I've been trying to figure this out...

MiniCog · May 8th, 2011, 06:37 PM

AND I THINK I'VE GOT IT!!! And I only used my knowledge of bikes I've gathered since reading "Cycle World" and "Sport Rider" and "Transworld Motocross" since I was like 3...

Okay, I've been trying to figure out Kawasaki's reasons for the names they give bikes...
KX, KLX-(R)[E], KX-F, KLR, KZ, Z, ZRX, ZX-R, ZX-RR, GTR, ZG, EX, etc etc. Seems Kawasaki makes a weird name to every motorcycle they make, and I decided to figure this junk out:

K = off road single-cylinder(after the KZ, I'll explain later)
Z = 4 cylinder
X = Competition (like MX is short for Motocross)
G = could be "General"
L is in the enduro/dual sports, so L = "long"
F = Four Stroke
E = 2 cylinder (on road) electric start (off road, but in the KLX 400R's case, it has electric start alrady, so the KLX 400E is the softer, street legal version)
R = Race or sport
RR = Race Ready (for when they had the ZX-6r [636] and zx-6rr [599])
GT = Grand touring?
ZRX was just a different order of letters for the "muscle bike," because ZX was already taken by the sport bikes.
Now for the misfit: the KZ. The KZ was an earlier model in Kawasaki's earlier days, and as I recall, they kind of changed their image between the KZ and the Ninjas. So that could explain it.

SO: KX65/80/85/125/250/500 means "Single-Cylinder Off Road Competition."
KLX 110/125/140/250/400(R)[E] means "Single-Cylinder Off Road Long Competition (Race) [road]"
KX250/450F means "Single-Cylinder Off Road Competition, Four Stroke"
KLR 250/650 means "Single-Cylinder Long Race"
KZ was just a missfit
Z's just means "Street"
ZRX1100/1200 means "4-Cylinder Race Competition" Which makes sense for some of you guys that have/had ZRX's...
ZX6/7/9/10/11/12/14-R means "4-Cylinder Competition Race"
ZX6-RR means "4-Cylinder Competition Race Ready," only for the 2003-2006 zx6rr's because the zx6r was the 636 that couldn't be race in the supersport class, so Kawasaki homologated the 599cc ZX6-RR to be eligible to race in the supersport class.
GTR 1400 means "Grand Touring Race," I guess the R just sounded cool.
ZG 1000 means "Four Cylinder General" General as in do all, does all.
EX 250/500/650 means "Two Cylinder Competition"

And of course, the numbers mean the size of the engine in cubic centimeters.

kkim · May 8th, 2011, 06:42 PM

KDX220r?

KE100?

MiniCog · May 8th, 2011, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kkim

KDX220r?

KE100?

2 more I didn't think about... Dang.

D for Duro (2 stroke) "Off Road single-cylinder competition enduro."

KE... "Off road single Cylinder, street legal (if the E in KLX400E means the same as the KE100)"

sombo · May 9th, 2011, 11:15 AM

GPZ250? As in what the pregen bikes were labeled overseas back in the day. The keys to my 1994 ninjette have GPZ on them.

You also forgot the ZZR series of bikes, and what about the LTD's?

the big mike · May 9th, 2011, 12:41 PM

Funny how you call KZ just a missfit when trying to figure all of this out

I've been asking myself that same question though

Nice work, I never even would have thought of those explanations

blink · May 12th, 2011, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiniCog

AND I THINK I'VE GOT IT!!! And I only used my knowledge of bikes I've gathered since reading "Cycle World" and "Sport Rider" and "Transworld Motocross" since I was like 3...

