All aboard the ZX-press!
Ben starts to get to grips with the purposeful and powerful Ninja
As a professional journalist and a grown-up -sort of-I try to stay level-headed about the exciting opportunities that come with the job. But I don’t mind telling you that after a patient wait through -oronavirus delays and the blockage of the Suez -anal, I was a fizzing mess of anticipation when the van came to deliver the - -N fleet - awasaki ------.
And I wasn’t disappointed at my first glimpse – the signature lime green paint work was retina-burning in the early evening sun and even better than in the thousands of pictures I’d pored over on the internet. But, as I was left to explore every nook and cranny, my excitement turned to apprehension. I’d barely ridden since my previous long-term test bike, a -amaha Ténéré ---, went back in - arch and that only had --bhp. Now I was staring down the newly designed snout of a bike with as near as makes no difference -bhp for every kilo. The thought of riding it set up camp in my imagination and throughout the rest of the working day, my niece’s ninth birthday party and that evening’s dinner, a section of my brain was held hostage by the green hooligan waiting for me under its cover. I had to ride it. So, despite it being late and the light beginning to fade I kitted up and set off on my first tentative ride. The first thing I noticed was the extremity of the riding position. Until now, the least accommodating superbike I’d ridden was the Aprilia - SV---Factory, which is like a small and recalcitrant ironing board, but the riding position on the ------ is more extreme still. At slow speed, manoeuvring out of the estate with plenty of first gear clutch slip and a headfirst riding position, I felt incredibly conspicuous. This wasn’t helped by the angry Akrapovic exhaust the bike is wearing - part of the ----- performance pack. The irony of a noisy Ninja wasn’t lost on my four-year-old nephew. But, to my surprise, once I got out on the open road the - awasaki wasn’t intimidating. The engine is still being run in – as am I – so short shifts are the order of the day, but you can still gather speed with otherworldly efficiency when you want to. That first ---mile blast in the setting sun along Norfolk’s twisting tarmac and through the tunnels created by trees reaching out to each other across the road will remain one of the best riding memories of my life.
‘The engine is still being run in – as am I...’