Launch: 2016 Kawasaki ZX-10R

As excited as I was to be one of the first bike journos in the world to finally ride the 2016 ZX-10R in anger, it was just as mesmerising to have the bloke that developed the thing – Yoshimoto Matsuda – giving us the inside goss on the thought process he went through in creating this bike.

He wasn’t just talking power and weight figures at the tech briefing, he was also discussing how much thought went into making the transition from brakes to opening the throttle easier. He talked of rider feel and confidence, a better instrument panel and making it as easy to ride as possible.

As enthralled as I was in that technical briefing, I was skeptical, too. How does a 200-odd horse litre-bike factor in as 'easy-to-ride'?

We were certainly able to put that to the test, punting as we were around the technical, tight Wakefield Park, near Goulburn, NSW. Admittedly not the best venue to test a big-bore sportsbike in some ways, it was a torture test of the new Brembo brakes and Showa fork, and exiting turns in first gear is always going to invite response from the revised S-KTRC (traction control). We only briefly touched fourth gear on this track, so high-speed cornering stability remains untested, but this was a great first taste of the nature of the ZX-10R.

This test assumes you know the specs, which have been available for a while and we reported on here, it concentrates on how they translate to the riding experience. And it’s quite an experience!

ON BOARD
This is the kind of bike people scream "it feels like a 250!" after sitting on it. I’d suggest these same people haven’t ridden a 250 for a while, because it feels nothing like one, however the sentiment is right.

As MotoGP bikes seem ever-shrinking, so does the 2016 ZX-10R seem smaller than the 2011-spec bike. It feels small between the hands and legs, which in turn makes you feel confident, until you think about that massive mill residing under you.

The dash is better than the previous model, though you have to squint to see the tiny acronyms as you switch between them or adjust their influence. Apart from the squinting, the menu is very easy to move between. For my first session, the traction control was set at #2 (#5 being the most intrusive), launch control on #1, braking control at default and of course, full power mode. This is all simply adjusted through the same toggle switch/button, though not on the fly.

Time to hit the track (not literally).

The tightness of Wakefield Park means a small mistake can have you on the grass in a split second, but the throttle response is so good that I never frightened myself once on the throttle.

Yoshimoto is right, it is easy to ride – relatively speaking. We didn’t ride this bike on the road, but the slow sighting laps behind Kawasaki legend Murray Sayle were like taking a docile Doberman for a walk in the street – it bristles with potency, but loves casually sniffing telegraph poles.

Then Murray pulled in, the hammer was dropped, and once I remembered my way around this narrow piece of bitumen, the ZX-10R made short work of the distances between corners.

The spec sheet sells it well: twin Brembo M50 monobloc calipers, 330mm discs, braided brake lines, radial-pump master cylinder, all bolted to a Showa Balance Free Front Fork. Drool…

Wakefield Park on a big bike means lots of long, hard braking, rarely in a straight line, with a smattering of bumps mid-corner. A good test, for sure. And a test the Kwakka came up trumps in.

Again, Yoshimoto’s claims of sweet feel and ease of use rang in my head as I hit the brakes just before the kink on the main straight and drifted to the outside of the track, rear wheel gently wallowing, ready for Turn Two. This turn was made more challenging on our test day, thanks to a truck-racing inspired track repair just outside the exit line. It was safe enough, but not hitting it was safer.

This meant that this crucial corner needed finesse to get through on the apex and without drifting onto the repair. I didn’t hit it all day, despite over-cooking myself a couple of times. The control of the fork and brake combo let me bring it back online each time.

That front end will get a lot of people out of trouble. Forgiving, accurate, plush but nice when firmed up, too. It’s pretty special.

I did bring on some active movement from the 'bars when shifting my weight while on the gas, but mainly because I pulled on the 'bars too hard. They all do that. I also feel the rear-spring pre-load wasn’t quite right for me, but fell short of time to wind it up again.

There’s no doubt the chassis changes have delivered a more balanced, precise bike, though. The slightly longer swingarm, and revised steering geometry (the steering head is closer to the rider) makes the bike feel smaller because it’s so nimble, but as mentioned the stability is not adversely affected.

