<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s commute was not on the 2016 Kawasaki ZX10R, but on the tried and trusted 2003 Kawasaki ZX9R.<\/p>\n
And oh the differences!<\/p>\n
Yes, it has been just one week since the ZX10R arrived (I’ve put 400 miles on the clock in that time), but how quickly I have adapted to riding the newer bike.<\/p>\n
The differences are so many, and so great, that I could take all day to list them.<\/p>\n
Instead, I’ll just concentrate on the riding basics.<\/p>\n
The ZX9R has a manual choke, and getting the lever in just the right position for the ambient temperature is a learning experience.<\/p>\n
The ZX10R has an automatic choke.<\/p>\n
The ZX9R operates at a higher engine temperature than the ZX10R (82c-84c vs 68c-72c in a normal range).<\/p>\n
Neither bike has a fuel gauge, though the ZX10R has a warning that comes on when there are around three litres of fuel remaining. You have to reset the trip mileage on the ZX9R after every tank-up.<\/p>\n
Pulling away from stationary, the ZX10R feels much more positive. This is probably down to the launch control (now that I’ve set it at a level I’m comfortable with).<\/p>\n
And it may also be coupled to the traction control (which is also set to a non-standard but comfort-inducing level).<\/p>\n
Both bikes have Road Pilot 4 tyres front and rear, so there shouldn’t be any difference in the way they feel on the road.<\/p>\n
Except there is a huge difference.<\/p>\n
The ZX10R feels as though it is part of the road; it has some kind of magnetic affinity, through the rubber, to the tarmac.<\/p>\n
Again, much of this feeling comes from the traction control, which does a marvellous job of keeping the rear wheel bonded to the road, no matter how much power the bike throws down on to the surface.<\/p>\n
Ergonomically the ZX9R and ZX10R are very different. The newer bike puts the rider in a lower, more assertive position, and the pilot’s footpegs are raised up and set slightly further back.<\/p>\n
Contradictingly, though, The ZX10R doesn’t give the same kind of positive connection with the clutch and brake levers that the ZX9R does, but I’ll probably change these for shorties in a month or two, and look to reposition them slightly.<\/p>\n
The mirrors on the ZX10R are, quite simply, the best I’ve ever used, whereas the ZX9Rs mirrors have always felt a little patchy with regard to total rearview coverage.<\/p>\n
Even though the pedigree of the ZX10R is the World Superbike Championship track, it is surprisingly comfortable to sit on.<\/p>\n
The ZX10R windscreen looks tiny, but offers a surprisingly large amount of wind shelter.<\/p>\n
OK, I haven\u2019t yet opened the loud switch on the ZX10R beyond 6,000rpm, but I’ve achieved fairly rapid acceleration to legal maximums, and still felt very comfortable behind the Perspex.<\/p>\n
The Quickshifter took a little getting used to. I’ve mostly played with it, but on Saturday I used it to accelerate away from a tool in his souped-up Citroen Saxo who was edging up my backside at some lights.<\/p>\n
The Quickshifter turns a fast bike in to a gear-changing demon, as the Saxo driver saw (as we disappeared towards his horizon).<\/p>\n
I still need to sort out the ZX10Rs engine braking setting, which is currently set so high it\u2019s like a third brake is being applied when you roll off the throttle.<\/p>\n
Road-version superbikes have come a long way in the 16 years that separate my ZX9R and the ZX10R.<\/p>\n
The ride, the comfort, and the handling have all improved so much, that the two bikes are very difficult to compare.<\/p>\n
The ZX10R is a 100mph-in-first-gear, 200bhp machine. Yes, it is a near-clone of the same 200mph WSB racer.<\/p>\n
But it is a stunning piece of engineering, and an absolute dream to ride.<\/p>\n