[sportrider - features] - More Photos of the 2016 Kawasaki ZX-10R

[Ninjette Newsbot]

Kawasaki unveiled its 2016 ZX-10R today, a bike that doesn't look outwardly all that different than last year's bike. Close one eye and drink enough Monster Energy drinks to just slightly blur your vision, in fact, and you probably won't be able to tell the bikes apart.

As it turns out, that wasn't by mistake. In fact, during Kawasaki's official presentation for the 2016 model today in Barcelona, ZX-10R Project Leader (and former Kawasaki MotoGP Project Leader) Yoshimoto Matsuda would go on to say that, "In the beginning of this project, I make announcement inside the company to say, 'We don't develop any cosmetic feature, just for riding DNA.' Pure exhilaration, this is my target."

The point: the ZX-10R shown below might not look much different than the bike you've come to know over the last few years, but trust us when we say it's well worth getting excited over. See the bike in action and in the studio by scrolling through the gallery below. Also, don't forget to check out our First Look story on the 2016 ZX-10R for more details on the the update.























The steering head has been moved rearward 7.5mm closer to the rider, while the swingarm has been lengthened 15.8mm (in addition to extra bracing for more torsional rigidity), resulting in more front weight bias. Wheelbase is now listed as 56.7 in., almost a half inch longer.




The ZX-10R is only the second Kawasaki to sport Brembo brakes, the first being the H2. For the ZX-10R, Kawi has turned to Brembo M50 monoblock calipers and a Brembo radial-action master cylinder that's paired to steel-braided brake lines.




The 2016 uses an all-new Showa Balance Free Fork that features an external damping valve chamber similar to the Öhlins TTX/FGR suspension, with the rebound and compression damping valves completely separated so that the oil only flows in one direction through the valves.
















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