basically, the long-haul aircraft is built very close to series production, but has all the typical and necessary long-haul details to achieve the team’s goal of participating in the 24-hour classic in LeMans in September. That means: quick-change systems on the front and rear wheels, stable Beringer long-distance braking system on the front and a 24-liter aluminum tank from the Gmeiner company.

The Ohlins chassis with TTX-36 in the rear and a cartridge system in the fork ensure a tighter wrinkled, while footrests from team partner LSL replace the standard parts. Helmet on and off. Are they kidding me? How can you drive such a long-distance race? The sitting position is as far from comfort as German brand butter is from a fat-free diet. I feel like a frog on the Kawa. Tea arms stretched out wide to the flared handlebars, the knees bent too tight, the buttocks far too low. Have you already won the GEC? Uff, that must have been very painful.

Bang bang, fire at will! In the first turn I shoot myself as far as I can on the tens. But to be honest, it drives the way it looks and bedding the pilot: low rear, high forehead – an old German shepherd with a hip damage sends his regards! This tens is difficult to make tight curves, drifting far outwards from the apex under tension. That’s not how it works, guys, you have to come back again. My recommendation: increase the seat cushion by at least 30 millimeters and take the rear of the stove a little higher overall. Because the motorcycle already has winning qualities. The feedback from the chassis is crisp, the brake, once brought up to temperature, with a good feeling and great effect.

And then the engine: Dieter Briese from Motorrad Holy did a fine job again. Velvety soft he goes on the gas, powerful and grumpy he pushes. Thanks to the finely balanced crankshaft and balanced connecting rods and pistons, the four-wheeler runs very smoothly and could be freed from the balance shaft. The aim of the revision was good drivability with maximum engine stability – and Briese achieved that. At least on the engine, everything is top notch. So guys, get ergonomics and balance in order, and you will find it much easier with your racing bike in the further course of the GEC and hopefully in LeMans than I did in Hockenheim.

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Kawa-Tuning alla Bikeshop-Luchow.

What a ride! If the long-distance tens seems assembled without a concept, the Bikeshop-Luchow-Kawa glows with consistency. Karsten Bartschat has poured a lot of brainpower and experience into his ZX-10R. His basic idea when building the racer: a lot of performance at a reasonable price. This can only be achieved if the series components remain on the motorcycle as much as possible, which is why he built the tens according to the strict stock sport regulations. ABS and traction control are on board, as is a Bazzaz-TC.

Why this duplication as on the long-distance racer? Because the Kawa-TC slows down fast pilots in the dry, instead of making them faster. Particularly noticeable when accelerating out of the hairpin: the series TC takes too much gas off in first gear to avoid wheelies. That is why it is switched off and the aisle-selectively programmable Bazzaz takes over. During the test drives, it was only activated in gears one and two. Otherwise fine-tuning on every corner: the revised chassis is tailored to the 20 millimeter higher seating position. The Bazzaz injection management with automatic gearshift harmonizes perfectly with the engine. The Luchow-ZX-10R gives a very coherent overall picture.

Bang bang, fire at will! With a hard deceleration it goes into the Sachskurve. I have never felt these treacherous bumps about ten meters from the apex as precisely as I do today. It’s unbelievable how Karsten got this fork to work with little means. In general, the balance of his tens is a stunner. Extremely stable, handy and precise, it burns down the slope with millimeter precision, conveys trust on every meter and links the driver to the ground, so to speak. With its standard engine, you can do 1.50-minute laps from a standing start – my best time is easily below that. Well done, Karsten! You really did a great job. Can anyone top that??

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Kawasaki Bikerbox Racing Tuning.

He’s slowly frightening me, the Buchner Sepp – as he politely introduces himself in the finest Bavarian. Fear because for the third time in a row he is delivering a Kawasaki ZX-10R to the Tuner-GP that is not looking for its equal. And she doesn’t need it either, because there aren’t any! In 2010, Sepp was crowned the winner thanks to the measured 210 hp of his Kawa "Achievement king" of the Tuner-GP and gave me my fastest Hockenheim circuit to date. The stopwatch on his movement at the time stopped at 1.48.6 minutes. What will she display this year?

