http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/157/8505/Motorcycle-Article/2011-Kawasaki-Ninja-ZX-10R-First-Ride.aspx

Do they sound a bit underwhelmed to you guys or is it just me?

The stock bike was a disappointment from early reports. An unrestricted ZX-10 is about as good as an S1000. I think the BMW broke the ice and now similar performance is expected. Nobody is going to jump up and down if they ride a bike that feels about the same as the bimmer.

" Kawasaki did note that in stock form the U.S. spec ZX-10Rs are fairly restricted. To prove this they had a “Power Up” bike with a racing exhaust and different ECU and it did feel considerably faster and comparable to BMW’s S1000RR rocket ship."

Do they sound a bit underwhelmed to you guys or is it just me?

2nd. Must have been a hard story to wright.

It's not looking good for this bike right now. KHI's reputation is riding on this machine, I mean they even took an extra year to develop it further before releasing it for 2011. With a report like that, I'd be tempted to look for a left over Gen III rather than plopping down 14K. If the TC won't save you from a highside than what good is it? The test rider said it stepped out big time in a corner and only the timely intervention of lady luck prevented a crash.... or maybe it was the TC taking over and he just didn't realize it.

Anyway, I like the look of the new 10R, not at first but it's grown on me pretty quickly which is a good thing. Beemer Beater, Naaaa, I don't think so. I think a lot of guys that are plopping down big green on this one are going to be disappointed...really hope I'm wrong though. I could see maybe picking one of these up in green in 2012 as a leftover for about $9000 OTD.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 11/24/2010 @ 6:57 AM *