It’s official: Kawasaki have revealed that the ZZ-R1400 will be the most powerful series production bike in the world. When released next month, it will come with a whopping 200PS on tap, made at 9500rpm with the aid of the ram air system. Interestingly, Kawasaki also suggests that without the benefit of the high-pressure air intake system the bike would yet make 190PS, making the bike a power benchmark any which way in the world.

It may have the power but the Kawasaki boffins also wanted to make it a bike with impressive usage qualities in the real world. The 1352cc four develops 154Nm of torque at a low 7500rpm using relatively small 43mm throttle bodies – these units being 3mm narrower than those on the ZX-12R. To go along with the gut-wrenching torque with massive loads of bottom-end thrust is a clever fuel injection system with a twin butterfly set-up in the throttles. One of the two butterflys is rider-controlled while the other is computer-controlled, a system conceived to smoothen the massive rush of horses the engine is capable of unleashing.

What makes the ZZ-R1400 even more impressive is that while it appears large and bulbous, it is amazingly light. Power and weight figures Kawasaki hadn’t revealed at the bike’s launch late last year but now it can be told that the ZZ-R1400 weighs in at 215kg dry – a whole 21 kilos less than the old ZZ-R1200. But even more astonishing is the fact that this stonker even weighs one kilo less than the ZX-12R!

Kawasaki had clearly sought to keep many vital stats behind the ZZ-R1400 close to its chest until it had readied the bike for launch and now the figures are tumbling out thick and fast. Despite its visual and obvious length, its 1460mm wheelbase is just 10mm longer than a ZX-12R. It may be termed a sports tourer but it surely has the emphasis on sport because its steering rake angle of 23 degrees is steeper than many superbikes, and a full two degrees less than the ZX-12R. No wonder that the radial brake callipers and those wavy disc rotors suddenly justify their existence.

Much of the business behind the ZZ-R1400 hinges around the innovative manner of the Kawasaki’s monocoque frame construction and the way the mechanicals have been packaged. The compact nature of the four-cylinder in-line engine is the key ingredient – no wider than the ZX-12R unit even though it is larger in capacity. Kawasaki have adopted the mass centralisation theme on the ZZ-R1400 and there is virtually no weight positioned outside the central section of the bike barring the sub frame to mount the seat and the tail piece bodywork.

The way the Kawasaki designers have been able to mount the battery and the airbox inside the hollow monocoque frame (which runs over the engine like a backbone spine) is sheer genius towards attaining the compact form. The fuel tank resides under the front of the seat, keeping the variable weight low and close to the bike’s C of G.
From the specs alone, Kawasaki’s ZZ-R1400 seems to be a stonker and looks set to etch a new standard in overall performance terms. The competition should have a hard time just trying to stay in its wake this year.

Fast facts
Cost: Rs 7,19,600
Power: 197.3bhp
Torque: 114ftlb
Weight: 215kg (dry)