The most significant change is to the engine. Smaller and more compact than the existing ZX-10 power plant, it also features a stacked gearbox – making the engine much shorter and changing how its weight is distributed in the chassis, giving engineers more options in trying to perfect the handling.
As for engine details we can only make educated guesses, but it's sure to retain the dual fuel-injector system found on the current machine. Whether or not this is coupled to a full ride-by-throttle is more difficult. The current dual throttle plate system Kawasaki use is perfectly capable of being integrated with the traction control the bike is almost certain to feature (much the same as the 14000GTR).
But after BMW raised the bar in terms of power output with the S1000RR, Kawasaki may opt for a true ride-by-wire system as it allows even more control and liberates power as there's less clutter in the throttle body. It's possible the engine will feature variable valve timing as Kawasaki already employ this technology on other models, but, as they clearly state, they've designed the bike to win on track, additional weight is going to be a consideration and so we doubt it'll feature
.
After many years of being the odd-one-out there's now a more conventional aluminium frame wrapping around the engine – rather than the monocoque design the bike has always featured. And attached to the rear of this appears to be a very long swingarm – which has benefits from a stability and handling point of view (especially on a lightweight and powerful bike). There aren't too many visible welds on the frame so it's possible a large section of it may be an open-back die-cast affair like the Z1000's – using the engine as a full stressed member.
The suspension in the images is clearly Showa's, so it's reasonable to assume the ZX-10R will get BPF (Big Piston Fork) forks like the ZX-6R (we heard rumours two-years ago that Kawasaki had ordered BPF forks for what would have been the 2010 model). At the rear we can't see any detail, other than the slanted orientation of the rear shock – suggesting it uses the same design as found on the new Z1000 (Horizontal Back-Link). As mass centralisation was clearly a priority to the ZX-10R designers it makes sense to use this design. It lifts the shock's weight slightly but also brings it closer to the centre. As with the Z1000 design, this also frees up additional space under the engine to pack the exhaust.
Interestingly there are two different brake calipers being tested. One has a single line feeding it and the other has two. It's clear the bike will be running some form of race-ABS, as phonic rings are visible on the front wheel and sprocket carrier – but the caliper suggests they may be linked too. It wouldn't be Kawasaki's first foray into ABS, but it would be the first time on a sports bike (bringing the ZX-10R into line with the Honda Fireblade and S1000RR).
It's impossible to guess about the electronics on the bike. The bike in these pictures is heavily data-logged and using a 2D dash (although it's highly unlikely to ship with this!). It would be odd not to fit traction control to the ZX-10R – bearing in mind they already fit it to the 1400GTR and the now class-leading S1000RR has it.
Looks wise the bike appears both very angular and very small. Which means a lot of the clutter than lives underneath a bike's panels has been repackaged or removed – again lending credence to the thought that it'll be light, and what mass there is will be compacted. Add that to what will surely be an S1000RR rivalling engine and suddenly BMW's dominance doesn't seem so certain in 2011.
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