#Kawasaki

Looking at the current state of American motorcycle road racing and how bleak it has become, it’s remarkable to think, just over a decade ago, our national series was widely regarded as the best in the world. Riders like Mladin, Duhamel, Gobert, Bayliss, Hayden, Spies and many others carved out a name for themselves here, piloting ferocious superbikes better than, arguably, anyone else in the world.

There’s no reason not to be outside, behind the handlebars if you’re a female motorcycle enthusiast. It’s estimated that more than 12 percent of motorcycle riders are female – and this number is going up. For some, riding a bike is a high-adrenaline alternative that saves on gas, but for others, it’s a way of life and a passion that brings them inner peace, freedom and empowerment.

I’m often asked which motorcycle is my favorite, which is actually impossible to answer without a for-what-purpose addendum. But during a conversation last week, an acquaintance put a different spin on the question by asking: Which motorcycles are most memorable to you?

Big-time MO congratulations to our favorite San Diegan racer Jeremy Toye, who celebrated the Kawasaki Ninja’s 30th anniversary in style by riding a ZX-10R (actually two ZX-10Rs) to victory in this year’s Pikes Peak International Hillclimb.

According to my weather app, it was officially 100 degrees at 10pm the night we rode in to Borrego Springs, CA, during our Middleweight Sport-Touring Shootout. I’m sitting poolside sipping a tasty, cold beverage while bossmen, Kevin Duke and Sean Alexander, discuss the finer points of gun control in the parking lot.

Tom Sykes entered the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca round of World Superbike as the defending 2013 champion (after only missing out on the honor in 2012 by half a point) and the current series leader with a 41-point advantage. Add that to the attention the Ninja 30th Anniversary celebration that Kawasaki kicked off at Laguna Seca has attracted, and Sykes has a lot to be smiling about.

When the new BMW R1200RT fell through, recalled because of a possibly faulty rear shock shaft of all things, we almost decided not to take these four lovelies on a little three-day binge up along California’s eastern Sierra, through Bishop, Yosemite and back the long way. But we’re glad we did. The weather and scenery couldn’t have been more perfect, and it’s hard to imagine motorcycles more cut out for a long weekend than these four – all with hard sidebags, great wind protection, shaft drive and everything you need to take your show on the road.

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the Ninja,  Kawasaki kicked off the World Supberbike weekend at Mazda Raceway by unveiling a 2015 model year  30th Anniversary Limited Edition Kawasaki Ninja ZX–14R in addition to the 2015 30th anniversary liveried ZX–10R and ZX–6R. For the Kawasaki faithful, the manufacturer put together a celebration of all things Ninja in theMarketplace of Mazda Raceway yesterday evening.

Kawasaki has taken the wraps off of its 2015 KX450F and KX250F motocross machines, and if 2014 is any indication, the key improvements to both models should keep them competitive in the cut-throat world of motocross competition at the professional and amateur levels.

Let’s face it: in 1996 Japanese sport tourers may have been premium performers, but they really weren’t very attractive. Especially when put side-by-side with their Italian counterparts. Andrew Serbinski set out to change that, one Kawasaki GPz1100 at a time. His creation, the MachineArt MK9, is what happens when an industrial designer gets his hands on clay (these were the days before CAD software, remember), to make a Japanese motorcycle easy on the eyes. In this week’s Church of MO, we pay a visit to Serbinski and his masterpiece. MachineArt is still in existence today, though Serbinski never did create a second example.

While Suzuki’s GSX-R750 may be the Godfather of the sportbike category, perhaps the most under appreciated 750 superbike of the time is the Kawasaki ZX-7R. The machine that changed little since 1993 while still managing to win superbike races and titles both here and abroad, many praise it as being one of the best handling sportbikes in existence. In 1997, our own Shawn Higbee (yes, the same Shawn Higbee who was the lead Buell test rider) got his hands on a then-new ZX-7R, for this first ride report. Considering Shawn’s vast experience on two wheels, his ability to evaluate a motorcycle and communicate what it’s doing is top notch. See for yourself in his review below in this week’s Church of MO.

I remember the cats. They were everywhere I looked, hidden away under bushes, huddled together in small groups on the stoops of the houses, prowling through the tall dry grass of fields, and emerging from the darkened edge of the forest where they paused for just a moment to check traffic before dashing wildly across the road. Perhaps they had always been there, I couldn’t be sure, but it was their presence, in combination with the new sensation of cool air sweeping over my body and sheer giddiness at all that had transpired, that defines my first day as a motorcyclist.

In the track version of our Super Streetfighter Smackdown, the KTM 1290 Super Duke R won over the BMW S1000R by the narrowest of margins. Which is all well and good for the small percentage of riders who’ll actually take these bikes to the track. For the greater population, riding these motorcycles on the mean streets of America, the streetable personas of these two and the Ducati Monster 1200S and Kawasaki Z1000 ABS are far more important.

What we have in these five bikes: BMW S1000R, Ducati Monster 1200S, Kawasaki Z1000 ABS, KTM Super Duke R, MV Agusta Brutale 1090RR, is an assemblage of pretenders to the throne. What throne? The literbike streetfighter throne upon which Aprilia’s Tuono V4R APRC ABS has comfortably resided since its introduction in 2012. Truth is, two of these five have a real chance of dethroning  the reigning champ on-track, so once we’ve identified the most worthy contenders in this shootout, first and second place will get a chance to meet the Tuono on the field of battle. 

As we previously noted, Kawasaki organized a “Bike Nite in the Daylite” on Friday, March 14th at the Daytona Int’l Speedway. With around 40 bikes assembled for the four prize category, all those involved with the show felt like it was a success.