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/128145
2002 Kawasaki ZX-12R I course, all of this was just a low rum- I bling of hearsay, but the consumers and press were all over it. At this point. the Holy Grail was a stock production street bike hitting the magicat! 200-mph barrier, and because the Suzuki was closer to this number than the Kawasaki, the ZX-12R wasl labeled a failure by some in the press. For one reason or another, I never had the chance to ride the first-generation ZX-12R. and my enthusiasm may have been thwarted by other journalists' disappointment with its performance. When Kawasaki invited, us to ride the new 2002 ZX-12R in Carmel, California, I jumped at the' chance to satisfy my 10ng-built-uPI curiosity. The introduction was supposed to consist of a long loop ride from Carmel south on Pacific Coast Highway and then back. We had, however, made special arrangements with a small group of fellow journalists to ride the bike south along PCH with photographer Kinney Jones, and, then proceed south to Los Angeles with our test units - a solid SOO-mile day or thereabouts. I By BLAKE CONNER PHOTOS By KINNEY JONES L et's be honest for a minute. When .' Kawasaki introduced the ZX-12R in 2000, the Suzuki Hayabusa had already taken the world by storm the previous year, single-handedly creating the ultrasport category. By the time Kawasaki arrived on the scene, expectations were so high that the only thing that was going to impress the motorcycling press and public was a bike capable of dethroning the Hayabusa with a higher top speed. When the ZX-12R was put to the test, it failed to create the types of numbers of which the Suzuki was capable, and subsequently. the bike was written off as an also-ran. To say that the press came down hard on the Kawasaki ZX-12R would be an understatement. Rumors of Kawasaki restricting the bike's power output were rampant; these rumors started due to political pressure in Europe to limit the ever-growing top speeds of sportbikes, and the nonmotorcycle press' shock over discovering that the Hayabusa was reaching speeds of almost 190 miles per hour. Of The ZX-12R, sitting on the side of the Pacific Coast Highway with the Bixby Bridge In the background. 20 MARCH 13. 2002· cue I • n • "" s RIDING IMPRESSION I The morning was about as nice as, could be expected for Northern Cali-, fornia on a mid-February day, with, chilly temperatures and overcast, skies but no rain. We proceeded , south down PCH and immediately pulled off to the side of the road to snap some photos. I had only been, on the bike for about 20 minutes when Kinney requested that I do' some wheelies for the camera. I'm no Gary Rothwell, so it takes me a while to get used to a new bike before I start yanking up wheelies for the camera. But work is work, and I proceeded to do as requested with the unfamiliar bike. The first thing I noticed is that the cable-operated clutch is much nicer than the extremely finicky hydraulic unit on' the Hayabusa, and the early-morning wheelies were, well, a snap. In addition, I thought that the six-speed transmission shifted nicely; it was smooth, with barely a hint of notchiness, and the ratios are well-placed.