Okay, I've been trying to figure out Kawasaki's reasons for the names they give bikes...
KX, KLX-(R)[E], KX-F, KLR, KZ, Z, ZRX, ZX-R, ZX-RR, GTR, ZG, EX, etc etc. Seems Kawasaki makes a weird name to every motorcycle they make, and I decided to figure this junk out:

K = off road single-cylinder(after the KZ, I'll explain later)
Z = 4 cylinder
X = Competition (like MX is short for Motocross)
G = could be "General"
L is in the enduro/dual sports, so L = "long"
F = Four Stroke
E = 2 cylinder (on road) electric start (off road, but in the KLX 400R's case, it has electric start alrady, so the KLX 400E is the softer, street legal version)
R = Race or sport
RR = Race Ready (for when they had the ZX-6r [636] and zx-6rr [599])
GT = Grand touring?
ZRX was just a different order of letters for the "muscle bike," because ZX was already taken by the sport bikes.
Now for the misfit: the KZ. The KZ was an earlier model in Kawasaki's earlier days, and as I recall, they kind of changed their image between the KZ and the Ninjas. So that could explain it.

SO: KX65/80/85/125/250/500 means "Single-Cylinder Off Road Competition."
KLX 110/125/140/250/400(R)[E] means "Single-Cylinder Off Road Long Competition (Race) [road]"
KX250/450F means "Single-Cylinder Off Road Competition, Four Stroke"
KLR 250/650 means "Single-Cylinder Long Race"
KZ was just a missfit
Z's just means "Street"
ZRX1100/1200 means "4-Cylinder Race Competition" Which makes sense for some of you guys that have/had ZRX's...
ZX6/7/9/10/11/12/14-R means "4-Cylinder Competition Race"
ZX6-RR means "4-Cylinder Competition Race Ready," only for the 2003-2006 zx6rr's because the zx6r was the 636 that couldn't be race in the supersport class, so Kawasaki homologated the 599cc ZX6-RR to be eligible to race in the supersport class.
GTR 1400 means "Grand Touring Race," I guess the R just sounded cool.
ZG 1000 means "Four Cylinder General" General as in do all, does all.
EX 250/500/650 means "Two Cylinder Competition"

And of course, the numbers mean the size of the engine in cubic centimeters.

RR is Race Replica!

Goodjob with the others! =]

MiniCog · May 12th, 2011, 02:49 PM

HA, thanks guys, I was just tired of studying for finals and was like "well, what can I do, I can't go riding here (I'm in Dallas) , it's raining, and it's too late to go to the gym..."

Willy · May 12th, 2011, 07:21 PM

I had a KZ400 twin and a KZ650SR 4cyl, both street bikes

MiniCog · May 16th, 2011, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willy

I had a KZ400 twin and a KZ650SR 4cyl, both street bikes

Yeah, the reason why I couldn't figure KZ's out...

backinthesaddleagain · May 21st, 2011, 03:19 PM

How about the Z1-900 4 strike or the H2-750 or H1-500 2 strokes?
Posted via Mobile Device

MiniCog · May 22nd, 2011, 03:13 PM

"The KZ was an earlier model in Kawasaki's earlier days, and as I recall, they kind of changed their image between the KZ and the Ninjas. So that could explain it."

What I mean by that is that this list is more or less relevant to their newer bikes, when 2-smoker streetbikes started more or less die out. So this wouldn't really have a lot to do with those bikes.

