The 2016 Kawasaki Z1000SX has been revealed, and it gets a few subtle, yet important updates.
According to the company, the updates include the addition of a slipper clutch and ABS as standard, with no increase in price.
Besides the new technical additions, the sports tourer also comes in new colour options such as the Candy Plasma Blue, and a more aggressive green, similar to the Versys 1000.
The 2016 Kawasaki Z1000SX’s new assist and slipper clutch makes the lever 30 per cent lighter to pull, and reduces the tendency of the rear wheel to lock under engine braking following aggressive down-changes.
The Versys 1000 on the other hand, will come in new metallic grey and ‘metallic raw titanium’ options as well as the existing green scheme for 2016.
Ever wondered which vehicle holds the world record for having an engine with the most amount of cylinders?
If your guess is that it is something huge, like a plane, a ship, or a tank, you’re up for a great surprise as the correct answer is – a two-stroke motorcycle. Yes, you read that right.
Meet the Whitelock Tinker Toy; a 48-cylinder motorcycle which was created by Hertfordshire Superbike Centre in the UK. Based on the 2 stroke Kawasaki triples, the Tinker Toy has 48 cylinders and a capacity of a massive 4200cc. It consists of 16 Kawasaki KH250 3-cylinder engines arranged in six banks of eight and is completely road-legal.
Believe it or not, the engine is so large it has a complete single-cylinder 2-stroke engine to serve as a starter motor.
According to the builder and owner of Hertfordshire Superbikes, Simon Whitelock, the insane motorcycle actually has 49 cylinders.
“The 48 cylinder lump is slightly harder to start than your conventional motorcycle engine, so instead of an electronic starter motor, we decided to use what we call a “donkey engine”- a little sub-50cc engine, which is started, and in turn that starts the 48 cylinder engine,” said Simon.
That said, we know that you would love to see the engine work and hear how it sounds, so here it is…
Rumour has it that Suzuki and Kawasaki are developing parallel twin 250cc tourers to provide new entry-level additions to their dual-sport ranges.
According to sources in Japan and India, Suzuki is developing the G-Strom 250 (basically a mini V-Strom 650), meanwhile Kawasaki is working on a Versys 250.
The G-Strom 250, which is expected to be based on the Suzuki Inazuma 250, will apparently be providing an adventure-styled bike, with power coming from a 250cc parallel twin engine.
The Kawasaki Versys 250 on the other hand, is expected to share the frame and the engine of the Ninja 250 and the Z250 sold here.
Although there has not been any official announcement or any solid evidence regarding these two bikes, the idea of smaller-engined, cheaper bikes with the stance and look of ‘big’ adventure-style machines does sound possible as the 250cc bike market has seen rapid growth lately.
With models like the KTM Duke 390, RC 390, Kawasaki Ninja 250, and Z250 selling like hot cakes here, there is no reason for manufacturers to not take full advantage of the high demands of the sub RM35,000 segment.
While the Versys 250 and the G-Strom 250 remain as rumours, let us stay tuned for further updates from the manufacturers.
Kawasaki has revealed new colour options for the ER-6f, the ER-6n, the Versys 650, as well as the Vulcan S.
While the Versys 650 and the Vulcan S are new models, the ER-6f and ER-6n were expected to go through an extensive update by mid 2016, but looking at Kawasaki’s decision to introduce new paint options, we feel that it is safe to say that the refreshed ER-6f and ER-6n will take longer than we expected to make their debut.
Coming back to the new paint options, the ER-6fgets three options for the 2016 season. The iconic green Candy Lime Green version now features fairing sides in Metallic Spark Black fading to a lighter colour fairing lower. In a similar style, the Candy Persimmon Red model also has Metallic Spark Black fairing sides while the Metallic Carbon Gray option sticks to an all over single colour approach.
Like its ER-6n partner, each new for 2016 ER-6f comes with a coloured rear shock absorber spring and pin-striped wheels as standard. All the new colour options are available on ABS and non-ABS models.
The Vulcan S on the other hand, is now available in white. The beige Urban City White option is joined by Metallic Matt Carbon Gray, creating an impactful and purposeful look. All the new colour options are available on ABS and non-ABS models.
