Missile Launch!
MISSILE LAUNCH!
ROUNDUP
HOLY HAYABUSA HUNTer! We thought the Speed Wars of the last century were over, but Kawasaki is back with a vengeance in the form of the Ninja ZX-14. That's right, 14, as in a 1352cc fuel-injected inline-Four.
First note the lack of “R” in the model designation. Second, that there is no green color available, just red, blue or black, a move that appears to be an attempt to distance the bike from the Kawasaki’s supersport line, just as Suzuki did with the Hayabusa in designating its big road burner the GSX1300R rather than GSX-R1300.
Also, Kawasaki’s press material interestingly made liberal use of the word “ultimate,” as in, “If ever a brand would be expected to rightfully incorporate the meaning of the word ‘ultimate’ into its newest flagship street carver, Kawasaki fits the bill.” Why do we care? Because at the Hayabusa’s launch in
1998, Suzuki proudly designated the bike “Ultimate Sport,” so Team Green’s use of this word hardly seems like a coincidence. More like a challenge, in fact.
Both the chassis and new monster motor are outgrowths of the discontinued ZX-12R. The ZX-14’s counterbalanced engine, however, is bored and stroked to 84 x 61mm, up 1.0 and 5.6mm respectively, and is said to maintain virtually the same engine width. The aluminum chassis continues the monocoque over-engine design introduced on the 12, Kawasaki citing narrowness as a key benefit. There are no fashion-conscious underseat exhausts, and the use of large twin silencers is a hint that engineers were simply focused on processing levels of exhaust gas, heat and noise that a high-horsepower flagship motorcycle should produce. How much? Kawasaki has so far made no claims, but 165170 rear-wheel hp seems likely given the current ZX12R’s 160-hp output.
The $11,499 ZX-14 promises to be one of the quickest production motorcycles ever made. Will it be the fastest? The short answer is no-Kawasaki says it will adhere to the gentleman’s agreement to limit top speed to 186 mph. We’re sure it will get there in a hurry! -Mark Hoyer