May 8th, 2011, 06:37 PM	#1
MiniCog ninjette.org guru Name: Nathaniel Location: Jacksonville, Florida Join Date: Jan 2011 Motorcycle(s): Past: 2007 250 Ninja 2005 XR650R 2003 KLX400R Posts: 335	I've been trying to figure this out... AND I THINK I'VE GOT IT!!! And I only used my knowledge of bikes I've gathered since reading "Cycle World" and "Sport Rider" and "Transworld Motocross" since I was like 3... Okay, I've been trying to figure out Kawasaki's reasons for the names they give bikes... KX, KLX-(R)[E], KX-F, KLR, KZ, Z, ZRX, ZX-R, ZX-RR, GTR, ZG, EX, etc etc. Seems Kawasaki makes a weird name to every motorcycle they make, and I decided to figure this junk out: K = off road single-cylinder(after the KZ, I'll explain later) Z = 4 cylinder X = Competition (like MX is short for Motocross) G = could be "General" L is in the enduro/dual sports, so L = "long" F = Four Stroke E = 2 cylinder (on road) electric start (off road, but in the KLX 400R's case, it has electric start alrady, so the KLX 400E is the softer, street legal version) R = Race or sport RR = Race Ready (for when they had the ZX-6r [636] and zx-6rr [599]) GT = Grand touring? ZRX was just a different order of letters for the "muscle bike," because ZX was already taken by the sport bikes. Now for the misfit: the KZ. The KZ was an earlier model in Kawasaki's earlier days, and as I recall, they kind of changed their image between the KZ and the Ninjas. So that could explain it. SO: KX65/80/85/125/250/500 means "Single-Cylinder Off Road Competition." KLX 110/125/140/250/400(R)[E] means "Single-Cylinder Off Road Long Competition (Race) [road]" KX250/450F means "Single-Cylinder Off Road Competition, Four Stroke" KLR 250/650 means "Single-Cylinder Long Race" KZ was just a missfit Z's just means "Street" ZRX1100/1200 means "4-Cylinder Race Competition" Which makes sense for some of you guys that have/had ZRX's... ZX6/7/9/10/11/12/14-R means "4-Cylinder Competition Race" ZX6-RR means "4-Cylinder Competition Race Ready," only for the 2003-2006 zx6rr's because the zx6r was the 636 that couldn't be race in the supersport class, so Kawasaki homologated the 599cc ZX6-RR to be eligible to race in the supersport class. GTR 1400 means "Grand Touring Race," I guess the R just sounded cool. ZG 1000 means "Four Cylinder General" General as in do all, does all. EX 250/500/650 means "Two Cylinder Competition" And of course, the numbers mean the size of the engine in cubic centimeters. __________________________________________________ When life throws turns at you, aim for the apex.

May 12th, 2011, 02:49 PM	#7
MiniCog ninjette.org guru Name: Nathaniel Location: Jacksonville, Florida Join Date: Jan 2011 Motorcycle(s): Past: 2007 250 Ninja 2005 XR650R 2003 KLX400R Posts: 335	HA, thanks guys, I was just tired of studying for finals and was like "well, what can I do, I can't go riding here (I'm in Dallas) , it's raining, and it's too late to go to the gym..." __________________________________________________ When life throws turns at you, aim for the apex.

May 22nd, 2011, 03:13 PM	#11
MiniCog ninjette.org guru Name: Nathaniel Location: Jacksonville, Florida Join Date: Jan 2011 Motorcycle(s): Past: 2007 250 Ninja 2005 XR650R 2003 KLX400R Posts: 335	"The KZ was an earlier model in Kawasaki's earlier days, and as I recall, they kind of changed their image between the KZ and the Ninjas. So that could explain it." What I mean by that is that this list is more or less relevant to their newer bikes, when 2-smoker streetbikes started more or less die out. So this wouldn't really have a lot to do with those bikes. __________________________________________________ When life throws turns at you, aim for the apex.

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May 8th, 2011, 06:42 PM	#2
kkim Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: Too much.	KDX220r? KE100?

May 9th, 2011, 11:15 AM	#4
sombo Newb..... on a steeek! :D Name: Mike Location: Windermere, FL Join Date: Feb 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Harley Davidson XL883L Sportster Superlow Posts: A lot.	GPZ250? As in what the pregen bikes were labeled overseas back in the day. The keys to my 1994 ninjette have GPZ on them. You also forgot the ZZR series of bikes, and what about the LTD's?

May 9th, 2011, 12:41 PM	#5
the big mike ninjette.org sage Name: Michael Location: Belgium Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250r, Fazer8 Posts: 580	Funny how you call KZ just a missfit when trying to figure all of this out I've been asking myself that same question though Nice work, I never even would have thought of those explanations

May 12th, 2011, 07:21 PM	#8
Willy Retread Name: Bill Location: Arroyo Grande, Ca Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): '04 Ninja 250(sold), 07 R6s Posts: 16	I had a KZ400 twin and a KZ650SR 4cyl, both street bikes

May 21st, 2011, 03:19 PM	#10
backinthesaddleagain ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Greg Location: Rhode Island Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2013 ZX6R 636 Posts: A lot.	How about the Z1-900 4 strike or the H2-750 or H1-500 2 strokes? Posted via Mobile Device