Euro market to get upscale Kawasaki Z1000 R

Kawasaki is introducing a new version of the Z1000 naked bike, with upgraded brakes and suspension.

The new bike (dubbed the Z1000 R)was announced in the UK press today, with no word as to whether it would come to North America — Kawasaki’s Canadian arm hasn’t contacted us about the machine yet, and it doesn’t appear on its website. That doesn’t mean it won’t come here, but for now, there is no indication it will.

The current Z1000 model has 300 mm brake discs up front. The Z1000 R has upgraded 310 mm discs, from Brembo. There’s also a Brembo caliper, and stainless steel braided brake lines. ABS is standard on the Canadian model, but there’s no word on whether that’s the case for the Z1000 R — but given changing European safety standards, it will probably be the case.

Along with upgraded brakes, the Z1000 R also has a new Ohlins rear shock, with remote preload adjuster, mated with a re-designed rear shock linkage. The front fork settings are also revised for the new model.

The engine is Euro-4 compliant, and has revised ECU settings (said to deliver the same power output, but more smoothly). The dash gains a shift light as well, and of course, the R model has special paint options.

There is no word on pricing differential, and of course, the Euro pricing would only give us a theoretical idea of what the cost would be if the machine ever actually came to Canada.

While the Z1000 R is not the facelift the line desperately needs (that front cowling is a look only a mother could love), it allows Kawasaki to freshen up its naked bike selection while keeping development costs down. And of course, the Euro-competition is all about this idea of having upscale versions of their naked bikes, so this machine will fit nicely into that market.