The 2006 Kawasaki ZX-10R

September 22, 2005 Kawasaki built the first 1000cc sports motorcycle of the modern era when it introduced the Z1 900cc revelation in 1972 and it has a proud heritage of building big road bikes – the Z1, Z1R, GPZ900 and a long lineage since. But along the way, Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki got very good at building them too, and nowadays with the World Superbike and European SuperStock Championships becoming so important, the competition between the manufacturers in the 1000cc supersport category has never been this strong – indeed, it’s downright carnivorous. Last year all the manufacturers completely redesigned their machines, and this year, all but one will be doing the same again. This is an insight into the Kawasaki ZX1000D6F- next year’s Kawasaki 1000. The Yamaha and Honda machines have been covered here, and Suzuki has elected to continue with the same machine which will win the 2006 world and US superbike championship, albeit with a new coat of paint. The Kawasaki will be a completely new machine, with a brand new engine, chassis and aerodynamic makeover, a repositioned CG, revised stiffness, balance, new motor mounts, more centralised mass, and relocated swingarm pivot. Read on for the full story

« Back to The 2006 Kawasaki ZX-10R