Spy Shots! Kawasaki Zx-9 For 1994

SPY SHOTS! KAWASAKI ZX-9 FOR 1994

Kawasaki will use this year’s Paris Motor Show as the launch pad for a new 900cc sportbike to be sold in the U.S., starting in January, as the ZX-9. A Kawasaki spokesman confirmed that the ZX-9 is on its way here, but said that so far, none of the bike’s specifications have been made available.

These photos, taken on the Nurburgring’s famed North Loop during a German testing session, show a bike, wearing a British license plate, which clearly derives its heritage, and some of its hardware, from the ZX-7. It appears to owe its frame, swingarm, fork, brakes and tail section to that machine. What’s new is the engine. Early reports have this developing a claimed 133 horsepower, thanks to a combination of clever head design and use of the ZX-11’s ramair induction system. The same reports also suggest that the bike will weigh about 90 pounds more than the claimer'

dry weight of its main competitor, the Honda CBR900RR. That would put it right at the weight of the last ZX-7 to test CIV’s scale-499 pounds with a dry fuel tank.

Note that as a 1994 model, the ZX-9 dovetails nicely with the 10-year anniversary of the first Ninja 900.

Jon F. Thompson