Review by Adrian Percival on Kawasaki ZX10| Kawasaki ZX-10R | |
| by Adrian Percival | |
The ZX10 is lighter than most 600's, it will do over 100mph in first gear even before you get to the red line of 13,000rpm, it will aim skyward at the earliest opportunity in any gear up to 4th just on power alone, and it does not take prisoners! The ZX10 needs to be treated with the utmost respect, unlike most other 1lt bikes around, it will punish you in an instant if you do something silly or stupid, accelerate a little to hard and you will be down on the ground in a flash. No the ZX10 does not take kindly to inexperienced riders, it will take all your concentration to ride this bike properly and all your past riding skills will need to be used if you want to stay on this bike and have a good time!
Two decades or more after the first Kawasaki superbike was introduced to the public we now have the all new ZX-10R, and it's just fantastic in every respect. Park it up next to another Japanese 1lt superbike and it looks tiny, park it next to a ZX6R and it looks tiny, that's a sign of just how far the redesign of this bike has gone, now compare it to it's rivals and the ZX10 wins handsdown. Weighing in at a mere 192kg wet it is some 15kg less than Honda's Blade and 5kg less than a GSXR1000, plus it actually puts down more power to the road than any other 1lt superbike, and not forgetting the big boys its more than the Hayabusa and the ZX12R!
Now we have already put the ZX10 in context when it come to the others, but what's it like to actually ride on the normal roads. The ZX10 feels small when you get on it, with the frame dimensions as they are you really feel like you are on something like a 400 race rep sometimes! The seating and handlebar position are just right though, strangely feeling less compact than the rest of the bike, which was odd... The one thing here that will put off shorter riders is the overall seat height as it is quite high for anyone under about a 30/31" inside leg! For everyday riding the Z is not at all bad, it does not give you a numb behind and surprisingly enough the wrists feel quite ok after a longish town ride as well. There are a few niggles in town and in traffic though, but most you can overcome with practice. The first slight problem is as mentioned before the on/off nature of the power delivery with the ZX10. In traffic this become a little irritating until you get used to it, but after a while you can appreciate why Kawasaki have such a tough linear clutch in this bike. The second is that in town or traffic all you ever need is first gear, there's not many places you can get up to over 100mph in town! Lastly add to the list a hot right foot caused by the colector box being just under it, summer may well be a little harsh on your foot with the ZX10!
Get out onto the country roads is my advice, the ZX10 does not belong in town or traffic, this change of scenery will bring out the beast in this bike, and boy will you begin to enjoy it! On tight twisty roads the Z feel like a race 600, quick steering, flickable, acres of ground clearance to exploit, and with the shortest wheel base of any 1lt bike surprisingly it doesn't feel as nervous as you would expect. The biggest problem when you are out with the guys and gals for a Sunday ride is don't leave them behind as not much is going to keep up with this bike on any kind of road. A word of caution here though, don't play around or get overconfident with the throttle until you have had some experience with the ZX10, or you will definately loose your passsenger if you have one, or be heading skyward at an alarming pace!
On more sweeping roads the ZX10 feels precise and confident even without a steering damper. The suspension will take most road surfaces with ease even though it is a bit on the stiff side, but not much seems to upset this bike even at maximum lean angles. The ZX10 is fitted with the new Dunlop D218 radials and these seem to be perfectly suited to the Z's manners, the bite from these tyres is good and under heavy breaking (which you seem to be doing a lot of the time!) the feel and stability is perfect. Talking of brakes the ZX10 has some pretty good stoppers up front with radial calipers and fashionable wavy discs, they work well and will haul you up in super quick time from the most ludicrous speeds. the onl slight niggle I have here is that with thin gloves on the slim lever bites into your hand a little which could be a bit tedious on a track day for instance, with normal gloves on its just fine though. So there you have it, the big Z is an awesome bike to ride and nothing like my first impressions 6mths ago!
Mean and moody and ready to ride is what the ZX10 is all about, get out on the road and in 100-120 miles you will most certainly need fuel, this is where the reserve light seems to come on, when this happens you have 20-30 miles left in the tank. It's a great way to spend the morning or afternoon, or both if you feel like it. The instruments will show you exactly when you need fuel but don't rely on reading the rest of the LCD display, you usually don't have that sort of time to do it, a quick glance at the speedo is all you get under normal circumstances. Ride the ZX10 over 7,000 or 8,000rpm and there's no way you will have time to look at those readouts, bends rush up on you in a flash and those previously long stretches of road seem oh-so-short nowadays. You can ride the Z at lower revs easily, say 4 or 5,000rpm and still be faster than most other bikes on the road, even at these revs and speed you will still enter corners at 10-20mph faster than you have before and come out the other side thinking 'that was easy', that's how the Z makes you feel all the time. It's got massive power, it's nimble and agile in corners and in my mind it is the most fun Japanese 1lt bike out there.
I have ridden all the other rivals over the past year and I can honestly say that there isn't anything like the new ZX-10R! Some come close and are also more user friendly, but at the end of the day if you want a pure adrenaline rush go out and get one of these.
AP
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