Kawasaki ZZR 1400 Performance Sport 2017 — Specifications

The question is simple, but the answer is less so. What remains to be offered to a motorcycle that, from its birth, crushed the sporty GT segment under a reign of brute power and top speed? For Kawasaki, the answer was to refine the undeniable, to transform the sledgehammer into a precision instrument. The 2017 ZZR 1400 Performance Sport, and its variations until 2020, embodies this philosophy: taking an already immense base and grafting the pedigree of the race track onto it.

Imagine the challenge. A 1441 cm3 inline four-cylinder engine, delivering 202 horsepower at 10,000 rpm and an apocalyptic torque of 162.5 Nm. A wet weight of 268 kg. Figures that, on their own, outline the profile of a long-distance cruiser with a crazy throttle hand. The base was already there. Kawasaki therefore decided to focus on refinement and feel. The arrival of the Öhlins TTX39 rear shock absorber, adjustable on 22 clicks in compression and rebound, with its remote preload, radically changes the game. It’s no longer simply a suspension; it’s a tool for dialogue with the asphalt. Paired with the fully adjustable 43 mm inverted fork, it gives this behemoth an agility and comfort that have little to do with the first generations. Handling and riding pleasure are transformed.

Braking, sometimes criticized on earlier models given such mass, is signed by the Italian racing beast. Brembo M50 monobloc calipers with radial fixation and the associated master cylinder offer bite and progressiveness worthy of a hypersport. The machine is finally stopped with the authority its performance demands. The other sound and weight signature of this Performance Sport lies in its original equipment. The pair of Akrapovic titanium silencers lightens the whole and gives the four-cylinder a much rawer voice, while participating in Euro 4 homologation. Note that the seat height of the Kawasaki ZZR 1400 Performance Sport, maintained at 800 mm, remains accessible for a machine of this size, even if its wheelbase of 1480 mm recalls that you are not riding a 300.

Who is this beast adorned with jewels for? Certainly not a beginner, nor even an occasional motorcyclist. It is the ultimate weapon of the demanding touring rider who wants to devour hundreds of kilometers of highway in the blink of an eye, with the comfort and luggage of a GT, but who refuses to make the slightest concession once the winding tarmac begins. It is also the collector's toy who wants the most accomplished, the most "factory," version of Kawasaki's queen of sporty GTs. At nearly 20,000 euros, it positions itself in a niche above the standard ZZR 1400, but also faces competitors like the Suzuki Hayabusa or the BMW S 1000 XR, which offer other compromises. The Performance Sport puts everything on the prestige of the equipment supplier and pure, uncompromised pleasure. It is not reasonable, but it superbly assumes its excess. To find its factory-painted upper fairing, you must opt for this high-end finish, a detail that aptly summarizes the spirit of the whole: a motorcycle ready for the museum or for hell, depending on the mood of its rider.