Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127599
U BIKES Kawasaki'snewmodels NEW e By Chris Jonnum TP awasaki .7 .. d eal ers from all parts of A ,the country ga thered at the deluxe Loews Ana tole Hotel in Dallas, where th e manufactu rer showed off two allnew mod els that will complement their '94 line-up. The occasion was Kawa saki's 1994 d ealer show, which gave retailers a chan ce to check out the new bikes and to celebrate Kawasaki's 27th year of doing business in the U.S. "Passion, Power and Promise," was the theme of the event, which included an extravagant vi deo and ligh t sh ow, complete with dancing girls. Though all (Right) The allnew Ninja ZX-9R was the show stealer at Dallas. The machine is Kawasaki's answer to Honda's popular CBR900RR. (Left) The KLX250R off-road machine will make its first appearance in the United States in '94. Dual-sport enthusiasts will have to wait at least one more year for a streetlegal version. (Below) What do you get when you give last year's ,EXSOO bigger wheels, updated graphics and refined body work? The 1994 Ninja 500. 18 the hoopla wa s im pressive, of primary interest were the new bikes. Foremost in the min d of the the kneedragg ing set is t he N in ja ZX-9R . Kaw asa ki' s goal with this bik e was to "take all of the best features of the highpe rformance ZX-7R, and add extra rider wind protection, a more civilized riding po sition and some horsepower." Desp ite the similarity in names, the ZX-9R will be readily available to th e general public, unlike the race-ready, limited production, 749cc ZX-7R, on whi ch the new bike is based. While the ZX-9's liquid-cooled, DOHC, 16-val ve, 899cc engine is derived from the sporty ZX-7, it has new pistons, rings and con- ne ct ing rods . Also, the crankcase and crankshaft were s trengt he ned in o rde r to w it hsta nd the added horsepower, and rad iator capacity was increa sed. A two-piece exhaust replaces the onepiece unit of the ZX-7, and the friction material on the clutch plates is now paper-based instead of cork-based. The n ew Ninja fe a tu re s a tw in ram air induction system, with a larger air filter than that of th e ZX-9, and also includ es a resonance cha mber for lower in tak e noise levels. Other no ise-cu t ting measures include rocker arm sp rings that hold the rocker s down ag ainst th e ends of the va lve s tems, a silent cam ch ain and a rubber dam pe r fitted to the right end of the cylinder . Like the ZX750, the ZX900 sports an aluminum-perim eter fram e mad e from pressed, then weld ed aluminum sheet. Howev er , th e ZX-9R' s fr am e has two d owntubes, bo th of w hich unbol t for easy service. Th is allo ws the engine to be rubber-m ounted in fro nt. . The swi ng arm is made w ith a hollow-cast aluminum p iv ot-a rea p iece, a nd the chain adjusters are 15mm longer tha n on theZX-7. Han d ling the front suspension chores on the 900 is a 41mm inverted cartri dge fork w ith 12-way rebound and sevenway co mpression damp ing adjustmen t and threaded sp ring p reload ad justers. Out back is a 20-way com pression, fo ur-way rebou nd damping adjustable shock. The front brake utili zes two 5m m th ick, 320mm floating discs, which are grip ped by four-piston calipers. The rear binder has a 6mm th ick, 230mm d isc, with a singlepiston p in-slide calip er. ZR-rated low-profile radial tires - both 17-inchers - provide the contact patch, and