Kawasaki WSB team to fold at end of 2024

[hiccy18]

Neal H said:

Isn’t this just a rebrand, similar to the Renault/Alpine rebrand in F1? Kawasaki own Bimota.

Kawasaki drop the ZX10 from the range and Bimota will be their ‘superbike’ brand.

I think that's a large part of it, and I think that as ICE road vehicles are replaced by EV it's the niche markets that will hang on to ICE the longest. High volume manufacturers will move to wherever technology and regulation take them. Rebranding forms part of that as, with rising unit costs from limited sales, few will pay £30/40k for a Kawasaki but, for a Bimota, they could stick another 20k on top and still sell out.

[Far Cough]

I wonder if Jonny Rae was tipped the wink which is why he moved to Yamaha ?

[Factualist]

I follow WSBK , lightly, I'm not really a motorcycle race fan, but after the first few races surely the fact that racing in front of empty seats means its not really worth it.

[rodericb]

600,000 people attended 12 rounds of SBK in 2023 versus ~3,000,000 for MotoGP over 20 rounds.

My experience (at Phillip Island) is that MotoGP attracts four times the crowd of WSBK and it has been like that for the past thirty years. I'd imagine that the costs for each series for the teams and promotors would follow the same factor.

The thing with the bikes and whatever in SBK is there's a larger cost versus benefit for manufacturers and this'll tend to dictate how much they'll pump into world SBK. The benefits to the manufacturers themselves will be different between WSBK and MotoGP. Personally I don't think sales of manufacturers superbikes are impacted much at all by success in WSBK or MotoGP.

I reckon the pace of development of superbikes and thus the bikes entered into World SBK is slower than it was in the 1990's. There's the obvious adjustments to the package but the rules are tight and the variations between tracks and riders and the bikes themselves gives plenty of opportunity for finding (or not...) the perfect setup, fortnight after fortnight.

I wouldn't see this Bimota thing as being the end of the ZX10R. Maybe Kawasaki are doing this pretty much to boost the image of Bimota, who they have owned for a little while now?

[2ndclasscitizen]

I think it'll be a ZX10RR powered expensive homologation special so Kawasaki can build exactly what they need and price accordingly. The Bimota brand is more likely to shift a EUR40k machine than Kawasaki. Doesn't sound like the team is folding either, they'll just take down the KRT signs and replace with Bimota ones. It's not a Kawasaki operation any way, it's Provec.

[srob]

Neal H said:

Isn’t this just a rebrand, similar to the Renault/Alpine rebrand in F1? Kawasaki own Bimota.

Kawasaki drop the ZX10 from the range and Bimota will be their ‘superbike’ brand.

I haven't had a chance to read much about it, are you saying Bimota won't be producing a new bike so it's just a re-brand of a ZX-10?

If Bimota are building a chassis/bike around the Kawasaki engine it's just Bimota doing what Bimota do, albeit funded by Kawasaki!

[rodericb]

Yeah if i had to guess I'd say that's exactly what Bimota would be doing - taking an existing engine and doing the rest themselves but I'm wondering how far down that track they go. They don't have an Anthony Gobert-type character to perform magic on the track and re-inventing the wheel by ditching everything of the ZX10R except the engine would be a huge undertaking. Maybe they'll do a KTM and just stick Bimota stickers on a ZX10R...?

[slopes]

And Bonovo Action BMW have announced they are pulling out at the end of the year, so that is Gerloff and Redding both out of a job then

[Chipchap]

Did anyone hear that dim bint who does pitlane at WSBK call it a Bitoma when she was speaking to Shakey about the new team ?

FFS employ people who actually understand bikes.

[gareth_r]

Rob 131 Sport said:

This is surely a decision based on declining sports bike sales.
I remember as a 17 year old (in 1990) going to the WSBK at Donington Park and the car parks being full of sports bikes. Now they are a rare sight.

A lack of variety in factory teams in WSBK has to be a concern.

In view of the preponderance of naked bikes over sports bikes in the manufacturers' offerings, I think they should just switch to a WNBK championship.

With a minimum handlebar grip height.

Let's go back to superbike racing's origins.

