The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R is a superbike from Kawasaki. It was launched in 2004 and is still on sale. Superbikes are the fastest, most powerful road-going sports bikes. With a 998 cc engine it sits in the big-bike, 800 cc-plus class.
Power comes from a 998 cc 4-cylinder liquid-cooled fuel-injected engine that makes 203 PS at 13,200 rpm and 114.9 Nm of torque at 11,400 rpm. Peak torque comes high up, at 11,400 rpm, so it rewards revving. Its bore is wider than its stroke (76 mm x 55 mm), a short-stroke layout that generally favours higher revs. Divide power by kerb weight and it has about 981 PS per tonne; by that measure, its performance is at superbike level and rewards an experienced rider. The claimed top speed is 299 km/h. It has electric start.
It has a 6-speed manual gearbox with a 1-down, 5-up shift pattern, and a chain carries drive to the rear wheel. It uses a wet multi-plate clutch.
Its frame is twin spar, cast aluminium. At the front, the suspension is ø43 mm inverted fork (BFF) with external compression chamber. At the rear, it is horizontal Back-link, BFRC lite gas-charged shock with piggyback reservoir. Braking is by twin 330 mm discs at the front and a 220 mm disc at the rear, with dual-channel ABS. ABS on both wheels keeps either tyre from locking under hard braking. It rides on 17-inch alloy wheels with tubeless tyres — 120/70-17 at the front and 190/55-17 at the rear.
The seat is 835 mm off the ground, which is on the tall side, so shorter riders may want to try it first. It weighs 207 kg ready to ride, which is on the heavy side, so moving it by hand takes some effort. Ground clearance is 135 mm — low, so take speed breakers and steep ramps slowly. It is 2,085 mm long, with 1,450 mm between the axles. Its 17 L fuel tank and claimed mileage of 12 kmpl work out to roughly 204 km per tankful on paper; real-world range is usually lower.
Equipment includes a digital instrument console, an LED headlamp, turn-by-turn navigation, USB charging port, call and SMS alerts, distance-to-empty readout, gear position indicator, mobile app connectivity, cruise control and daytime running lamps, among others. Safety equipment includes side-stand warning, engine kill switch, traction control, low fuel indicator, malfunction indicator and low oil indicator. It has four riding modes: Rain, Road, Configurable Rider and Sports.
The manufacturer's warranty is 2 years or 30,000 km. For the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, Mechiee offers a fixed ₹15,999 doorstep service.
It is best suited to riders who want performance and sharp handling. With this much performance, it is better as a step-up bike than a first bike.
Recommended tyre pressures are 36 psi front and 42 psi rear, solo or with a pillion. Its chain drive needs regular cleaning, lubrication and slack adjustment.
