How do you update the world-conquering Kawasaki ZX-10R? Simple: You add semi-active suspension.
You can argue about who’s got the best litrebike on the market these days, but there’s no question that Kawasaki dominates in World Superbike, at least, with Team Green’s factory ace Jonny Rea demolishing the previous single-season points record this year.
But Kawasaki has chosen not to rest on its racetrack laurels, and for 2018, there’s a new version of its flagship superbike. The main upgrade for the ZX-10R SE will be semi-active suspension.
The actual fork and shock components on the ZX-10R SE are built by Showa, but the bike’s onboard inertial measurement unit senses the road surface and adjusts damping on the fly, requiring only a millisecond to react to changing conditions. This should allow the bike to be set up for max comfort, or max traction.
This is the first time such a system has appeared on a Kawasaki, and Team Green claims it’s quicker than any similar smart suspension on the market.
The ZX-10R SE also gets an up-down quickshifter, and lighter seven-spoke Marchesini forged wheels.
We haven’t heard if the ZX-10R SE is coming to Canada. However, we’re hopeful, as its suspension upgrades could prove to be very useful on our typically bumpy asphalt.
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