The ZX-14 has been a major player in the hyperbike wars since its introduction in 2006, becoming the only machine that could hold a candle to Suzuki’s mega-powerful (nearly 160 hp) Hayabusa that was introduced back in 1999. The ZX-14 cranked out a remarkable 171 hp on the dyno and must’ve worried Suzuki’s marketing department and engineering team, as they released a more powerful Hayabusa in 2008 with a bigger engine that produced around 165 horses.
Kawasaki surprised us with a revised ZX-14 in 2008, just two years since its debut, to meet the revitalized Suzuki challenger. While the Kawi remained the smoother and more accommodating choice, emissions regulations took a chunk out of the ZX’s top-end performance. Running excessively rich to preserve its catalyzers, the ZX spat out 10 peak horses less than the original.
This obviously didn’t sit well with Kawasaki, so they’ve now responded with the ZX-14R for 2012. Note the addition of the R to its name. Kawi’s engineers made a host of upgrades to the ZX’s powerplant, most notably by adding 4mm to the engine’s stroke that ups displacement from 1352cc to 1441cc. This 6.5% size increase plus hot-rodding tricks like hand-finished intake ports, more radical camshaft specs, a compression ratio increase and tapered exhaust headers has resulted in what Kawasaki claims is the most powerful mass-produced motorcycle engine in the world.
“When you dyno it,” ace dragracing champ Rickey Gadson told us, “get a Gen II ’Busa at the same time, because you’re not gonna believe what you see.”
How powerful is it? We won’t know for sure until we test it for ourselves, but we’re led to believe it’ll spin a dyno drum to the tune of at least 185 hp, perhaps even 190. If true, the Hayabusa’s big-hitter status just got severely demoted. “On the ZX-14R,” Kawi’s press material boasts, “total domination is just a twist of the throttle away.”
Kawasaki surprised us with a revised ZX-14 in 2008, just two years since its debut, to meet the revitalized Suzuki challenger. While the Kawi remained the smoother and more accommodating choice, emissions regulations took a chunk out of the ZX’s top-end performance. Running excessively rich to preserve its catalyzers, the ZX spat out 10 peak horses less than the original.
“When you dyno it,” ace dragracing champ Rickey Gadson told us, “get a Gen II ’Busa at the same time, because you’re not gonna believe what you see.”
How powerful is it? We won’t know for sure until we test it for ourselves, but we’re led to believe it’ll spin a dyno drum to the tune of at least 185 hp, perhaps even 190. If true, the Hayabusa’s big-hitter status just got severely demoted. “On the ZX-14R,” Kawi’s press material boasts, “total domination is just a twist of the throttle away.”
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