And then we have the Versys 650, which is currently available in Metallic Matte Carbon Gray and Metallic Spark Black machine. New for next year are the striking Candy Matte Orange and Pearl Stardust White combined with Metallic Spark Black option.
On another note, Kawasaki mentioned in the press release that it has many announcements due in the near future. So, we can expect 2016 to be a pretty busy and interesting year for the brand.
English riders Jonathan Rea and Chaz Davies reigned supreme during race 1 and 2 respectively at the Pirelli Malaysian Round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship in Sepang last weekend.
Race 1
In the beginning stages of race 1, it looked like Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Time) was on his way to the chequered flag as he was ahead of Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) by approximately 3 seconds, Sykes’ tyres gave way with 4 laps remaining, allowing Davies and Rea to overtake him.
The battle between them lasted all the way until the last corner, where Davies managed to overtake Rea, only to get overtaken again right before the finishing line. In fact, the pair swapped places three times on the final lap before the last corner. The victory at Race 1’s marked Rea’s 10th win this year.
The winners aside, the closest on track fight was between the Aprilia pairing of Leon Haslam and Max Biaggi who were dicing for 5th and 6th.
Wildcard entry Max Biaggi, who represented the Aprilia Racing Team on the other hand finished third, claiming a historic 71st podium finish, extending his own record of being the oldest rider to ever stand on a WorldSBK podium.
Sylvain Guintoli also claimed a season best 4th after his Pata Honda appeared to be kinder to its tyres while Poleman Sykes dropped to 5thafter setting a blistering pace that saw him shatter the lap record in the early stages.
Alex Lowes was 6th aboard the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki ahead of Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team), Althea Racing pairing Matteo Baiocco and Niccolo Canepa, and Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team) who dropped from what looked like a safe 4th to 10th in the final few laps.
David Salom (Team Pedercini), Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven) and Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing) completed the point scorers.
Race 2
In Race 2, it was drama at the first corner itself as Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) crashed out of contention. The next drama occurred when former champion Tom Sykes crashed at Turn 9 with ten laps to go. This was a big blow to Sykes as it ended his championship ambitions for 2015.
Up front, the battle this time was once again between Chaz Davies and Jonathan Rea. Thanks to his consistent pace until the end, Davies was able to secure his 3rdvictory in four races, moving into 2nd overall in the championship standings. Jordi Torres of the Aprilia Racing Team finished third, claiming his second podium finish of the season.
Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda) scored another 4th position, his best weekend of the season ahead of team mate Michael van der Mark who made up for his race one retirement with a fine 5th.
Leon Haslam was 6th on his Aprilia Racing – Red Devils machine, finishing a tenth behind the Dutchman.
David Salom (Team Pedercini), Alex Lowes, Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing) and Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven) were 7th to 10threspectively with Niccolo Canepa (Althea Racing), Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Tom Sykes and Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing) completing the points finishers.
After the action in Sepang, the race for overall title has gone all wrong for Tom Sykes, who was almost 90 points ahead of the closest competitor last week. Well, looks like he has nobody else to blame except himself, or maybe his tyres.
The overall leader now is Jonathan Rea of Kawasaki Racing Team with 452 points, followed by Chaz Davies of Aruba IT Ducati team with 308 points. And then we have Tom Sykes with 295 points.
The next round will be taking place at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain, on September 20th.
Prince Lubricants Racing Team marks a bittersweet outing in Round 2 of the Malaysia Superbike Championship 2015 (MSC 2015) held during WSBK Malaysia 2015.
Mohd Farid Badrul Hisham and Hazlanshah Mohd Noor is set to make their debut in the Suzuka 8-Hour Endurance Road Race as part of Team Nozuka & Bike ART at the Suzuka Circuit this July, 23 to 26. (more…)
Being made exclusively for the track, the Ninja H2R and it’s 320hp madness is after all the most outrageously powerful motorcycle ever produced. This has forced me to think really hard how not to overstate all the marvels and the resulting supercharged hybrid of the Kawasaki Ninja H2R. (more…)
