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2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR

  • Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK launched their 2019 line-up for the World Superbike Championship.

  • Riders are four-time champion Jonathan Rea and new signing Leon Haslam.

  • The season kicks off next weekend at Phillip Island, Australia.

The Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK launched their line-up and bikes to continue their dominance in the 2019 World Superbike Championship.

Four-time and defending WorldSBK Champion Jonathan Rea and new signing Leon Haslam revealed the 2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR at a resort not far from the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Australia.

The circuit plays host to the final round of pre-season testing and the first round of the 2019 championship. The tests will take place next Monday and Tuesday, while the season opener begins later that weekend.

It goes without reminding that Rea absolutely destroyed the WorldSBK field last year with the Kawasaki. Out of 25 races, he won 17, placed second four times, once third and once fifth. He suffered only 1 retirement throughout the year, while the final Race 2 in Qatar was cancelled.

Jonathan Rea on the 2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR

Despite the strong challenges mounted by his rivals Chaz Davies of Ducati and Michael van der Mark of Yamaha, Rea prevailed.

So, what made him such a powerful force?

“What I’ve learned with my experience over the year is to stay calm and focused with my team. We have the best crew in the business, the best motorcycle underneath me. I feel like the pressure is always on me, I need to find my way with the bike. Once we did that last year, we were absolutely unbeatable,” explained Rea.

Leon Haslam is back to racing full time in WorldSBK since 2015. Son of the great Ron Haslam, he shows that speed is in his family’s genes.

Leon Haslam on the 2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR

“I’m just waiting to wake up, it’s like a dream. I had 9 good years in WorldSBK but I’ve never had an opportunity like this. To be involved with KRT, Kawasaki, joining the team that has dominated the last four years… I just can’t wait, I want to start racing now,” he said.

Tune in next week and beyond as we bring you news from the world’s premier production racing series.

  • Kawasaki Motors Malaysia Sdn Bhd (KMSB) has officially launched the 2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR and the Ninja ZX-6R.

  • The launch was held at KLIMS 2018 together with the introduction of the Kawasaki Genuine Oil.

  • Both the new ZX-10RR and ZX-6R are priced at RM159,900 and RM79,900 respectively.

The good folks from Kawasaki Motors (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (KMSB) have successfully conducted one hell of a show-stopper earlier today with the launch of the all-new 2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR and Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R in conjunction with the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show 2018 (KLIMS). (more…)

  • Kawasaki has updated the 2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R to produce more horsepower.

  • Updates are centred on the valvetrain and reducing moving mass.

  • The updates show that Kawasaki intends to retain the World Superbike crown.

Horsepower. You can never have enough. Kawasaki has announced that the 2019 Ninja ZX-10R will receive a list of changes that will take its power output even higher.

Kawasaki may have won four World Superbike championships in 2013 with Tom Sykes, and 2015, 2016, 2017 with Jonathan Rea, while currently leading the series with the latter rider, they know that they will be under stiff competition from Ducati with the new Panigale V4 and possibly a new Honda CBR1000RR next year.

The new Ninja ZX-10R’s cylinder head has been redesigned to be more compact to aid quicker combustion. The valvetrain will now have the cams acting directly on finger followers, rather than on tappets, resulting in a 20 percent reduction in mass. It also makes it easier to install more aggressive cam profiles. Consequently, the engine can sustain high RPMs more reliably.

Finally, to mark the updated engine, the cylinder head cover will be painted in red.

There are three variants of the 2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R: Base, SE and RR.

Ninja ZX-10R

The base 2019 Ninja ZX-10R will have its power increased to 203 PS (200 bhp), without ram air. Expect to see around 210 bhp with ram air. It will receive the updated valvetrain and cylinder head cover. It will also feature the bi-directional Kawasaki Quick Shifter (KQS) that was previously available on the SE and RR only.

 Ninja ZX-10R SE

The 2019 Ninja ZX-10R SE is considered the flagship model as the RR is a race homologation model. Apart from the valvetrain updates, it will feature Kawasaki’s advanced electronic suspension (KECS) and forged Marchesini rims. Areas prone to scratches are covered with Kawasaki’s proprietary “self-healing” paint, as with the 2019 Ninja H2. Power is the same as the based Ninja ZX-10R.

Ninja ZX-10RR

The 2019 Ninja ZX-10RR will receive Pankl titanium connecting rods that save 400g over the standard bike’s, reducing the crankshaft’s inertia by 5% and yield a 600 RPM increase. Kawasaki quoted 201 bhp peak power without ram air. It will be available only in Lime Green and production is limited to 500 units.

A “Performance” variant for all three types are also available.

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