Kawasaki Ninja ZX-7R

Kawasaki ZX-7RR

Kawasaki's ZX-7R, which replaced the more race-oriented ZXR-750, is the company's most recent 750cc class supersports bike. The ZX-7R was first made available to the public in 1995, and remained largely unchanged through its production, which ended in 2003.

Overview

Actually first made available in 1989 The ZX-7R was very successful in motorcycle racing, with a total of 9 AMA superbike championship victories, and an impressive record in Kawasaki's Road Racing team with Eric Bostrom, Doug Chandler and Scott Russell riding .

The ZX-7R is a 749 cc in-line 4-cylinder four-stroke, which in standard guise provided impressive power figures, enough to enable a top speed of 168 mph.

The frame used on the ZX-7R is a lightweight aluminum twin-spar item, designed using computer-aided design to optimize strength. The rear subframe was also constructed using aluminum in much the same manner, providing enough strength for a pillion passenger whilst keeping weight to a minimum.

The swingarm used largely the same fabrication techniques to produce a hollow cast and pressed aluminum alloy hybrid swingarm, and the Uni-Trak rear suspension system features a predominantly lightweight alloy and aluminum construction. The Uni-Trak system was designed to provide a progressively stiffer damping and spring rate under compression. The rear suspension unit is fully adjustable in terms of damping, preload and compression.

The front suspension found on the ZX-7R comprises a fully adjustable 43 mm inverted cartridge fork.

The Kawasaki ZX-7R is renowned by owners and enthusiasts for its rock stable front end and excellent braking which is delivered by use of 320 mm semi-floating front discs and Tokico 6 piston calipers. Rear brakes feature a 230 mm disc with a twin piston opposed caliper.

The motorcycle is largely influenced by technology which Kawasaki developed in its road and circuit racing, which helped them produce a bike that was received with largely positive reviews by the motorcycling press. It is perhaps for this reason that the bike remained largely unchanged mechanically throughout its production, an attribute which is rare in modern motorcycles where development and new production techniques sees new models released regularly.

The ZX-7RR differs from the road model with an adjustable head-stock angle, swing arm pivot, additional increased adjustability to the front and rear suspension, a solo cowl with a slightly different subframe, and 41mm flat-slide carburetors. It also has a close ratio gear-box fitted as standard and Nissin front calipers.

Racing History

"It seems a little hard to believe in this modern age of super-light, ultra-powerful motorcycles, but the comparatively heavier and somewhat tankish 7RR was the unquestioned king of the AMA for the better part of the '90s. The bike brought Kawasaki into an era of awe-inspiring dominance at the hands of riders such as Scott Russell and Doug Chandler, whose combined efforts resulted in an amazing four AMA championships over a period of seven years. Russell also took the Kawasaki 750 to the World Superbike Series, where he silenced all the critics with his historic 1993 WSB championship. The ZXR750/ZX7RR, for the greater part of the decade, was the quintessential high-performance motorcycle. Its impact on racing and even modern culture was so great that, even to this day, most sportbikes -- Kawasaki or not -- are referred to as 'Ninjas' by the general public." - Excerpt from the Article 'Appreciating Older Sportbikes' by Tim Kreitz