I remember tank-slapping myself around the then-named Eastern Creek in 2002 on one of the first ZX-10Rs, trying vainly to keep the front wheel on the ground and laughing to myself in between whimpering with fear. The 2016 is still fun to ride, but doesn’t put you in mortal fear like that earlier model once could.

Beyond these acronyms are systems that mostly work well, though some are probably more to do with keeping up with the joneses than anything we actually need.

The KLCM definitely works fine, but the average rider probably doesn’t need to use it that much. Depends how much you want to win the traffic light derby, I guess.

The KQS (Kawasaki Quick Shifter) on the other hand, is a great little unit, even though it allows upshifts only at this stage (no auto-blipper on downshifts). It is sensitive, too, and I learned quickly to keep my foot well away from it if I didn’t need it, or you could trim the engine power without actually changing gear with small touches of the lever.

The new S-KTRC (traction control) is now gyro controlled, meaning with the TC on #5, it will won’t let you use all the throttle with the bike on its side. Dialling in #2 was a nice balance, with the TC hardly noticeable, yet a nice back-up for the grip of the impressive Pirelli SC-1s our testbikes were festooned with.

The Ohlins electronic steering damper is one of those things you are never sure if it actually works – you’d have to take it off to really know, however I can say that when I did send the bars wobbling with a badly-timed weight shift, the bike never felt scary.

· It has a front end that is magnificent out of the crate, so the mind boggles as to how far it could be taken with some setting up.

· It feels light, flickable and yet relatively easy to ride, just as Yoshimoto said it would be.

· Chassis balance and suspension quality is top notch.

· The electronics are simple to use.

· The mind boggles as to what a 1km long straight would feel like.

The Kawasaki has some big competition. Sportsbikes are becoming cool again, no doubt, and with Yamaha’s new R1, the ever-imposing brutishness of the BMW S 1000 RR, the impending launch of a re-vamped GSX-R, Ducati’s Panigale 1299, etc, the litre-bike field just keeps getting better.

Kawasaki’s new ZX-10R is a better bike than its predecessor in every area my brief-ish ride let me assess. It manages the old trick of feeling lighter and more nimble than a litre-bike should, whilst still being something you can outrun a helicopter with.

It is priced at $22,000 (+ORC) for the non-ABS version we rode, with the ABS version at $23,000 (+ORC), of which most of Australia’s allotment will be. That is significantly more than the predecessor, but the Aussie dollar comes into play there, as well as the higher spec, etc.

Speaking to Yoshimoto-san at day’s end, I had to agree with him on the "being easy to ride" tone of development with this bike. His grin – which suggested he was happy with that feedback, but really knew it all along – summed it up. No doubt the Japanese marque is still fostering a healthy passion for making two-wheelers go fast – and we are the victors there.

SPECS: 2016 KAWASAKI ZX-10R
ENGINE
Type: Liquid-cooled, four-stroke in-line four
Capacity: 998cc
Bore x stroke: 76mm x 54mm
Compression ratio: 13.0:1
Fuel system: Fuel injection: 47mm x 4 (Mikuni) with dual injection

PERFORMANCE
Claimed maximum power: 197.3hp (147.1kW) at 13,000rpm; 207hp (154.4kW) at 13,000 rpm (with ram air)
Claimed maximum torque: 113.5Nm at 11,500rpm

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six-speed
Clutch: Wet multi-disc
Final drive: Chain

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Twin spar, cast aluminium
Front suspension: 43mm inverted Balance Free Front Fork with external compression chamber, compression and rebound damping and spring preload adjustability, and top-out springs
Rear suspension: Horizontal Back-link with BFRC lite gas-charged shock, piggyback reservoir, compression and rebound damping and spring preload adjustability, and top-out spring
Front brakes: Dual semi-floating 330mm diameter discs, four-piston calipers
Rear brake: 220mm disc, Single-bore pin-slide, aluminium piston
Tyres: Pirelli SC-1 120/70 ZR17 front, 190/55 ZR17 rear

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Claimed dry weight: 206kg
Rake: 25 degrees
Trail: 107mm
Seat height: 835mm
Fuel capacity: 17 litres

OTHER STUFF
Price: $22,000 plus ORC ($23,000 ABS plus ORC)
Colours: Metallic Matte Carbon Grey
Bike supplied by: Kawasaki Australia