There’s a custom garage in Japan that specialises in some very special products and their latest offering is converting a Kawasaki Z125 Pro into a ‘baby’ Kawasaki Ninja H2! The mastermind behind this custom work is Project MC, a custom shop based in Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture and their latest handy work is too cool to miss. (more…)
At this point, we all know that Kawasaki Indonesia has been aggressively promoting its upcoming 250cc beast, the 2020 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R. A number of episodes have been released on YouTube giving fans a sneak peek at what the 250cc four-cylinder sports bike is made of, and their latest dyno run is certainly giving us some really good vibes. (more…)
Kawasaki has been slowly but surely developing their electric sports bike for a while now. It’s been under the radar all this time but now, we know it’s called the Kawasaki EV Endeavor based on the latest video posted on their official YouTube page. The best feature of all, in our opinion? It comes with a manual transmission! (more…)
Kawasaki took everyone by surprise when they launched the 2020 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R carbon fibre race bike. This beautiful beast was launched as a way to promote the upcoming 250cc four-cylinder machine and also a one-make series which will take place in Japan starting 2021 with an exhibition race planned as early as 2021. (more…)
Pushed on through rivalry with the other Japanese manufacturers, Kawasaki consistently produced motorcycles that stir up the market. The Big Green Machine’s approach has always been about more power and speed. They’ve succeeded on many counts and thereby hold the honour of “World’s Fastest Production Motorcycle” with a number of models.
So, let’s take a look at some of them. Again, there are just too many to list here, so we’ll continue the list in chronological order.
Kawasaki isn’t all about four-strokes. The K1-R and the later K-1RS aren’t race-inspired like their competitors’ 250cc two-strokes but it was known to be the most powerful and fastest. Both models shared the 249cc parallel-Twin. The former’s produced 55 hp, which was upgraded to 65 hp. Weight started out at just 123 kg then grew to 131 kg. It hit 225 km/h, making it the fastest among all, including the early Aprilia RS250. However, the bike had a tendency to seize its pistons, so Kawasaki made them only in small numbers. It’s a collectors’ item now.
Kawasaki’s reputation of building world fearsom bikes is pretty much set now and they weren’t going to stop. So, in 1988, the built another world’s fastest production bike. The 997cc engine produced 135 hp and gave the bike a 266 km/h top speed. It’s also the first Kawasaki to employ an aluminium perimeter frame.
The ZXR-750/ZX-7 certainly deserves a place in this countdown. It made its debut in 1989, in time for the third World Superbike season in 1990. It had to contend with rivals Honda, Yamaha and of course the Ducati juggernaut. But it came good in 1993 when Scott Russel won Kawasaki’s first ever superbike title. All versions of the ZX-7 are still much sought after by collectors.
Just two years after the ZX-10 smash the fastest production bike record, along came this beast. The engine was enlarged and now produced 145 hp, pushing the bike to a top speed of 283 km/h. It also ran the quarter mile in 10.43 seconds. It’s still fast by today’s standards. This was the bike that spurred Honda to create the CBR1100XX Super Black Bird and the Suzuki Hayabusa.
Just like its ZX-7 predecessor, the ZX-10R was built to contest in the World Superbike Championship. The manufacturer went away blank until Tom Sykes captured their first title in 20 years. Since then, Kawasaki had won another five championships including last year’s making them the second most successful manufacturer behind Ducati. They could well continue. The current ZX-10R produces 197 hp and does the quarter mile in 10.03 seconds. It’s also loaded with the latest electronic gear plus suspension.
That’s a little too easy, isn’t it? The hyperbike is in a series by itself. It’s currently the most successful forced induction bike but it also costs a bomb. The ZX-10R, on the other hand, is more attainable.
Pushed on through rivalry with the other Japanese manufacturers, Kawasaki consistently produced motorcycles that stir up the market. The Big Green Machine’s approach has always been about more power and speed. They’ve succeeded on many counts and thereby hold the honour of “World’s Fastest Production Motorcycle” with a number of models.
