Unlike most other manufacturers, who build a street bike and then insert some sporting DNA, Kawasaki started with a racebike and softened the edges just enough to make the bike practical for road use. They tested components intended for the new bike on one of their factory superbike race machines, ridden by a professional racer, to see how compatible they were with race tuned suspension and slick tyres, before fitting them to the prototype road bikes for further testing and tweaking. This painstaking process was repeated over and over before parts were finally approved for the new production bike.

There's very little of the previous ZX-10 in the new machine. Let's start with the engine. The engineers fettled the new mill to retain the low and mid-range performance of the outgoing model, while giving the top end surge a swift kick up the backside. Throttle response has been sharpened by installing secondary fuel injectors, using oval throttle bodies and reshaped intake ports.

For 2008 the ZX-10R gets a new flat-type fuel pump as used in the '07 ZX-6R. Because this unit is extremely compact, it frees up space inside the fuel tank for increased air-cleaner capacity. This in turn means that the Ram Air intake could be revamped to force-feed more oxygen into the engine. A new passageway through the frame routes this air around both sides of the steering head along a straight and very efficient path to the bigger airbox. Thanks to the smaller fuel pump, fuel tank capacity could be kept the same as last year despite the bigger airbox and new secondary injectors. As a bonus, air cleaner accessibility for maintenance has been improved.

Once the air's got this far it still needs to get into the engine itself, and this is done via new oval intake funnels (velocity stacks) designed for better airflow. 

It's absolutely no use shovelling buckets of extra fuel and air into an engine if you can't burn it efficiently, which is why Kawasaki reduced the exhaust valve diameter by 1mm, to 24,5mm, and reshaped the exhaust ports and combustion chambers for improved flow. The intake and exhaust valves are all titanium, reducing reciprocating weight and lessening stresses at high revs, and the camshaft lobes have been reshaped for higher lift and improved power at the top of the rev range.

Right. So now we've dumped all that air and fuel into the motor and set it alight, we obviously have to get rid of the waste gases as quickly and cleanly as possible. The new ZX-10R titanium exhaust now runs under the engine, to keep weight down low and give the motorcycle nimble handling. You'll either love the silencer's styling or hate it, but you won't be able to say it doesn't work. There's a pre-chamber under the engine and palladium catalysers to help meet Euro-III emission standards, and the new pipe also helps boost power over last year's model. 

All those horses champing at the bit inside the engine cases have to be given some way of stretching their legs. This Kawasaki does via a crisp six-speed transmission with revised 1 st , 4 th and 5 th gear ratios to provide even livelier response across the rev range. Final drive too has been altered, with the rear sprocket gaining an extra tooth for better acceleration.

Much has appeared in the media about Kawasaki's new ignition management system – KIMS – that is often described as a traction control system. This is not strictly true, because a rider who cracks the throttle wide open while leaned over is in for a huge surprise when the back tyre breaks loose. KIMS is simply an engine management system that monitors sudden changes in engine speed (this happens 50 times per second) and, when deemed necessary, adjusts ignition timing to reduce power and protect the catalysers and engine from damage. This may, but not always, eliminate wheelspin. Kawasaki realises that the highly skilled rider who buys the ZX-10R for road or track use doesn't want his style inhibited by an electronic nanny, and assumes that all rider input is intentional. When the twistgrip is rotated and the rear tyre starts to spin the system looks at how far and how fast the throttle was opened. If it was aggressively snapped wide open the assumption is that the rider wanted to drift the back wheel out, and no action is taken by the computer. If the amount and speed of throttle opening was, however, gentler, the computer presumes that the rider has been caught unawares, and retards the ignition timing to keep things on track, and may eliminate wheelspin. When the bike is equipped with a racing kit for track use, the parameters of the system may be adjusted.

Any racer will tell you that when an already quick motorcycle is modified for track use, it's just as important to direct your efforts and budget at improving handling and braking as it is to improve the engine to produce horsepower that can't be used. The engineers tasked with developing the new ZX-10R were well aware of this, which is reflected in the bike they present to you here. The new Ram Air passageway optimises rigidity around the steering head, and the frame's pressed sections were altered from concave to convex profiles. Welding was added to the side rails, and the rear sub-frame is mounted to the frame's upper cross member to improve feedback to the rider. The new sub-frame is also lighter and narrower to make the machine more compact and slim. The wall thickness around the swingarm pivot has been increased, and ribbing has been added to the interior of the pivot plate where it joins the frame's upper cross member. The steering head has been moved 10mm forward, its length has been altered, and the swingarm pivot has been relocated. The new swingarm features a top-mounted stabiliser, and the rear shock now features dual compression damping for fine-tuning on the racetrack. Together, these modifications all complement each other to give the motorcycle superb stability.      

Braking has been enormously improved on the '08 ZX-10R. New Tokico radial mount brake callipers are fitted with dual pads rather than four individual grabbers, and offer superb initial bite characteristics and increased feel as you squeeze the clamps harder. New 310mm petal discs replace the earlier 300mm units, and disc thickness has been reduced by 0,5mm to reduce unsprung weight and improve heat dissipation. The rotor carriers are now made from aluminium to reduce weight and feature 10 buttons instead of seven, which support the rotor better and assist with heat dissipation under track conditions. The rear disc has grown to 220mm, and both front and rear callipers now use lightweight aluminium pistons.

The list of changes to the new Kawasaki ZX-10R is virtually endless. Some not yet mentioned are:

-The tank and seat are new, designed to offer the rider increased contact with the bike and more feedback when riding at or near the limit.
-The fuel tank has a recess in its top to accommodate the helmet's chin area, allowing the rider to tuck in closely behind the low screen on the racetrack.
-The side panels of the fairing are smaller to reduce the influence of crosswinds.
- A new adjustable race quality steering damper with relief valve and twin-tube design was developed in collaboration with Öhlins especially for the ZX-10R.
-The twist grip has a special rib under the grip rubber to improve grip and feel.
-The top of the front cowl is shorter and the screen lower.
-The slight step at the edge of the front cowling reduces windblast to the rider's upper body.
-The mirrors and integrated indicators are easily removable for track use.   The new location also minimises damage should the bike fall over.
-The number plate holder and rear turn signals are also quickly detachable.
-The new instrument cluster features UV-blocking glass, making the LED displays brighter and easier to read.
-Crankshaft mass has been reduced, and engine weight is now 1 kg lower.
-Oil and water pumps are both new.
- Like its predecessor, the new ZX-10R features an easily adjustable back- torque limiting slipper clutch.

Kawasaki decided a few years ago that their sports motorcycles would be uncompromisingly what the term implies – street bikes designed to get around racetracks as quickly as possible in the hands of the very competent amateur riders and professional racers who are likely to buy them. For 2008, they've lifted the bar once again. Colours available: Lime or White

Specifications