Kawasaki Green-Light 2004 Zx-10r!
ROUNDUP
KAWASAKI GREEN-LIGHT 2004 ZX-10R!
POOR Runner-up ERIC BOSTROM. to Nicky Hayden in the 2002 AMA Superbike title chase, the factory Kawasaki rider will again have to make do with what is largely the same ZX7R-based machine Team Green has campaigned for the past decade. What’s the big deal, you ask? While brother Ben will race Hayden’s twin-cylinder Honda RC51, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin and Aaron Yates will have at their disposal the all-conquering GSX-R1000. Could be a long season...
There is, however, a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of a 2004 ZX-10R. Kawasaki has confirmed it will replace the current ZX-9R with a no-holdsbarred sportbike designed with
one goal in mind: to win races.
“More narrow-focus, more serious, more racer-oriented, that’s the direction we will go in the future,” said a company spokesman. “We’re back in Grand Prix racing. We want to regain our performance heritage on the racetrack.”
Introduced in 1994, the Nine remains one of the finest allaround sportbikes on the market, the current version costing only $200 more than the original. But it’s not selling. “Everybody is anticipating the ZX-10R,” admitted the spokesman. “It’s not a secret.” Details surrounding the new bike are scarce, but the fast-developing ZX-RR MotoGP racer and ’03 ZX-6RR should offer some insight. A brand-new fuelinjected inline-Four will likely
be mated to a twin-spar aluminum frame (not the aluminum monocoque of the ZX-12R), fully adjustable suspension and radial-mount front brakes. Unlike in past years, outright velocity is not a factor, at least as far as marketing is concerned. “Top speed is a dead issue,” said the spokesman.
For the moment, price is anyone’s guess. “If you have the features people want and the bike is competitive, you can ask a higher price for it,” said the spokesman. “I’m not suggesting we will do that, but other brands have done that. I don’t think we have to do that to be successful, but if the performance is there and the bike does the job, you can ask more for that.”
Another long-running model, the Concours, isn’t going away. When it introduced the Ninja 1000-motored sport-tourer in 1986, Kawasaki promised to not mess with it for five years. In ’94, matte-black paint on the lower fairing, a new front fender, ZR1100 brakes and wheels, fork-spring-preload adjusters and a new dash were added. Nothing since, though.
“Sales are still pretty steady,” said the spokesman. “That market is not huge. We’ve watched that class for years. When you get right down to it, the numbers just aren’t there. That’s why we’ve never done anything new, because you’re not going to sell, say, 6000 units.”
Loyal “Connie” owners haven’t embraced the new ZZR1200, either. “If it doesn’t have integrated saddlebags, like the BMW K1200GT, Honda ST 1300 or Yamaha FJR1300, our guys won’t even consider it,” said the spokesman.
Ergonomics are another issue. “The ZZ-R isn’t too racy, it’s too tight,” explained the spokesman. “Most of the guys who have ridden it are banging their knees on the fairing. They love the power and handling, but they can’t ride it long-distance.
“It would be nice to do a new Concours, but the numbers just aren’t there,” continued the spokesman. “Our guy is purely a price buyer. When we ask what he would change, the first thing he asks is, ‘How much is it going to cost?’ When we say maybe $12K, he says, ‘Then don’t change it. Leave it alone.’ It’s hurting our brand image a bit because we have a lot of old models-Concours, KLR650, Vulcan 750-but we won’t let ’em go. They keep selling.”
-Matthew Miles
