Kawasaki Ninja

Not only did the first Kawasaki Ninja create a name that would become the default characterization for non-motorcyclists describing plastic-clad sportbikes, it was also the blueprint for sportbikes up to and including present day models.

Launched in 1984, the Kawasaki GPZ900R (also known as the ZX900A) was the world’s fist Ninja motorcycle. So groundbreaking was its design, the Kawasaki Ninja was faster than bikes with more displacement and lighter than bikes with less displacement. The motorcycle’s primary advantage was its engine: the first liquid-cooled, double-overhead cam, 16-valve, inline four-cylinder that Japanese OEMs continue to utilize as the preferred sportbike engine format. The Kawasaki Ninja’s 908cc engine produced nearly 115 horsepower at 9,500 rpm that propelled it to a top speed in excess of 150 mph (the first stock streetbike to do so) and to a standing quarter-mile time of 10.9 seconds.

The Kawasaki Ninja’s engine, combined with its aluminum-alloy sub-frame, 16-inch front wheel, triple-disc brakes and six-speed gearbox was such an advancement in motorcycle performance that three privateer Ninjas placed first, second and third in that year’s Isle of Man TT races, beating factory-supported teams from other manufacturers.

Since 1984 the Kawasaki Ninja designation has graced the fairings of numerous Kawasaki sportbikes ranging in size from 250cc to 1400cc. So ubiquitous has the name Ninja become that non-motorcyclists often refer to any sportbike, Kawasaki or otherwise, as a Ninja.

In the 1980s 600cc and 750cc Kawasaki Ninjas did battle with Honda Hurricanes and Interceptors until Honda stopped using the names and instead went to the alpha-numeric insignias (see CBR and VFR). In 1988, the Kawasaki ZX-10 (1000cc) Ninja was launched and immediately claimed the title of the world’s fastest production streetbike with a top speed of 166 mph. In 1990 the Kawasaki ZX-11 (1100cc) Ninja replaced the ZX-10, upping top speed to 175 mph and retaining its top-speed title for years to come.

In 1993 Scott Russell piloted a Kawasaki ZX-7R (750cc) Ninja to a World Superbike title against Ducati’s legendary 916 ridden by Carl Fogarty. From 2003 to 2008, the Ninja name was even attached to Kawasaki’s MotoGP effort and its ZX-RR prototype. The GP bike struggled, however, never winning a race before Kawasaki’s withdrawal from MotoGP racing.

Of all the Kawasaki Ninjas, the diminutive Kawasaki Ninja 250 is one of Kawasaki’s all-time best selling motorcycles. Since 1986 the liquid-cooled, vertical twin-cylinder 250cc Ninja has been a part of Kawasaki’s model line-up and, with minimal competition from other manufacturers, has become the default sport-style bike for beginner riders. The Kawasaki Ninja 250’s combination of sporty looks, low retail price, light weight and non-intimidating performance make it the perfect motorcycle for novice riders to hone their skills before upgrading to a larger sportbike. In 2011 Honda introduced the CBR250, a sportbike with a liquid-cooled, single-cylinder engine featuring fuel injection, to compete with Kawasaki’s littlest Ninja.

Kawasaki Motorcycles

Kawasaki motorcycles include its Ninja family of sportbikes such as the Ninja ZX-10R and Ninja ZX-6R, the entry-level Ninja 250R, the Z1000 streetbike, the Concours 14 sport touring motorcycle and Vulcan family cruisers such as the Vulcan 1700 Voyager. Kawasaki’s off-road motorcycles include KX450F motocross bike and KLX 140 enduro motorcycle. 

Kawasaki joined the motorcycle business in 1960 and is one of the major players from Japan. From the time it released the B8 125cc motorcycle in 1961 Kawasaki has seemingly never slowed down. Just five years later Kawasaki produced Japan’s biggest bike – the 650W1. The first Voyageur touring model, based on the liquid-cooled KZ1300, hit dealerships in 1978. In 1981 Kawasaki launched the hugely popular 600cc sportbike class with the GPz550 and just two years later the GPz900R “Ninja” is introduced to a stunned motorcycle press. The first ZXR-designated motorcycles reach the market in 1989 and are still going strong today. In addition to its vast lineup of street bikes, Kawasaki’s KX lineup of off-road motorcycles cannot be ignored, thanks largely to the racing success of James “Bubba” Stewart. 

