KAWASAKI ZX-10R Power at your fingertips
Y ou wanted excitement, well how about an ex-British Superstock 1000 Kawasaki ZX-10R (raced by yours truly). Although these days it’s a bit long in the tooth for national level competition, it wasn’t long ago that this little puppy was capable of winning races at BSB Superstock. At six years old it’s still a very adept race bike and on a trackday there will seldom be anything much faster. This ZX-10 is a tool.
By that I mean it serves the purpose for which it was intended. It has had a hard life, and it shows. It’s got more battle scars than Rambo, but looks aside it knows how to get a move on. The engine will dish out generous portions of power right from the off so don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by the anti-wheelie and traction control systems, as an unsympathetic twist of the wrist will see you looping the loop and sat on your backside.
When it’s not trying to kill you the ‘Ten’ is a really sorted track bike. This one’s spent its whole life on the track and every year it’s evolved into something more track focused. The pegs are high, the suspension is hard, the seat is uncomfortable and half the dash is covered up to hide any track irrelevant info. It would be awful on the road, but around Cadwell, with my top-secret BSB suspension settings dialled into it, it’s mint. The faster you go and the harder you push, the more the bike works for you; a benefit of the stiffly sprung and heavily damped suspension. A nicely kissed apex followed by leaving a big black line all the way to the rumble strip on the exit is probably the best feeling ever, and the ZX-10R delivers moments like these with the utmost frequency.
It’s all well and good, though, pretending to be Marc Marques, but if you’re really trying, the Kwak can become a bit of a handful. It’s capable of accelerating from 30-130mph in a matter of seconds, decelerating, but what’s less easy is manipulating this mass of metal, plastic and fibreglass to flop on its side and behave like a well-trained Labrador. The thing needs muscling around to make it obey you, and if you’re even a little hesitant at barking out orders then it’ll make you look a fool without any hesitation. For this reason, I’d say that the Kwacker’s an option for more experienced track riders and suggest newbies look at more sedate and obliging options.
That’s not to say this is a bad bike – far from it – but it requires a certain degree of competence to tame its wayward energy and funnel it in the right direction.
If you’re up to the job then chances are, like me, you’ll be absolutely smitten with the ‘Ten’. It’s a cracking piece of kit and I had a right laugh on this very bike earlier in the year when I raced it to a top 20-finish in the Ulster GP. For me, the raw power of the thing is the bike’s biggest appeal, and it’s probably a bit more aggressive than most because of the quick-action throttle I’ve had fitted to it.
Of course, if you so wished, you could calm things down by engaging the stock fitment three-tier traction control package, or by opting to cull the bike’s delivery via the rider modes, but I always turn that nonsense off as it can be detracting from the ride. Still, they’re good systems to utilise while you’re getting used to the bike, and the TC is a blessing in the wet, assuming you’re not a fan of spending bouts of time recovering in hospital from unanticipated flying lessons.
Compared to its peers, the Kawasaki is probably considered a little more raw than its adversaries, so you should look elsewhere if you’re after a less aggressive experience. The Fireblade, for instance, is a much more affable machine to ride, sporting equally good handling, albeit lacking that top end buzz of the Kawasaki. It’s a buyer’s market after all, and I’d advise you to take the time to know exactly what you’re after before parting with your dollar. But this bike suits me. It’s been faultless in all the years I’ve owned it, has proven to be a competitive machine and suits my lanky limbs thanks to its accommodating disposition. Whether it’s the right choice for you is anyone’s guess.