There is a certain amount of irony involved in Kawasaki unveiling its new ZZR1400. The original ZZR1100, which was launched way back in 1990, stole the headlines by being the fastest production bike in its day.
We are talking genuine 175mph speeds from a road bike. This then spurred Suzuki to create the Hayabusa in 1999, which showed over 200mph on its speedo and, on a good day, could top a genuine190mph. At this point governments started to take notice and decided that speed was a bad thing. The Japanese got scared, as they tend to, and introduced a 'gentleman's agreement' that limited all Japanese bikes to 186mph, or 300kph - something that is still implemented to this day. What difference does this make? Next to nothing, but it makes the Japanese feel good...
So what's new with the 2012 ZZR1400? The 1441cc water-cooled inline four engine gets an increase in capacity thanks to 4mm longer stroke (up to 65mm), boosting the midrange and along with a redesigned head the ZZR now boasts an estimated 200bhp (Kawasaki won't say exactly how much). To keep this in check the ZZR now comes with traction control, two power modes, a revised ECU for better fuel economy and a slipper clutch, which seems a little pointless on a bike that isn't really designed to go on track.
The ZZR is one of the few bikes to use a monocoque aluminium chassis (Ducati is believed to be using a similar design on its new Panigale) and for 2012 Kawasaki has altered the stiffness of the frame and updated the suspension to improve the ZZR's handling and increased the length of the swingarm for better stability. Useful at 186mph...
The crazy thing is, after all this talk of power and performance, Kawasaki has still limited the ZZR to 186mph. Not that this is much of a hassle, loads of companies will sell gizmos to de-restrict it, but you have to wonder why they still bother restricting the bike.
Interestingly, not all the European manufacturers bother restricting their bikes and MV Agusta actually boasts about their bikes being able to top 200mph! Kind of makes a mockery of the whole 'gentleman's agreement' really... Expect the 2012 ZZR to cost around £11,000.