World Superbike racebikes will be required to have fake headlight stickers on their race fairings to more closely resemble their production series counterparts.

The new regulation, set to kick in for the 2013 WSBK season, was designed to establish a closer link between the production model and the race-trim superbike. The new rules will also mandate 17-inch aluminum wheels.

The Kawasaki Race Team got a head start on the new regulation, debuting fake headlight stickers on its Ninja ZX-10R superbikes for riders Tom Sykes and Loris Baz at this weekend’s races at Spain’s Aragon circuit. The team will use the stickers for the rest of the 2012 season. Continue Reading »

British Superbike race team Bournemouth Kawasaki and electric powertrain maker Zytek Automotive will compete in the 2012 TT Zero on the Isle of Man with an electric ZX-10R with support from Kawasaki UK.

The Zytek-Kawasaki ZX10ev uses the chassis of a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R and an oil-cooled Zytek permanent magnet electric motor. Zytek is a race-proven electric powertrain supplier, though its expertise is primarily with cars.

The Zytek-designed motor claiming 134 hp is based on a Zytek design used in hybrid race car in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The motor is also equipped with Zytek’s Kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) which recovers  energy from braking. Unlike some other forms of regenerative braking, the energy recovered by KERS isn’t used to charge the main battery but to provide a burst for acceleration. In 2009, Zytek supplied its KERS technology for the Mercedes-McLaren F1 team. Continue Reading »

UPDATE:  Check out the preview article on Motorcycle.com

Very little in the way of detail has been announced, but Kawasaki says the literbike will have a new engine, frame and suspension.

Kawasaki has created a new site for the new Ninja at http://www.kawasaki-challenge.com/ with a brief teaser video. Kawasaki has also set up a Twitter feed to reveal more hints about the new ZX-10R.

The ZX-10R received some updates for 2010 most notably in its ZX-6R style bodywork, but it looks like the 2011 model will see more substantial changes.

Continue Reading »