Motorcycle specifications KawasakiZX-10R 1000 2006 Redefining boundaries

But the blade hadn't become blunt enough for Kawasaki to reshape its edges to make them even sharper. A symbol of excess in the category, and a sign of Kawa's return to the forefront of big sportbikes, the ZX-10R undergoes its first mutation.
Elegant, refined and smoother, this green hypersport is above all a servant of performance. The quest for efficiency and the laws of aerodynamics have changed its face. Its big, menacing eyes have given way to a viper's gaze embedded in its batrachian face. Largely inspired by the 2005 ZX-6RR, its new forkhead features a revised forced-air intake and new, apparently lenticular headlamps, topped by a new 6R-style bubble. While the front end is more fluid, the rear has been made heavier by the presence of pots under the seat. The 10R also uses these to eliminate any aerodynamic drag. The large exhaust is replaced by 2 elements installed under the passenger seat (of the what...?). The titanium line is configured as a 4-in-2-in-1-in-2. The rear turn signals are integrated into the rear flanks, leaving only the mirrors and footrests protruding from the Ninja 1000.

a new swingarm reinforced from below (like the R1), a radial brake master cylinder, an Öhlins steering damper, revised engine positioning, an alternator and starter that pass behind the cylinders... The engineers didn't just redesign the machine; they also set out to make it even more rigorous. It has to be said that the engine-makers also worked on the subject: new injectors, antifriction treatment of the cylinders, revised mapping; power remains identical - with new exhausts complying with Euro 3 standards, better distributed and more usable.

2 seconds - A boulevard when chasing the stopwatch! The 2006 ZX-10R has just beaten its predecessor on the Autopolis circuit (Kawasaki's home track in Japan). You're already thinking that the Kawa's mill must be firing on all cylinders. Not wrong, but not right. It's still the big high-voltage boiler, except that the character has changed. The Kawa technical staff specify "a more gradual arrival of horsepower, with corner exit behavior benefiting from the new engine's more linear power curve and increased mid-range breathing". It's always easier to drop times on a circuit when you're the one controlling the arrival of power, not when it's overflowing out of you.

The ZX-10R has succeeded in its therapy; from virulent and fiery, it becomes more serene, even more efficient, as powerful as ever, with watts in every direction. The new 2006 ZX-10R has no choice: it must become more docile to express its full potential on the track. In doing so, it loses some of its nasty character and a little of its image, and joins the clan of friends, led by the GSX-R 1000 and R1. Fans of Kawa's big machines may be a little sulky, but track riders will be all the happier for it.

M.B - manufacturer's photos