Kawasaki Ninja 750r
KAWASAKI NINJA 750R
CYCLE WORLD TEST
Mixing Ninja magic and mature thinking to come up with the sensible sportbike
THE WAIT IS OVER. KAWASAKI is back in the game. The wait began two years ago when Yamaha ushered in a new era for 750cc sportbikes with its radically engined, 102-horsepower FZ750. Suzuki jumped in next with the GSX-R750, boasting an aluminum frame and extremely light weight. Kawasaki chose to wait, offering only token changes to its rapidly graying, air-cooled GPz750. Earlier this year, Honda dropped the second-generation Interceptor 750 on the motorcycle world, and immediately, decisively, moved to the head of the class.
And still, Kawasaki waited.
But no more. Now comes the Ninja 750R, proof that Kawasaki has not been wasting time these past two years. One ride aboard the new Ninja is enough to let anyone know that Kawasaki has spent its time wisely. This is a polished motorcycle, one that goes about its sporting duties with ease and grace.
From the 750R’s conception two years ago, Kawasaki has steered this machine’s design in a particular direction. The bike had to be both light and powerful, and it had to be realworld comfortable. Kawasaki’s designers had logged time on enough
racer-replicas that had wrist-numbing, knee-binding, buttock-chafing ergonomics, and knew that was what they didn 7 want.
The requirement for power is capably handled by an all-new, liquidcooled inline Four that marches to the tune of 106 claimed horsepower, the highest output in the class. The engine breaks no new technological ground, but bristles with all kinds of nice power-producing touches and has the added benefits of being ultracompact and relatively vibration-free (see “Ninja Tech,” pg. 40).
With this new Four, Kawasaki continues the recent Japanese tradition of building high-output engines that don’t produce the kinds of ultra-narrow powerbands that their 100-plushorsepower numbers might indicate. The Ninja pulls strongly in sixth gear from as low as 4000 rpm, although real rocketship rides come only when the tach needle is kept winging between 8000 and 11,500 rpm.
Like the engine, the 750R’s frame is no technological wonder. In fact, it’s notable for what it doesn't have. For one thing, the frame is constructed of steel, although the swingarm and the bolt-on sub-frame supporting the seat and rear fender are aluminum. Not only that, the con-
figuration of the frame is neither the stressed-member type as previously used on the Ninja 900, nor the perimeter style as on the Ninja 600 and 1000R. Shorn of its sleek body panels, the 750R appears amazingly orthodox, held together by nothing more than an updated Norton Featherbed-type frame.
Conventional though it may be, the frame provides the basis for a handling package that is extraordinary. Thanks to its space-saving design features, the Ninja feels more like a 650 than a full-sized 750, and that feeling never goes away on the street. The bike steers with particlebeam precision, needing only a light touch on its cast handlebars to alter direction. Once set for a corner, it is very neutral-feeling, and cornering clearance is abundant. Altogether, this is as near a faultless sport-riding set-up as can be had.
For real scratchers, though, there is room for improvement. Remember, Kawasaki targeted this machine to be a genuine streetbike, not just a narrow-focus device that has to be trailered to twisty country roads. As such, the Ninja has a sweet spot that ranges from normal speeds all the way up to very, very brisk backroad flogging. Within that range, everything on the machine—engine, frame, suspension, tires—works in unison. But pushed to near-race velocities, the Ninja suffers, especially suspension-wise. The spring rates chosen for the bike are relatively soft, the better to soak up jolts in the workaday world where the bike will spend most of its time. Still, we found that adding 15-25 psi to the shock (Kawasaki recommends 0 psi, except for two-up riding) helped the bike better cope with high-speed bumps, with 40 psi needed for real knee-smoking action. Adding five or so psi to the fork would have helped further, but Kawasaki decided not to fit air valves up front.
This comment on the Ninja’s suspension should in no way be taken as a condemnation. Better that the few percent of Ninja owners who will actually race their bikes have to recalibrate suspensions than force streetonly riders to put up with a harsh, tuned-for-the-track ride.
That sensible, street-oriented approach to sport-biking is evident throughout the Ninja 750R. The riding position is a perfect example. The seat is wide, relatively flat and has just the right amount of padding. The handlebars drop the rider into a wind-cheating crouch without placing undue strain on the wrists. The footpegs are high enough to stay off the tarmac during cornering, but not so elevated that knees ache in protest. Riders who are especially long of inseam may have to work out a few kinks after a 500-mile day, but others will have little to fuss about.
The Ninja’s fairing also helps make the rider’s chore a little easier. Besides serving as an effective wind block, the fairing has an inner liner at the front of the engine that channels air to large side vents before it can circulate back and toast the rider’s legs. As with all liquid-cooled bikes, the Ninja radiates some perceptible heat on really hot days, but it is noticeably cooler to ride than, say, a GSX-R ora VFR.
There are other items that make the Ninja an easy bike to be around. A centerstand—all too rare an item on streetbikes these days—is standard, easing chain-adjusting and tire-
changing chores. Fold-out hooks in the rear bodywork make strapping on gear easier while keeping a bungee cord’s plastic-hungry hooks at bay. And at long last, in the 750R we have a Ninja with mirrors worthy of the name. Looking like something off an expensive Italian sportscar, the mirrors are large and spaced widely enough that a gymnast’s contortions are no longer neccessary just to check what’s coming up from behind.
The Ninja also scores highly in the fit-and-finish department. This is the most nicely done Kawasaki in years, and positively puts to shame that company’s rather disappointing Concours sport-tourer. The 750’s fairing fits tightly, with no wavy seams or floppy inner panels. The instruments are well thought-out and easy to read. The black-on-gray paint scheme is arresting, and if you prefer a less-sinis-
ter look, a red-and-white 750R will also be imported, albeit in lesser numbers.
Given its looks, its engine performance and its mature, livable approach to sport riding, the new Ninja is a thoroughly appealing package, a bike one could own for years without outgrowing. This is a bike that could be a capable sport-touring mount with the addition of soft luggage, yet make a good account of itself in club roadracing with a few suspension tweaks. It is different enough from the other 750s to make a niche for itself, and good enough that anyone
considering a sporting 750 will have to look at it. It may have taken Kawasaki two years to catch up with the other manufacturers, but with the Ninja, it has built a vehicle that will make up ground in a hurry.
The long wait definitely was worthwhile. ga
KAWASAKI
NINJA 750R
$4799
