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1990 Kawasaki ZXR400R - 7-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article
Original, Vintage Magazine advertisement / article.Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm)Condition: invades theStates and finds plentyof competition inYamaha’s FZR400Those who don’t consider400cc sport bikes serious ma-chines need only throw a legover one of these two bikes, hold thethrottle open and start shifting gears.Thirteen seconds and a quarter-milelater, the speedometer needle flashespast 100 mph, and after one mile a ra-dar gun records a top speed near 130mph. That’s serious. Steer one of theseoff the straight and level and point it atthe curviest road you know to experi-ence a thrill unavailable in any other dis-placement class at any price: handlingnirvana. Yamaha’s FZR400 and Kawa-saki’s ZXR400R take to corners like Ma-donna to a microphone, offering lightweight, unhindered cornering clearance,blink-quick directional changes and sur-prising stability in a package cuteenough to hide in a Christmas stocking.The willy-nilly race to produce the best400cc sport bike in Japan has new mod-els popping up as frequently as everynine months, but the United States seeslittle of the technology that is currentlyroaming the streets of Tokyo. One of theall-time best-handling street machinesand a staff favorite is Yamaha’s FZR400,a bike imported since 1988 to a luke-warm public reception despite unani-mous racetrack approval. The all-alumi-num Deltabox frame has been updatedfor '90 with a slab-sided Deltabox swing-arm and new paint. We count ourselvesamong the fans of 400s and jumped atthe chance to compare what’s reputedlythe best 400 available in Japan, Kawa-Not many sport bikes offer ride-height ad-justment at the rear, but all race bikes do.The ZXR's racing intentions extend far be-yond the multiadjustable rear shock.saki’s ZXR400R Sports Production,against our U.S.-market FZR400.WAR OF THE WORLDSOur racing-green ZXR came to usthrough the good graces of GeorgeKanemori, a sport-bike enthusiast whopurchased it through Exotic MotorcycleImports (22130 S. Vermont, Suite E, Tor-rance, CA 90502; 213/320-9844). In thepast EMI has supplied us with such jew-els as the Pepsi-edition 250 Gamma Su-zuki and continues to tempt us with exot-ics from all over the world. Kanemori’slimited-edition ZXR Sports Production iscurrently the rage in Japan, offeringitems unavailable on the regular ZXR,such as a solo seat, remote-reservoir,multiadjustable rear shock, close-ratiotranny and Kawasaki’s traditional racingcolors. Officially called the ZXR400R,the Sports Production finally puts Kawa-saki in the lead in the competitive 400ccproduction-racing class, a class in whichTeam Green hasn’t been heard from un-til now. Kanemori’s bike makes theFZR400 look positively pedestrian; if theFZR400 is razor sharp, the ZXR400Rcuts like a laser.The Kawasaki’s parts list will impresscase-hardened motor-heads. Imagine adownsized ZX-7 that weighs 391 poundswet, rides on wide aluminum wheels, a3.5-by-17 front and 4.5-by-17 rear, andcontrols front-wheel movement with aninverted fork previously reserved for fac-tory racers or unobtainable exotics. TheKayaba inverted fork measures 41 mm atthe sliders and 50mm at the upper stan-...16935-AL-9009-02