With Sepp himself a middle 1.50s time – respect! Not only can he build fast motorcycles, he can also move them. Where does that come from? The autodidact began his career in 1996 in the IDM. With buddy Harry Steinbauer they competed as novices and unsuspecting in the German championship on a ZX-6R. Harry drove and helped as best he could, Sepp screwed, tuned and repaired. The reward for the effort: In 1997 Harry became runner-up. Then Sepp turned away from racing, Harry’s death and his own accidents caused deep cuts. It was not until 2002 that he signed on to Harald Eckl’s World Championship team, where he looked after the 600 series Supersport engines. From 2004 to 2006 he worked in MotoGP. Always in green and always for the greens, over the years he not only acquired a basic theoretical understanding of high-performance engines, but also of the entire motorcycle system. His credo: only those who really understand something can improve it.

Bang bang, fire at will! "He really understands", Already in the first lap it shoots through my head when turning into the parabolic steroids. The Bikerbox-Kawa folds smoothly into the opening, endless links with slight acceleration. From the inner crank I fully flip the lever in the second and let myself be carried until just before the right outer boundary. Move up gear steps three, four, five and six before I grab my iron before the hairpin and compress the load from a real 270 km / h. Restlessness on the bumps in an inclined position and at full acceleration? Hard anchoring instability? Lack of grip or lack of feedback? None of it! Wow – the rocket is perfect.

Jahn

Bikerbox-Racing Kawasaki ZX10-R. Strong, sharp, precise and mobile.

Shoot me out of the hairpin like an artillery shell. At 9500 rpm I go into second gear to prevent the front wheel from climbing any further. Bang bang, fire at will! Before the quick right bend, the brake is applied briefly, then turned with a pull. Here are real 180 km / h at the apex! Terrifying? No, not! Because the Bikerbox-Kawa lets everything slide effortlessly by hand, generating this indescribable trust in the pilot. I believe in the motorcycle and me. Then the lap time as a creed. The greater the belief, the smaller the orbital time. And that interests everyone in the paddock. My first run was not bad – the clock says 1.49.1 minutes, already done in the second lap. That leads to expect a lot more.

How does Sepp manage to position the Green in such a way that she drives so predictably despite her 209 horses? Hey focuses on the overall system. A lot of engine power can only be implemented if it can be controlled. To do this, you need a top injection response and predictable power delivery. The chassis must of course provide transparent feedback, have the necessary firmness with maximum sensitivity. There is no big gap between theory and practice with Buchner’s ZX-10R. Tea Zehner with its 16.5-inch forged magnesium wheels is perfectly balanced and stands on a K-Tech frame that has been finely machined by Sepp.

Despite the static wheel load of 54 percent on the front wheel, which certainly increases significantly when braking on the hairpin, the Kawa is incredibly stable, which must be attributed to the tight but sensitive coordination of the cartridge. The hindquarters are just as indomitable as the fork when the 209 hp is fully called up and keep the green one safely on the tight line, while the fat Dunlops offer all their grip and work their way deep black into the asphalt.

Logically, there is no sparing of details: the exclusive Brembo brake calipers not only look stylish, but also ensure precise, indomitable and always predictable braking performance. The discs they press their linings against are just one of those subtleties that make it "Complete system Buchner" describe so well. They are extra thick, 6.0 millimeter thick racing discs from Brembo with a diameter of 320 mm. Extra thick also means extra heavy. One question arises: Why attach heavy brake discs to an ultra-light forged rim? Buchner’s answer: "Because they improve the braking effect and transparency, calm the motorcycle at high speed, for example in the Parabolika, and reduce the wheelie tendency slightly when accelerating hard". Your influence on handling? "Minimal", so the autodidact. How does he know? He drove it out himself.

Bang bang, fire at will! The new Dunlop at the rear shines greasy, the engine is warm, my second run is coming up. A clap from Sepp on the shoulder and his grin on his face tell me clearly: Have fun and let it rip! One more time my synapses connect to the ZX-10R, it logs into my nervous system and follows my line requests, braking point announcements and acceleration commands as if it were part of me. The hunt against the clock begins. After eight rounds, concentration wanes and anger rises. There was still no free lap. Then the ninth – it will be the perfect one. Best time in all sectors, after 1.47.39 minutes I cross the finish line again. It’s done! Bang bang, beer up, Sepp.

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The best Kawasaki ZX-10R of the year.

Both the series tens and the PS-LSL-X-lite long-distance racer live in a different world. At least if you drove the burners from Luchow and Feichten. If I drive a thousand, then exactly one. Why? Because the Bikeshop-Luchow- and Bikerbox-Racing-ZX-10R never leave the driver in the dark. They give him the feeling of being part of the whole and allow him to indulge in these incredible driving dynamics. I’ve never driven better equipment, honestly! With 10 HP more each, Karstens Kawa would be an IDM winner and Sepps rocket would certainly be on a World Cup level.

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