BMW S 1000 RR

In recent years BMW has gone to great lengths repositioning its motorcycle division from a position of building motorcycles for bearded, pipe-smoking eccentrics to be more inline with its performance-derived automotive group. BMW silenced its critics with the BMW S1000RR, the company’s first modern sportbike that delivered more performance than established Japanese OEMs who have building sportbikes for decades.

In 2009, after months of teasing initial reports, BMW entered the brand new S1000RR in the World Superbike Championship finishing the season in 13th position with Troy Corser. In 2010 Corser gave the BMW S1000RR its first World Superbike pole position and two third-place podium positions. More impressive is the fact that, also in 2010, Aryton Badovini won the Wold Superstock championship on a BMW S1000RR, losing only a single race all season — an incredible feat for a brand new sportbike. The BMW S1000RR was also made available for public consumption in 2010.

Since its introduction the BMW S1000RR has been lauded by the motorcycle press due to the bike’s amazing performance in stock trim. With 175 rear-wheel horsepower generated from its liquid-cooled, dual-overhead cam, 16-valve, inline four-cylinder engine, the BMW S1000RR was substantially more powerful than its Japanese counterparts. The 999cc engine has a very oversquare bore and stroke of 80 x 49.7 mm. This is the largest engine bore of any liter-size sportbike on the market.

Its retail price of $13,800 wasn’t much more expensive than its Japanese rivals. For an additional $1,500 BMW offered an electronics package including ABS, selectable engine-mapping (Rain, Sport, Race, Slick) and traction control. In addition to wheel speed sensors, the BMW S1000RR also incorporated bank angle sensors and throttle position sensors making its traction control system the most advanced system on a production bike. The BMW S1000RR’s ABS system features a front-wheel-only mode allowing the rider to lock the rear wheel to help initiate a rear-wheel slide.

According to BMW, the S1000RR has an asymmetrical front fairing not just for styling purposes but also because the high-beam and low-beam headlights differ from each other in size and weight, and to emphasize each one’s performance BMW constructed the fairing accordingly.

The BMW S1000RR features dual front Brembo four-piston radial calipers gripping 320mm rotors, and in the rear a single-piston Brembo caliper grabs a 220mm disc. The instrument cluster is comprised of an analog tachometer and digital speedometer. There’s also a built-in lap timer that’s operated by the high beam light switch on the left handlebar. The lap timer also records brake pressure and throttle openings.

To help market the new BMW S1000RR and showcase the bike’s acceleration, BMW created a video where a tablecloth from a 20-seat dining table was attached to the S1000RR. The BMW S1000RR launched from a standing start, yanking the tablecloth from the table without disturbing the place settings. The video went viral with more than 3 million views, but its authenticity was later debunked by the television show MythBusters.

BMW Motorcycles

BMW motorcycles include the GS adventure touring motorcycles such as the R1200GS, F800GS and G650GS, S1000RR sportbike, R1200R street motorcycle, R1200RT sport tourer and six-cylinder K1600GT and K1600GTL touring motorcycles. 

BMW entered the motorcycle business only after it was forced to abandon the aircraft industry after Germany signed the Treaty of Versaillles. BMW’s first motorcycle – the 486cc R 32 – was unveiled in 1923 and since then it has garnered a well-earned reputation for producing machines that stand the test of time. BMW is best known for its hugely popular GS line of on- and off-road motorcycles – a segment that accounts for almost 30% of BMW motorcycle sales worldwide. Despite its success with the GS family, the German marquee has recently made a huge splash in the streetbike segment with its impressive S1000RR. In its very first year the S1000RR topped Motorcyle.com’s annual literbike shootout. 

Honda CBR

The Hurricane, released in 1987, was Honda’s first CBR and the company’s first inline, four-cylinder, liquid-cooled sportbike. Wearing a slippery, full-fairing covering the entire motorcycle, producing 83 bhp and weighing 397 lbs. dry, the new Honda CBR was an uncontested sportbike success. That same year the American Motorcyclist Association initiated a new racing class expressly for 600cc motorcycles and the newly minted Hurricane won every race that first season.

Launched at the same time as the 600cc Hurricane was its big brother, the Hurricane 1000. Much heavier than the smaller bike and with no national racing outlet the 1000cc motorcycle was regarded more as a sport-tourer. Like its sibling, the Hurricane 1000 utilized an inline four-cylinder liquid-cooled engine.

By 1989 Honda decided to drop the Hurricane name and go with just the alphanumeric designation, so the two bikes became known to the public as the Honda CBR600F and Honda CBR1000F.

