2010 Kawasaki ZX-10R Previewed

After Honda and Yamaha revealed their changes to the 2010 lineup, it is now Kawasaki’s turn to show what it has prepared for the next model year machines. The Japanese motorcycle manufacturer has just unveiled the 2010 Kawasaki ZX-10R model, a supersport bike that borrows the looks from its middleweight brother, the ZX-6R, and an 18-position Ohlins steering damper.

...and that’s about it. No serious improvements to the bike’s performances, so it is somehow far away from its competition, namely the Yamaha R1, Honda Fireblade or the Suzuki GSX-R1000 motorcycles.

It looks like Kawasaki was in a great hurry for releasing something...and fast, and you can see for yourselves what resulted. A new fairing, exhaust, double fuel injection and a claimed 200 horsepower output, and the list can pretty much end here. Still, we must admit that it looks much better than the 2009 model.

However, even if some say that the 2004-2005 ZX-10R was the best ever, the Japanese manufacturer is expected to do something about it next year, when it will launch the 2011 1000 cc Ninja. The bike will hopefully be a completely new and redesigned bike, as it has a lot of catching up to do.

But before we go on and daydream on how the next Ninja will look like and try and forget this nasty episode in its design, those who still wish to purchase this 2010 model year ZX-10R will have to pay some $13,000. Although, some might say that Kawasaki should pay them to get the bike instead...