Kawasaki ZX-10R 1000 2015
Make yourKawasaki ZX-10R 1000 2015
The Kawasaki ZX-10R continues its career brilliantly, ready to remain high performance in 2015. But this year, the competition has gone up a notch and is ahead of enough to shake up the Ninja. The Yamaha R1 signs its comeback with 200 horsepower and an ultra incisive chassis; Aprilia RSV4 becomes RR with 200 horsepower as well; the Ducati 1299 pushes all the speedometers to madness; the BMW S 1000 RR has gained further potential. It won't be easy, but the Kawa has good arguments. Scarecrow of World Endurance (four wins in a row at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, three at the Bol, and the Bol d'or + Mans double in 2012 and 2013), untouchable in WSBK Superpole, she brought Tom Sykes the title 2013 Superbike world champion. Powerful and extremely efficient, adopted by MRT and ChronoSport riders, the Kawasaki ZX-10R is THE benchmark Japanese sports car. Released in 2011, the big Ninja has refined its part-cycle for 2013. Finally, the evolution mainly concerns the steering damper.
Still entrusted to Ohlins, this small appendix regulating the fieryness of the front axle is now managed electronically (Suzuki has been using a similar method for its GSX-Rs for a few years). Depending on the speed, acceleration and deceleration of the machine, the on-board control unit adjusts the shock absorber settings. This is enough to soften the steering at low speed or make it much firmer at high speed without the pilot intervening (and losing focus).
Each year, the Ninja 1000 asserts itself as a mixture of threat, efficiency and competitiveness. His gaze frames a new air intake which means a lot to itself: the triangle mouth, characteristic feature of the Ninja since their revival in 2003, will have lasted almost a decade but here gives way to a strange duct. The front indicators have finally left the branches of the mirrors to find themselves embedded in them.
Its silhouette, it will call out to you again. Fuller, less openwork, it surprises you with its large panels singularly gutted by long ventilation openings. The tank is surrounded by large covers which come to an abrupt end on a new rear frame. At its end, the optical unit has evolved a lot, the indicators located in the shell mate with the rear light to form a multi-surface unit. However, the design of this new stern seems to us out of step with the silhouette of the machine. It almost looks like the rear of an 80s V-series shuttle. Exhaust question, I hope you like the Z 1000 ones. The ZX-10 R took one from the roadster. More "bowl" but also shorter, it allows the masses to be refocused.
The driver, that's not what he will see the most, but the circuit…. and the dashboard. Its instrument cluster joined the all-digital fashion in 2011 with a large bar-graph tachometer and a fully digital display. This is not the kind of competition model you can find on the Ducati 1198 or the BMW HP2, and it looks damn similar to the Honda VTR-SP1. It just goes to show that some discreet ideas never fall asleep. But for me, nothing is better than a good old needle to instantly tame your engine speed..
The multifunction screen is flexible: there is a standard display mode and some mods in track mode. Race Mode changes the display as follows: Speed ​​becomes a large engaged gear indicator, and time changes to speed. As standard, the LCD window displays the speed, the gear engaged (in small), 2 trips, the instantaneous consumption, the selected mapping, the level of Traction Control, the temperature and the pendulum. Everything you need to know how it lives down there. Besides, there are a lot of people who want to know what is beautiful about the engine and if it sends pate.
Hot, boiling, volcanic, the 998cc four-cylinder. Caliper in hand, we will find an identical displacement, stroke and bore. However, the engine manufacturers rolled up their sleeves to find horses and remove weight all over the place..
In the bowels, it moved. The driveshaft moved up 108mm, as did the crankshaft, which was 28mm higher than before. The goal is to further refocus the masses and raise the center of gravity. Optimization of pistons and rings reduces losses due to internal friction.
"Let me breathe this engine !!!
– Uh, boss, he's already breathing hard the ….
– I do not care ! Do better! "
Glurps. But when it shouts, we always find a way to do something. Admission side…. Come on, we're going to enlarge the valves (from 30 to 31 mm), polish the intake ducts like on official SBK machines, widen the lifters, put in lighter camshafts, install more powerful ignition coils;
"Chief, there's no way to ….
– WHAT ?!? Do better, damn it! "
Re-glurps. Maybe we could? Yes, shorten the skirts of the pistons and make them lighter, increase the intake bodies from 43 to 47 mm, and see what the boiler spits like potato. Bbrrrooooooovroaaaaabbraaaapppppp! 13,000 very later, the monitor has just tilted. The BMW S 1000 RR, hitherto the holder of the power record (193 canass 'announced), has just had its foundations broken. 200 HORSES !!! Damn it ; but that's power with forced air, right? Well no. With the RAM Air in action, the boiler unlocks 210 hp. Around him, it is obviously racing donf, with double battery of injectors, cassette gearbox, anti-dribble clutch, new airbox and titanium exhaust line.
