Kawasaki ZX-10R and 14R to hit Indian showrooms soon

All you superbike aficionados, it's time to rejoice as news has come in that Kawasaki may bring two of its mean machines to our shores. According to unconfirmed reports, Kawasaki may ride in with its ZX-10R and ZX-14R superbikes by as soon as next month. The Japanese motorcycle manufacturer currently sells the Ninja 300 and the 650R in our country through its tie-up with Bajaj Auto. But both the above mentioned bikes are CKD (completely knocked down units) whereas the ZX-10R and ZX-14R would follow the more feasible CBU (completely built unit) route as it doesn’t make much sense to set up CKD operations for these motorcycles given the low volume of sales they would generate.

Since these bikes would be CBU expect to shell a premium as the stiff duties would take a toll on the bikes' pricing. Surprisingly, Bajaj which is known to be a pioneer of sorts in the performance segment, had delayed its entry into the premium performance segment as Honda and Yamaha have already had entered this segment with their flagship machines a few years ago. But buoyed by the success received by Harley-Davidson and with Triumph also heading to our country soon, it seems Kawasaki and Bajaj both want a chunk of this segment. 

If Bajaj successfully brings in the premium Kawasaki machines through the CBU route, then it won’t be long before we see KTM’s top-of-the-line motorcycles like the Super Duke and RC8 in our market. Also working in favour of Kawasaki is Bajaj’s extensive network of ProBiking showrooms in our country (72 to be precise) which currently sells both the Kawasaki and KTM range of bikes together. All in all it’s a win-win situation for superbike enthusiasts with deep pockets as they would get an opportunity of choosing from some of the best motorcycles on sale globally without worrying about service and maintenance. 

Kawasaki ZX-10R

The Kawasaki ZX-10R is one of the most powerful litre-class motorcycles on sale globally. Powering the beast is a liquid-cooled, inline-four, 998cc heart pushing out more than 200PS of power. But producing power is one thing and to utilise it is an all together different ball game and for this reason the boffins at Kawasaki have loaded the bike with different aids. Starting off the proceedings is the Sport-Kawasaki Traction Control (S-KTRC) which continuously monitors wheel speed, throttle position, engine rpm and other criteria’s so that optimum amount of traction is available for the rider. The most interesting change on the 2013 model is the Öhlins-Kawasaki electronic steering damper which changes damping force depending on the acceleration and deceleration of the bike. All these factors and other technical aids coupled with a technically advanced chassis and suspension set-up make the ZX-10R a very potent track tool.

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Kawasaki ZX-14R

If the ZX-10R was like a fine scalpel then the ZX-14R is akin to a butcher’s knife. The bike was conceived with a sole intention of surpassing the Suzuki Hayabusa as the world’s fastest production motorcycle and it is! Powering this behemoth on two-wheels is a fire breathing 1441cc inline-four, liquid cooled, DOHC mill capable enough of generating more than 200PS of power enabling the ZX-14 with a top whack of in the range of 320km/h. To keep all this power in check, it has been equipped with KTRC traction-control system featuring three different modes for varying conditions also the updated model gets slipper clutch as standard and ABS as an option. To maintain stability at high speeds aluminum monocoque frame has been used along with aerodynamic bodywork.