Next year promises to see updates to virtually all the key superbikes on the market but Kawasaki is a step ahead of its rivals with the 2017 ZX-10R.
Having launched the all-new ZX-10R for 2016, it already has the Euro 4 emissions certification that its rivals will have to achieve by January 2017. And as such the firm hasn’t seen fit to make any updates for next year’s model.
How will you be able to spot the 2017 ZX-10R? Well in the UK at least it will come in just one colour in its base form, a new combination of white and silver. There will also be the KRT Edition, which is identical to last year’s offering and features the green and black WSB-replica graphics.
At the moment it looks like whichever version you opt for it’s going to be the reigning WSB champion in 2017, as the team’s two riders head the standings at the moment.
Although technically unaltered, the firm says that the bike still gets feedback from its WSB effort. Biel Roda, Marketing Manager of KRT said: “Each season there are organized tests after some of the SBK rounds as well as special stand-alone test sessions to understand new setting options and to experiment with new ideas that might shave a few thousandths of a second from a lap time… basically what might amount to the difference between first and second in a race. Working closely with Kawasaki Motors Europe we are always keen to secure some of the first models of Ninja ZX-10R each year to update and refresh our racing machines and ensure they reflect in many ways the type of machine in Kawasaki showrooms.
“As a shakedown for Lausitzring, Tom rode a standard spec ZX-10R at a public track day while Jonathan has actually brought along his own street bike which he now uses exclusively for track day training. They both want to see the colour and graphic treatments for the 2017 road bike and are full of praise for the performance and handling of the current machine in its standard specification.”
