Kawasaki has released the first pictures of its heavily revised ZX-10R that looks set to battle for the liter-sized superbike crown. Team Green is thus far stingy with details about this thoroughly tweaked literbike, but here’s what we’ve been able to glean from the photos and the limited specs.
The most obvious change is the Ninja’s dramatically leaner styling that is a big improvement over the slightly awkward look of the 2006-07 version. Its minimalist bodywork gives it a much lighter appearance. It now looks phat instead of fat, with a pointier beak, a tidy fuel tank and clipped tail.
Much of the side bodywork is black, which helps disguise the appearance of mass, as do the new ultra-thin-spoke wheels. Body-colored pinstripes around the wheel rim edges are a nice
The 2008 ZX-10R looks like it has hit the gym, appearing leaner and nastier than the bulbous outgoing model.
The 2008 ZX-10R looks like it has hit the gym, appearing leaner and nastier than the bulbous outgoing model.
touch, and new mirrors appear to include integral turnsignals. Passengers might need an oxygen mask when then mount the stratospheric pillion pad under the tail cowl.
Not much is yet known about the changes in the engine room, but we can affirm that it retains its 12.7:1 compression ratio and 43mm Keihin throttle bodies with oval sub-throttles and two injectors per cylinder. The new megaphone exhaust outlet combines with a pre-silencer section behind the transmission, likely with an exhaust powervalve.
Kawasaki hasn’t supplied chassis geometry specs, but we’ll guess the rake, trail and wheelbase numbers aren’t drastically changed from the previous model’s respective 24.0 degrees, 4.0 inches and 54.7 inches. An Ohlins steering damper again resides behind the upper triple clamp. Last year’s bike had a stated dry weight of 386 pounds, and we expect this version to be slightly lighter.
Braking performance should be slightly improved, as the front calipers appear to be of a one-piece monoblock design and the wave rotors have increased in size 10mm to 310mm. Suspension appears relatively unchanged, with Diamond-Like Coating (DLC) on the inner fork tubes and a fully adjustable single shock out back now with separate adjusters for high- and low-speed compression damping.