[slopes]

gareth_r said:

In view of the preponderance of naked bikes over sports bikes in the manufacturers' offerings, I think they should just switch to a WNBK championship.

With a minimum handlebar grip height.

Let's go back to superbike racing's origins.

Complete with chocolate frames and way too much horsepower, then see who can really ride a bike. I wouldn't mind betting that Toprak would still be at the front, his bikes are always out of shape. If we did that, i reckon Bautista would get launched into orbit trying to keep up.

[gareth_r]

slopes said:

Complete with chocolate frames and way too much horsepower, then see who can really ride a bike. I wouldn't mind betting that Toprak would still be at the front, his bikes are always out of shape. If we did that, i reckon Bautista would get launched into orbit trying to keep up.

Entertaining though that would be, I'd let them use the current running gear.

[Chipchap]

Most manufacturers have a 200 bhp naked nowadays. So it would be fun.

Aprilia Tuono 1100 Factory
Ducati Streetfighter V4S
Triumph Street Tripke R
Yamaha MT10 SP
Suzuki nowt
Honda nowt
Kawasaki H2
BMW M1000R


Then have a support class of Adventure Bikes and another for Baggers

Tremendous entertainment for all.

[Tango13]

Chipchap said:

Most manufacturers have a 200 bhp naked nowadays. So it would be fun.

Aprilia Tuono 1100 Factory
Ducati Streetfighter V4S
Triumph Street Tripke R
Yamaha MT10 SP
Suzuki nowt
Honda nowt
Kawasaki H2
BMW M1000R


Then have a support class of Adventure Bikes and another for Baggers

Tremendous entertainment for all.

Run all three classes over the same weekend and if a rider gets a win in all three classes they get double points

[slopes]

I believe Baggers are coming to Europe via MSV

[gareth_r]

And there will be an ADV bike flat track series in the US.

https://www.americanflattrack.com/news/view/ama-pr...

AFT AdventureTrackers is a professional racing class for large displacement adventure bikes with engines over 1000cc. The list includes an impressive collection of peer motorcycles that boast similar power-to-weight ratios in what’s become one of the fastest growing and fiercely competitive segments of the global motorcycle market:
BMW R 1250 GS
BMW R 1300 GS
Ducati Multistrada V4 Rally 1158
Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250
Honda Africa Twin 1100
Kawasaki Versys 1000
KTM 1290 Super Adventure
KTM 1390 Super Adventure
Suzuki V-STROM 1050
Triumph Tiger 1200
Yamaha Super Ténéré 1200

[FourWheelDrift]

Well both Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani have now both re-signed for Kawasaki for the 2025 season. Branded as Bimotas (as stated earlier) still ZX10s.

https://www.visordown.com/news/racing/worldsbk/axe...

[wc98]

gareth_r said:

In view of the preponderance of naked bikes over sports bikes in the manufacturers' offerings, I think they should just switch to a WNBK championship.

With a minimum handlebar grip height.

Let's go back to superbike racing's origins.

I've thought this for years since the younger generation deserted sports bikes in their droves. All the manufacturers have something they could compete with and it would be a proper spectacle. We could have a veterans class with turbos on them with bonus points awarded for how little rubber left on the rear tyre at the end of the race. Could have kept Rossi, Lorenzo, Stoner et al going a few more years.

[slopes]

wc98 said:

gareth_r said:

In view of the preponderance of naked bikes over sports bikes in the manufacturers' offerings, I think they should just switch to a WNBK championship.

With a minimum handlebar grip height.

Let's go back to superbike racing's origins.

I've thought this for years since the younger generation deserted sports bikes in their droves. All the manufacturers have something they could compete with and it would be a proper spectacle. We could have a veterans class with turbos on them with bonus points awarded for how little rubber left on the rear tyre at the end of the race. Could have kept Rossi, Lorenzo, Stoner et al going a few more years.

I remember going to the Transatlantic Match Races at Donington one year - anyone remember those? - and everyone was on a 500...except Croz who was on the XR69 Suzuki and it was tying itself in knots trying to keep up with the 500's.
The 500's would come out of Redgate and almost all of them wheelied as they headed towards Hollywood, the XR69 was still shaking itself as he was at the same point.
Those were the days