Will such vigor be manageable? Hmmm, let's say with an upward torque curve, a max of 11.7 mkg at 11,500 rpm (0.7 mg more, 3,000 later), and the Kawa character, you better know how to ride. But today, power and talent are not enough to win. The co-pilot that has become indispensable is electronics. Why do you think there are new cables hanging around on this 2011 ZX-10R? I put you on the track: a jagged track on each wheel, a sensor in front of each track. Bingo, an abs…. and traction control, the S-KTRC (Sport Kawasaki Traction Control). This combines a lot of parameters (wheel speed, engine speed, throttle opening, throttle position) to optimize acceleration as much as possible. The system can even tell the difference between a "manageable" wheelie and an unsolicited brutal wheelie. Checking every 5 milliseconds, the S-KTRC acts directly on the ignition when it starts to zip.
The anti-lock here is called KIBS, Kawasaki Intelligent anti-lock Brake System. It is a sport ABS capable of regulating and optimizing the braking on the front and / or the rear – In a way, it reflects for the rider on the action of the braking.
So, we have an electronics queen on hand, with 200 donkeys in the basket and a killer face. Keep some in your stomach because the Ninja has a lot more to promise you. Like the 208 she erased. That was the weight of the 2010 ZX-10R. A little annoying because the girlfriends were all less overweight. Suddenly, dry regime, very dry. And that's 10 kg lost! Not bad. With 198 kilos all wet (201 with ABS), the hypersport Kawa becomes the lightest of the bunch. In 2004, the 1000 managed to reach 1 kg per horse with dry weight. Today the report is the same, but all full of facts. The race for power goes beyond frightening.
It's no secret, we had to cut back gram after gram, sometimes in an impressive way. The battery is just twice as light. From 4130 g, it goes to 2040 g; except in the ABS version where the energy needs are greater. But even with 3080g in the stack, the weight gain is still there. The on-board electronics melted 63g, the front wheel 330g, the rear 490g, the fuel pump is lightened, the ABS is an 800g version lighter than units on the current market, and the the whole part-cycle also contributes to the drastic diet.
And the chassis? To make it an indestructible weapon of war, Kawa redesigned, redesigned, reinforced the frame in 2011. Made up of just 7 pieces, it is supposed to offer more control, maneuverability and feel while gaining on weight. The swing arm is subject to the same optimization law. Three elements only to assemble and a positioning favoring a maximum of traction. Fewer elements also means fewer welds and a higher quality impression.
Don't stray from behind. See how the mono-shock absorber is attached! Surprising, isn't it?!? You haven't often seen shock absorbers anchored horizontally above the swingarm on a sports car…. Neither do I. This process was inaugurated on the last generation of Z 1000 and is installed on the most violent of the Kawa. The interest? Always the centralization of the masses, more stability, more progressiveness, and with the cleared space, we can fit a larger stilling chamber, and thus a shorter exhaust, and still refocus the masses.
Akashi manufacturer renews confidence in BPF type fork. Introduced on the 600 in 2009 (and on the Suzuki GSX-R 1000), this model has a piston almost twice the size of a conventional cartridge fork. As a result, the fluid pressure is much lower while the damping force remains the same. This gives better control of the steering gear during the compression phases. The geometry of this Ninja Opus 2011 being even more tilted forward, the handling should be more incisive as a result. Bonus: with fewer internal parts due to its design, the fork is also lighter; and hop, more grams of gained.
The suspensions are of course adjustable in compression, preload and rebound, with double compression adjustment (slow and fast) for the rear shock absorber.
You are therefore on a machine of 200 hp for 198 kilos. On board, some arrangements have been made. An ergonomic tank, adjustable footrests over 15 mm, and for the passenger…. like dab, a slice of sandwich bread. The braking is always in the raised level of the whole radial, pump and calipers with 4 pistons each flirting with discs with petals of 310 mm. But we are still waiting for the monobloc and aviation hoses.
More fierce than ever in this edition, the ZX-10 R sets a benchmark for power and cleans up hypersports. The 24 Hours of Le Mans has whetted Kawa's desires – this Ninja is now keen to bleed the competition in most theaters of operation.
new (Motoplanete estimate)
yourKawasaki ZX-10R 1000 2015
ZX-10R 1000 2014
300 km / h
Weight in running order: 198/201 kg
BPF inverted telehydraulic fork Ø 43 mm, deb: 120 mm
2 discs Ø 310 mm, 4 piston radial calipers
6 speed gearbox
Mono-shock, deb: 125 mm
Double ACT
(76 x 55 mm)
at 13,000 rpm
210 hp with forced air
Compression: 13: 1
Suzuki 1000 GSX-R 2015
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Aprilia 1000 RSV4 RR 2015
Honda CBR 1000 RR Fireblade 2015
Ducati 1299 Panigale 2015
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