Cold-Turkey Kawi
COLD-TURKEY KAWI
American FLYERS
Kicking the sportbike habit?
ORDINARILY, THE SIGHT lof an original Ferrari Testa Rossa going down the road would make me drop whatever I was doing to look. But on this particular occasion I didn’t dare drop what I was doing, because I was helping Pete Bothwell unload his immaculate Kawasaki ZRX1100. And Pete had already leapt out the back of the trailer to see what was making that exquisite 12-cylinder music!
Bothwell, 47, is an incurable motorhead. He’s been employed at Kawasaki on and off since 1972, working with everything from motorcycles to Jet Skis and now ATVs. A roadracer at heart, he includes among his fondest memories teaming with then-co-worker Martin Carney to win the wet 1976 Ontario 6-Hour on an unassuming KZ650.
succession of sp Bothwell had what he calls an “NDE” (Near-Death Experience) on SoCal’s infamous Ortega Highway and decided it was time to settle down. So he sold his ZX-6R and bought a nice, mellow ZRX1100 to ride into his golden years.
It was the right idea at the wrong time, because Kawasaki was in the process of moving its roadracing effort back in-house, and had hired ace mechanic AÍ Ludington away from Honda. And Ludington, it turned out, also owned a ZRX1100.
Bothwell takes up the story: “Roadracing has always been my thing, so when I heard AÍ was coming to work here, I wanted to meet him. My ZRX was the perfect ice-breaker.”
As often happens in these situations, Ludington invited Bothwell to bring his bike over to the race shop so he could “step it up” as he’d done his own. As a result, Bothwell’s ZRX now produces 134 horsepower at the rear wheel-an incredible 38 more than stock!
Impressively, that figure was obtained using stock engine components, save for a set of 1999 ZX-11 cams plus a K&N air filter, Factory jet kit and Hindle pipe. “The stock engine signed off at 8500 rpm, but now it pulls clear up to 11,200,” Bothwell enthuses. “Wheelies are my claim to fame, and lifting the front wheel on this thing is automatic.”
Mono-wheeling notwithstanding, Bothwell isn’t a flashy guy. But the ZRX’s stock paint scheme simply didn’t do the modified engine justice. So he had Streightedje repaint the bodywork black with green
Anyway, after owning a and purple stripes and Olympic powdercoat the wheels a day-glo green to match. Finishing touches included revalving the suspension, levering on a set of Dunlop D207 GP radiais, relocating the horns, trimming the rear fender and adding various cosmetic bits from the Targa catalog. The result is a ZRX that’s so eye-catching, you could spot it from a mile away. In fact, a CHP pilot did just that!
“For 27 years, I’ve been riding Ortega Highway and never gotten a ticket,” Bothwell explains. “But the first time I rode this bike, I got nailed by an airplane. He got me for doing 90 mph and crossing the double-yellow. Said he could see those bright green wheels through the trees.”
Like I said, incurable.
Brian Catterson
