Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

·NEW BIKES 1996 Kawasaki Street Bikes Framing the pretty powerplant picture is, you guessed it, a new perimeter frame. This component, shared by the ZX pair, is manufactured from pressed aluminum pieces which are then welded together. Optimized for minimum weight while still providing an increase of 30 percent with regard to torsional rigidity, Kawasaki says it is the strongest frame they have ever produced for a 750cc superb ike. There is a difference, however, between the two models that sets the RR apart: an adjustable steering head for easy alteration of rake and trail. The forks on the two bikes are the same externally, and larger than last year at43mm in diameter. Though the tubes are larger they have been crafted with a thinner wall to maintain the same weight while increasing the overall rigidity. The inverted cartridge-type unit is substantially more adjustable on the RR model with a wider range of both compression- and rebound-damping adjustments as well as threaded adjusters for spring preload that are not available on the ZX7R. Add a rear suspension featuring a nitrogen-charged, piggyback-reservoir shock working in Kawasaki's BottomLink Uni-Trak linkage system and you have a platform that is about as By Mark Hoyer t's that new-model time of the year and Kawasaki has released photographs and information regarding several of their new bikes for 1996. And, on paper at least, things look good. Perhaps the biggest news in the Kawasaki lineup are the new Ninja ZX7 models, the ZX7R and its near-race brethren, the ZX7RR - both of which have been changed considerably. But cruiser fans need not despair as the 1996 Vulcan models come back with their own kind of "updates," if you can call them that, since Kawasaki too has joined the retro-styling trend sweeping the lucrative cruiser market. Kawasaki has had better seasons in superbike racing than the one just past, and they seem to have upped the ante considerably with a host of changes to their top-line racer-replica models. Foremost, certainly, is the new powerplant that both the R and the RR share. Kawasaki wasn't talking, but judging from the pec sheets it seems safe to say that both peak rpm and peak horsepower will be increased over last year's Ninja. The compact in-line four has a displacement of 748cc and is highlighted by a new, wider bore of 73mm and very short stroke of 44.7mm (down 2.6mm from last year). As a resu It of the shorter stroke, the new crank·shaft is mOre rigid than last year's, and the stiffer piece is 'complemented by a suitably strengthened crankcase. The 16-valve cylinder head features direct-valve actuation on bucket tappets and straighter intake ports that have been reduced in diameter by 4mm to increase the velocity of the incoming charge. The cylinder-head changes have allowed a steeper downdraft angle for the carburetors and hence a straighter path to the combus- I VuI(lln tion chamber. Compression ratio is 11.5:1. Special attention was given the ZX7RR when it came to carburetion. Unlike the ZX7R, which features four 38mm CVKD units, the RR breathes deeply through a quartet of huge, smooth-bore 41mm Keihin flat-sliders with accelerator pumps. Both models now have Twin Ram Air Induction and a two-piece, rubber-mounted four-intotwo-into-one exhaust system with a special baffle and connector tubes to help augment low- and midrange torque. Shifting on the '95 ZX7 wasn't exaCtly what we would call a problem area, but Kawasaki has changed a few things nonetheless. For better feel and less backlash the input and output shafts now have involute (curved) splines rather than straight splines to reduce slide resistanee. Further, the gearbox also has stronger gears with five undercut engagement dogs rather than the six used on the previous model. Because of the race track intentions of the RR, it will feature a close-ratio gearbox with paper-based clutch material that deforms less that the comparable cork-based one used in the R model. 1500 C1llssi( adjustable as they come: at the rear, compression (20-way adjustable), rebound (4-way), spring preload and ride height can all be altered to suit the needs of track or rider. And to cope with the increase of frame strength, the cross pip~ on the redesigned swingarm has been reinforced. While both machines have six-piston brake calipers at the front, the ZX7R's are manufactured by Tokico, the RR's made by Nissin. In both cases the semi-floating, radially drilled front discs are 320mm in diameter, while the rear disc is 230mm and squeezed by a two-piston caliper.

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