By 1991 a new version of the Honda CBR was ready for introduction, the Honda CBR600F2 raised the bar for 600cc sportbike performance so high other manufacturers were scrambling to catch up. The Honda CBR600F2 struck an almost perfect balance of performance and comfort.

Right on the heels of the CBR600F2 was Honda’s next literbike, the Honda CBR900RR (the first Honda CBR to wear the double-R designation).

Like the Suzuki GSX-R750 before it, the Honda CBR900RR was unmatched in terms of light weight and high horsepower – it weighed only a few more pounds than the CBR600F2 yet produced 122 hp at the rear wheel. Besides its stunning performance, the original CBR900RR was also known for its distinctive fairing holes (said to aid side-to-side transitioning) and its controversial 16-inch front wheel.

Over the years both bikes would be upgraded as they kept pace with the changing performance climate. The Honda CBR600F2 became the F3 in 1994, the F4 in 1999, and the F4i in 2001. In 2003 Honda launched the CBR600RR, a racier version of Honda’s middleweight. It was made lighter and faster in its 2007 redesign.

The bigger Honda CBR maintained its CBR900RR designation, despite receiving an engine upgrade in 1996 increasing from 893cc to 919cc. In 2000 another engine displacement increase came with a new designation emphasizing the new bike’s larger engine, and Honda CBR929RR was born. This only lasted until 2002 when another model, the Honda CBR954RR, displaced the one from only a couple years prior. The 900 series finally came to end when in 2004 Honda launched the CBR1000RR, a ground-up new model meant to compete in the changing atmosphere of superbike racing.

From 1996 to 2003 the Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird competed against top-speed sportbikes like Kawasaki’s ZX-11 Ninja and Suzuki’s Hayabusa. For a couple years the Super Blackbird held the title of world’s fastest production bike, but the Hayabusa relieved Honda of that title in 1999 and has held on to it ever since.

In 2011 Honda brought to the U.S. market the CBR250R, the first small-displacement sportbike from Honda meant to compete against Kawasaki’s Ninja 250.

Honda Motorcycles

Honda motorcycles include the CBR1000RR and CBR600RR sportbikes, Gold Wing touring motorcycle, VFR1200F sport touring motorcycle and Fury chopper. Honda’s off-road offerings include the CRF450X enduro and the CRF250R motocross bike. 

Honda produced its first real motorcycle, the Model D, in 1949. Since then Honda has gone on to become one of the world’s leading motorcycle manufacturers. In fact, more than 50 million units of the venerable Honda Super Cub were sold in less than 50 years, making it the most popular motorcycle in history. Today Honda offers an enormous lineup of class-leading motorcycles and is regularly adding to and improving its fleet. From it’s CBR line of sportibkes to its CRF line of off-road funsters to the luxurious Gold Wing Touring motorcycle, Honda has a bike for just about everybody. You can also see Honda motorcycles competing at almost every level of two-wheeled racing. 

Scorpion On Track for '10 with CVR

Although Scorpion has made a name for itself with cutting-edge innovations, edgy advertising and in-your-face designs, providing protection is what the company is really all about. In keeping with this fundamental philosophy, Scorpion Sports was more than happy to support the all-new Chuckwalla Valley Raceway (CVR) as it kicks off a series of track days in 2010. 

“CVR was created to provide a safe, centrally located facility for motorsport enthusiasts to come and enjoy their passion,” explains Paulette Dorland, Chuckwalla’s director of operations. Located in Desert Center (near Palm Springs) CVR offers a first class facility for the Southern California roadracing fan. “At ultimate build-out, CVR will have three racetracks, hot pits, a clubhouse with a swimming pool and long term garages, among other amenities,” Dorland says. 

The media and diehard racers will get a sneak preview of the brand new facility on April 2nd. “We are proud of what we have built and want to get the word out,” adds CVR’s Micky Grana. “We hope that CVR will become the destination track for racers from all over the state.” “We are proud to support Chuckwalla Valley Raceway,” says Scorpion Sports West Coast sales manager Jon Eide. “It makes the perfect place for Scorpion’s new Hurricane one-piece suit to blow into the SoCal area! Seriously, Scorpion Sports is committed to safety and we believe in riders taking it to the track to test the limits… and when they exceed their limitations we believe in our EXOskeletal protection built into all our riding gear and helmets.” For full details on the new track and a 2010 schedule of track days, click on: www.chuckwallavalleyraceway.com. Be like CVR and join Team Scorpion! More information about the full range of ScorpionExo™ Helmets and Scorpion Sports, Inc.’s complete ScorpionExoWear™ line can be found at www.ScorpionUSA.com.