2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R - First Ride

I just returned from Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, where Kawasaki staged a press introduction for its all-new 2011 ZX-10R. Putting in five 20-minute sessions aboard the new Ninja offered ample time to sample its various combinations of electronic rider assists with selectable power modes, including Full, Medium and Low, along with three levels of S-KTRC (Sport Kawasaki Traction Control). I also lapped in F-mode with traction control disabled and found the engine’s raw delivery to be impressively manageable; it feels impressively linear from basement revs to its 14,000-rpm-rev limit. There’s no debate, however, that my quickest laps came when S-KTRC was watching my back. All in all, the system is the least intrusive and most effective TC implementation I’ve experience to date.

Early reports have the North American model producing around 170 rear-wheel horsepower in stock tune, and while this is about 10 percent down on the European-spec 10R, our Yankee Ninja provided an exhilarating ride around Road Atlanta’s undulating 2.5-mile road course. Our hosts treated us to an additional four laps aboard a bike equipped with the race-kit ECU and slip-on exhaust, said to unleash an additional 18 peak horsepower. To be honest, the speed and acceleration difference wasn’t huge.

The new chassis proved very agile in negotiating the track's esses and two chicanes, with superb feedback though the Showa suspension, now featuring a Big Piston Fork. High-speed stability down the long backstraight was excellent, and a blessing, as an indicated speed of over 180 mph could be achieved when tipping into the flat-out right-hand bend before braking hard for the second-gear chicane that follows. The initial impression here is that Kawasaki has built a very competitive liter-class sportbike that has what it takes to go head-to-head with the CW Ten Best-winning BMW S1000RR and other class contenders like the Aprilia RSV4, Ducati 1198, Honda CBR1000RR, Suzuki GSX-R1000, KTM RC8 and Yamaha YZF-R1.

The bike ridden at the intro was the non-ABS model ($13,799), which is also the first to arrive in dealer showrooms; Street ABS equipped ZX-10Rs ($14,799) have yet to roll off the production line. Check back Monday for a more in-depth riding impression, more photos and a video of the bike in action. In the meantime, have a look at the in-depth tech preview and video of the 2011 ZX-10R we published earlier, plus the first ride of the previous, 2010 model.