Motorcycle specifications Kawasaki1400 ZZR 2018 Le Kawasaki Carcharias

unaffected by the clashes of other categories and fashions, the ZZR continues to travel at (very) high speed, making do with a change of deco every year. In fact, its latest evolution is not so old: 2016 set it free, delivered it. Since then, the Kawasaki 1400 ZZR has finally been able to express itself fully. Last year, the manufacturer offered subtle modifications for a spectacular result: freedom. To pass Euro4 standards and qualify for full power, new settings were implemented in the ECU and the exhaust system was overhauled. The big block doesn't lose a single ounce of power. At last, this big bike can deliver its 200 hp on the open road. On the other hand, the 1141 cm3 loses half a kg of torque... There's still more than 16kg to digest.
The dashboard has been slightly optimized, with a high-visibility display. It also features a day/night mode switch to adapt the display to outside light conditions. A practical detail already present, the LCD screen's functions scroll via a handlebar-mounted commodo.

then as now, the ZZR 1400 belongs to a breed that has all but disappeared from the motorcycle world: the ultra-powerful super-bombers. Although only three remain today (this Kawa, the 1200 VFR and the Suzuki 1300 GSX-R), they are nonetheless emblematic figures, the last vestiges of a cult of power and excess. The Akashi-based company could have been content to leave them as they are in the catalog, until they were gently extinguished...
But no. The ZZR is a Kawa monument, and this new version is even more muscular, even more accomplished, even more exceptional.

when it first came out, its powerful silhouette and feverish look shocked the world. For Phase 2, which continues here, Kawa has tweaked all that to give it more momentum, more dynamism, without really touching the overall line. Except for its face, which becomes less difficult while gaining in aggressiveness. It used to threaten with the grace of a basking shark pierced by tarantula eyes; now it threatens with the lordship of a great white shark (Carcharodon Carcharias). Less attention will be paid to the more prominent air vents, which improve engine heat dissipation. As for the exhausts, it's impossible to miss them, given their increased volume.
It's a stylistic evolution in the abstract, while underneath, the 1400 ZZR has been extensively redesigned.

and what we look at most closely on this kind of machine is the engine. Already very strong, the 4-cylinder has gained 4 mm of stroke per cylinder (from 61 to 65 mm) for a displacement up by 89 cm3. With a block of 1441 cm3, needless to say the monstrous torque that the gearbox will have to digest. Kawa has grafted its recent technological innovations and adapted the mappings to boost everything in there. With this huge block, this new opus of the ZZR boasts a colossal 200 horsepower - rising to 210 with forced air intake. A frightening figure in absolute terms, but one that leaves us somewhat hungry for more. But why on earth? It's certainly an enormous amount of power... Because, with its extra cm3 and technological progress, we'd hoped that the monster would earn a lot more, so as to etch its supremacy in the figures for good. Yet it boasts the same power as a ZX-10 R, albeit with 30% less cubic capacity. The ZZR's colossal torque of 16.1 mkg will hurt the rear tire much more. The latter has benefited from the increased displacement. Numbers aside, the ZZR still manages to blow away the competition and scare the 400m DA fans: it takes less than 10 seconds to do so, and claims the world record for acceleration by a production motorcycle.
More torque everywhere, more power at medium and high revs, and to channel it all, traction control (KTRC) selectable in 3 modes and 2 choices of injection mapping: full power or low power with 75% of the potato - judicious in the rain, but stupid in France, where you'll look smart with 75 horsepower on such a machine...

the ZZR 1400 is one of the very few motorcycles to benefit from an aluminum monocoque frame. The frame and swingarm were redesigned to handle the extra wattage of the big boiler. The suspension settings are designed to enhance the machine's sportiness without sacrificing high-speed stability.

M.B - Manufacturer's photos