The initial launch of the ZX-10R was a real buzz, a sun-soaked Qatar circuit by day, floodlit at night, Pere Riba on-hand for setup advice and sticky Bridgestone BT-003 tyres. What was there not to like? Not much, infact not anything.
On track the ZX-10R was effortlessly fast and so smooth. What stood out was the traction control; I've never ridden anything as good as the S-KTRC on the 10. If you've ever ridden a bike with an 'early' iteration of traction control (try the 1098R or K1300S for example), then forget that experience. Sure, they control traction but to a very basic extent. If the system kicks in on one of them then you were doing something very wrong and you might have just been handed a Get Out Of Jail Free card. However the new ZX-10R's S-KTRC doesn't act like a pure safety device, it'll help you be faster on track. It works on a number of readings, from individual wheel speeds, to engine rpm and power output, it just tweaks what's going on and never really shows its full hand - more on the S-KTRC here.
The day I picked the 10R up from Kawasaki HQ, I headed to Bedford Autodrome to take my ACU licence test. It was soaking wet and 90% of the trackdayers were packing up to go home. This was the first time I'd get to try out the 10R at a decent pace in the wet. I wasn't sure what the traction control would have in store, but it turns out it's even better in the wet. It never once cut in, abruptly halting my progress, but I could feel it working on the way out of corners and at a couple of places on the mile-long back straight where at 170mph, you're moving around off the undulations in the tarmac, albeit only slightly. The S-KTRC is really confidence inspiring.
I ditched the Bridgestone BT-016 tyres that come as standard and opted for Michelin Pilot Road 3s. I don't get on with the stock Bridgestones fitted to new bikes, so anything would have been welcome but the Pilot Road 3s are exceptional; they offer loads of grip and don't move about on the road. I've not had a chance to push them on track in the wet but on the road they're right on the money, they feel stickier than they ought to given the fact Michelin's mileage claims. Will the 10R shred that rear in 2000 miles on the road? We'll see.
Try as I might, I can't feel the traction control on the road but it's good to know it's there. I did a few laps of a couple of roundabouts joined by a dual-carriageway and only when you're being totally ham-fisted can you feel the S-KTRC kicking in. And I mean cranked over, 2nd gear and pinning the throttle wide open - there's a slight headshake at the bars and a momentary lapse in power before normal proceedings continue. If I did that on an R1 I'd be picking up the pieces for a week..
I went on a Metzeler tyre launch at Cartagena and a 2011 ZX-10R was one of the bikes we had to ride. I asked Bob Collins, FWR tyre guru and former British Superstock 600 Cup champion, to take the 10R out for a spin on Metzeler Racetech K3s after he mentioned he was considering getting an S1000RR. Bob and I swapped between the 10R and S1000RR back to back on the same tyres, he preferred the S1000RR's brakes but was astounded by the traction control on the 10R. I followed Bob best I could and watched through a few corners as he pushed the 10R to within an inch of its life. I've never seen a bike worked so hard. Bob got the rear moving around quite a bit while properly cranked over, but the K3s aren't the stickiest tyre in Metzeler's range. After our session Bob spent the next half-hour working out how he was going to afford a new 10R. That's a big seal of approval if you ask me.
So far, I've managed a 41.3mpg average over the 685 miles I've racked up. They've been an equal mixture of motorways, A-roads, commuting into London and back-road blasts. I'm pretty happy with that, although Mark Forsyth smugly claims a higher mpg from his 2011 Honda Fireblade.
I'm getting around 135 miles between fill-ups, which is good enough for me. On the BMW S1000RR that I took to Morocco and back, I was on 145 miles to the tank and at that point, I probably had another 10 miles left in me comfort-wise. The same goes for the 10R, if it could squeeze another 20 miles out of the tank, I'd be up for it. It's not supremely comfortable, it is, afterall, a superbike but it's way more comfortable than any of the previous four versions of the ZX-10R I've ridden.
I've been racing a Ducati 848 this year in stock trim and as standard it's pretty nifty in the twisty stuff. All Ducatis seem to get gifted the 'handles well' card but the 848 deserves it. After racing the 848 all weekend at Assen, I picked up my 10R from Kawasaki HQ and was reminded as to how well it handles for a 'big' bike. The front end is much lighter than the 848's, it's slightly more flap-happy but it's just as eager to get into a corner as the 848.
Last week, as I lined up on the grid on my 848 against a flock of 1000s I reminded myself that the days of 1000s not handling well are, well, well and truly over.
Kawasaki's Big Piston Forks are plush on track and unfazed on the road. I've not touched the suspension settings from standard but that's my next task. I'm about 10 stone dripping wet and on bigger bikes I always have a problem of the bars flapping - and sometimes tankslapping - on hard acceleration. I've found that a bit more preload and rebound on the front end sorts this on most bikes. A couple of tweaks to the front and rear settings should iron this out and get a bit more out of what all that adjustment has on offer.
I only have three gripes so far about the 10R and they're a pretty low blows. The pick-up at the very, very bottom end when pulling away from the lights is sluggish. This isn't really a problem with the 10R, more a symptom of the ever-tightening emissions laws. Once you're over 2,000rpm it's never an issue, but I've stalled a couple of times at the lights when the clutch engages and I'm only just over tickover. Sure, I could rev it a bit more but I've never had that issue before on any other bike. I'm pretty sure junking the massive cat will see an end to this most minor of gripes.
Another gripe is the rev counter. On one hand it's awesome, I love the across the dash rev lights, I've always loved them since the SP1, however being orange and just in the corner of my vision I have a natural instinct to see an orange flashing light and think I'm out of petrol. I'm tempted to tape up the first 5,000 revs to stop the dash blinking at me when I'm rolling along.
The final issue is the mirrors. Is it really that hard for manufacturers to get this bit right? They have great visibility, which is a rarity on superbikes however, the stalks are quite wide and therefore I find myself clattering other car's wing-mirrors when filtering. Honestly, I don't have this problem normally! Another inch shorter and they'd be fine, or perhaps its their height which means they're exactly the same height as the mirrors on most cars..
Next up, I'm running it on the dyno in standard trim, then fitting a Leo Vince exhaust and bridging pipe to remove the cat and running it up again to see the difference in power.
I'm not really a believer in 'modding' bikes and cars, I prefer them to look like they've just rolled out of the factory but if there's a part you're interested in, drop a message below and I'll get one in to check out.
Please note, I won't be fitting neons, more rim tape, or any anodised anything. If you want that sort of carry-on, drop Andy Stevens a line..