So, let’s take a look at some of them. Again, there are just too many to list here, so we’ll list in chronological order.
The H1 Mach III was a 499cc, three-cylinder, two-stroke. Its sole purpose was to win traffic GPs, specifically in the US. And it sure was fast. It would blast through 400m (1/4 mile) in 12.4 seconds and hit nearly 190 km/h in just over 13 seconds. To do so, Kawasaki lightened the bike to 174 kg by removing as much material as possible, resulting in a bike with skinny frame, forks, rear shocks, and swingarm. Forget about curves, much less corners. And it had skinny tyres and drum brakes. But heck, it was faster than the “first superbike”: The Honda CB750.
As if the H1 Mach III’s madness wasn’t enough, here came the H2 Mach IV. It’s still a triple, it’s still a two-stroke, but now with a bigger 748cc capacity. Power went up from the H1’s 60 hp to 74 hp. However, it was a bit tamer in its power delivery, yet achieving the same performance as the H1 Mach III.
The Z1 overshadowed the H2 Mach IV and everything else when it was launched. Meant to recapture the crown from the CB750, it went on to become a legend. Its 900cc, inline-Four, four-stroke engine made 82 hp and took the bike to 210 km/h. It also shattered my speed records along the way.
Also known as the Z1000, it was the beginning of the “Z” bikes. Its racing version dominated road racing in a number of countries including Britain, America, Australia and the European continent. It’s the KZ1000 that gave rise to future GP stars such as Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson and Wayne Gardner.
When Van Diesel’s character in The Fast & Furious said, “You owe me a 10-second car” (10 seconds for the ¼-mile run), we actually laughed out loud in the theater. The reason was this bike. The GPz900 Ninja was the first production bike to feature a 16-valve DOHC engine and it produced 115 hp. That power pushed the bike to a 243 km/h top speed. But, better yet, it hurled the bike down the ¼-mile (400 m) in 10.55 seconds. Stock bike. Not modified. In 1984. It even had a centre stand. Unlike that Supra in the movie. The GPz900 was the fastest production motorcycle of the time and it earned its place in Hollywood as the bike ridden by Tom Cruise in Top Gun.
One of the best ways to promote a certain bike is to organize a one-make race and that’s exactly what Kawasaki Motors Japan plans to do next year for their 2020 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R. If you had doubts about the new 250cc inline-four sports bike before, perhaps this carbon fibre race version will seal the deal for the title of “Coolest 250cc sports bike of all time”. (more…)
One of the ways manufacturers would promote their new upcoming bikes is by employing some professional riders from WorldSBK and MotoGP. That was the case with the 2020 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP and Marc Marquez and now, the 2020 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R with the WorldSBK KRT duo, Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes. (more…)
It was arguably one of the best WorldSBK races we’ve seen yet as the riders showcased some incredible battles during the season opener at Phillip Island, Australia. Out of all the drama, racing action, and even drag races, Kawasaki came up on top with Yamaha and Ducati really close on their tails. (more…)
Today marks the launch of the National Automotive Policy 2020 for Malaysia and one very particular Kawasaki Ninja 250 stood out at the MITI building showcase lobby. But it’s not at the Kawasaki booth, it’s at Modenas. Could this be the rebadged 2020 Modenas Ninja 250 we’ve all been hearing all this while? (more…)
PT Kawasaki Motor Indonesia is setting up for a monstrous Kawasaki Bike Week 2020 at Pantai Karnaval Ancol, Jakarta where they’ll be taking the opportunity to launch one of the most highly anticipated 250cc street bike of this generation, the 2020 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R. (more…)
Kawasaki Motors Malaysia (KMSB) organised their annual Kawasaki Road Safety Campaign located at the Sungai Besi Toll Plaza (Southbound) the whole of today from 9am to 6pm. It’s their fourth year in organizing this safety campaign at the location where their message is always to promote safety on the roads through proper riding gears as well as bike maintenance. (more…)
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