Kawasaki ZZR 1400 2020 — Specifications

With the arrival of a supercharged H2 SX, the imposing ZZR cruiser might have feared for its place in Kawasaki’s lineup… But not at all. Proud and strong with its generous engine, impervious to the clashes of other categories and trends, the 1400 ZZR continues its journey at (very) high speed, contenting itself with a cosmetic refresh each year. Its latest evolution isn't so old. 2016 liberated and delivered it. Since then, it has finally been able to fully express itself. Last year, the manufacturer gave it subtle modifications for a spectacular result: freedom. To meet Euro4 emissions standards and secure homologation for full-power operation, new settings were implemented in the ECU and the exhaust system was revised. Its large engine doesn’t lose an ounce of power. Here is finally the possibility for this large motorcycle to deliver its 200 horsepower on the open road. In return, the 1141 cm3 loses a half-mkg of torque… There’s still more than 16 mkg for the rear tire to handle. The dashboard is slightly optimized, with a high-visibility screen. It also features a day/night mode change to adapt the display to the external brightness. A detail already present and practical, the functions of the LCD screen scroll via a handlebar-mounted control stalk.

Like today, the ZZR 1400 is part of a breed that has almost disappeared from the motorcycle world: ultra-powerful super-bombers. In fact, it’s the only one left, an iconic figure and the last vestige of a cult of power and excess. The Akashi firm could have simply left it in the catalog until a gentle extinction… But no. The ZZR is a monument at Kawa, and this version aims to be even more muscular, even more refined, even more exceptional.

Upon its release, its powerful silhouette and feverish gaze shook up a lot of people. For this phase 2, which continues here, Kawa tweaked all of that to give it more momentum, more dynamism, without really touching the general lines. Except for its front end, which becomes less intimidating while gaining aggressiveness. It threatened with the grace of a pilgrim shark pierced with tarantula eyes; it now threatens with the lordship of a great white shark (Carcharodon Carcharias). Less attention will be paid to the more prominent ventilation ducts, which nevertheless improve engine heat dissipation. As for the exhausts, it’s impossible to miss them, given how much their volume has increased. A stylistic evolution that is, in all, quite minor, while underneath, the 1400 ZZR has been extensively revised.

And what we look at closely on this type of machine is the engine. Already very powerful, the 4-cylinder gained 4 mm of stroke per cylinder (from 61 to 65 mm) to display an increase in displacement of 89 cm3. With a 1441 cm3 engine, it’s unnecessary to tell you about the monstrous torque that the gearbox will have to handle. Kawa has also grafted its recent technological innovations and adapted the mappings to boost everything. With this huge engine, this new iteration of the ZZR claims the colossal figure of 200 horsepower – and that even goes up to 210 with forced air intake. A frightening figure in the absolute, but which nevertheless leaves us somewhat hungry. But why on earth? It’s certainly a huge amount of power… Because with the extra cm3 and the technological progress, we hoped that the monster would gain even more, in order to indelibly carve out a supremacy in the numbers. Yet, it displays the same power as a ZX-10 R, despite cubing 30% less displacement. The ZZR will do far more damage to the rear tire with its colossal torque of 16.1 mkg. The latter has benefited from the increase in displacement. Beyond the numbers, the ZZR still manages to outpace the competition and thrill 400m DA fans: it goes below 10 seconds in this exercise and claims the world record for acceleration for a production motorcycle. More torque everywhere, more power at mid and high speeds, and to channel all of that, the selectable traction control (KTRC) on 3 modes and 2 injection mapping choices: full power or low power with 75% of the power – judicious in the rain but stupid in France, where you’ll look silly with 75 horsepower on such a machine...

The ZZR 1400 is one of the very few motorcycles to have benefited from a monocoque aluminum frame. To handle the additional watts of the large engine, it was revised, as was the swingarm. Suspension settings are designed to favor the sportiness of the machine without sacrificing stability at high speed.

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