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Page 3 of 3
The trip to the drag strip beckoned . . . as mentioned my first run yielded a 10.52 sec pass. I thought about this for a second and I felt that it wasn't inconceivable for this bike to carry my royal British carcass to a sub 10 second run - I then set out to hit that delusional goal. I eventually did a 10.246 as a best and followed up with 5x10.2's, 5x10.3's and 8x10.4s and 5x10.5's shall I go on? All this, by the way, at a drag strip 3500ft higher than sea level - Also, the skinny little buggers in our group consistently got 9 second passes.
The bike was so consistent it was astounding - I even fluffed a start and wheelied all the way up to just before the finish line for a 10.9. I'm sure that 113.5lbs of Torque can dig you out of more holes than you realize. Oh, and the clutch is definitely your friend on this bike - it's a radial master cylinder and feel was exemplary. I finally fried the clutch on the second day and I calculated 90 runs on the bike (not all mine) before it finally called uncle - that, my two-wheeled flubbers, is a clutch abused by the journalistic equivalent of a herd of fat donkeys' most with no drag experience outside of dressing up in ladies clothes (not guilty on that one either). |
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Being a cheeky little monkey, I continued the acceleration path up to the end of the drag strip, to test the brakes, my nerve and my hacking abilities (the slide-ways style, not Jamie). At an indicated 170mph at the end of every run, I was hard on the radial (caliper and master cylinder) brakes down to a 15mph hairpin left. The 310mm petal style rotors were well up to it, sliding the big monster sideways probably wasn't the smartest end to each drag run, but I had an audience (the ambulance driver and EMT) so I was happy. To the big Kwak's credit, it took all the abuse that I could throw at it, and some. I feel silly saying this, especially with its size, but it is quite nimble considering it's 27 feet long. However, for a big bike, I never felt I was wrestling it around to make it do what I wanted, although it would shake its head when I took too many liberties under a full head of power. |
| So let's finish up with styling and ergonomics shall we? One of my fellow journalists got caught by "teacher" with the word FUGLY on his notepad. I have no idea what that means or why he had to stand in the corner with the dunce's hat on for 15 minutes. What I do know is that this bike has a face that only its mother would love. I suppose the downside to slipperiness is a styling clue based on wind tunnel practicalities rather than style points. The look does grow on you and like the ZX10R, it looks better in person. The bike will come with a seat cowl as standard at the back end and a set of four headlamps on the front that will be the brightest lamp set-up you've ever seen. |
If you stare at this long enough -
you'll start to see "things".
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The bike is also covered in various protrusions, I mean who'd have thought that if you stuck George Foremen grill's here and there you'd get aerodynamic excellence? I wonder if big George gets a cut of every bike sold in the US? These are the things I'm paid to contemplate, people.
Before I forget, this is a skinny bike too and I can get down and out of the wind as and when I needed to. The handlebars are also perfectly placed for a sport tour, they are neither clip–ons nor risers, they just kind of merge in between the two positions. |
| So I believe we have a winner here, with a taller windscreen you can go far and fast - faster too, especially with the 186MPH limiter removed. If Kawasaki sees fit to produce a decent set of luggage bags this bike will probably be in the limelight for a long time. The fact that I could take this bike to any Wednesday/Friday night drag strip and kick some sportbike arse, is the jelly on a peanut butter sandwich. Yet this bike might win just as many Iron Butt classes as it will Drag races - Think of this bike as an Elvis Presley in his chubby years, he was big, both literally and metaphorically. This bike has the same hairy chest but does without the sequins and big collar. |
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Mike Emery
A big thanks to Rickey Gadson and Ryan Schnitz for the drag strip advice, and to Rob Muzzy for the moustache grooming tips.
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| Specifications 2006 Kawasaki ZX-14 |
| Engine |
Four-stroke, four-cylinder, liquid-cooled, DOHC, four valve cylinder head |
| Displacement |
1,352cc |
| Bore x stroke |
84 x 61mm |
| Compression ratio |
12.0:1 |
| Fuel Injection |
DFI with 4 x 44mm Mikuni throttle bodies |
| Ignition |
Digital with 4 plug mounted coils |
| Max Power |
190(PS) |
| Power With Ram Air |
200 (PS) |
| Max Torque |
113.5 |
| Transmission |
Six speed with radial pump hydraulic clutch |
| Final drive |
Chain |
| Rake/Trail |
23/3.7 inches |
| Wheel Travel FR/R |
4.6 and 4.8 |
| Wheelbase |
57.5 inches |
| Tires FR/R |
12/70-ZR17 ans 190/50-ZR17 |
| Suspension, Front/Rear |
43mm inverted cartridge fork with adjustable preload, rebound and compression damping
Rear Uni-Trak with adjustable preload, stepless rebound and compression damping |
| Brakes |
Front Dual floating 310mm petal discs with four-piston radial-mount calipers Brakes, Rear Single 250mm petal disc |
| Fuel Capacity |
5.8 Gallons |
| Seat Height |
31.5 inches |
| Overall Length |
85.4 inches |
| Dry Weight |
474 pounds |
| Color |
Candy Thunder Blue, Passion Red or Ebony |
| MSRP |
11,499 |
| Specifications 2006 Kawasaki ZX-14 |
| Engine |
Four-stroke, four-cylinder, liquid-cooled, DOHC, four valve cylinder head |
| Displacement |
1,352cc |
| Bore x stroke |
84 x 61mm |
| Compression ratio |
12.0:1 |
| Fuel Injection |
DFI with 4 x 44mm Mikuni throttle bodies |
| Ignition |
Digital with 4 plug mounted coils |
| Max Power |
190(PS) |
| Power With Ram Air |
200 (PS) |
| Max Torque |
113.5 |
| Transmission |
Six speed with radial pump hydraulic clutch |
| Final drive |
Chain |
| Rake/Trail |
23/3.7 inches |
| Wheel Travel FR/R |
4.6 and 4.8 |
| Wheelbase |
57.5 inches |
| Tires FR/R |
12/70-ZR17 ans 190/50-ZR17 |
| Suspension, Front/Rear |
43mm inverted cartridge fork with adjustable preload, rebound and compression damping
Rear Uni-Trak with adjustable preload, stepless rebound and compression damping |
| Brakes |
Front Dual floating 310mm petal discs with four-piston radial-mount calipers Brakes, Rear Single 250mm petal disc |
| Fuel Capacity |
5.8 Gallons |
| Seat Height |
31.5 inches |
| Overall Length |
85.4 inches |
| Dry Weight |
474 pounds |
| Color |
Candy Thunder Blue, Passion Red or Ebony |
| MSRP |
11,499 |
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