Three Decades of Ninjas | UP TO SPEED

It’s the most famous name in all of motorcycling, a name so evocative that it has essentially become generic shorthand for any sportbike: the Ninja. Although it’s sometimes carelessly applied to any plastic-wrapped motorcycle with low bars and a high seat—they’re all “ninja bikes” to some—in the beginning there was only one Ninja, and that was Kawasaki’s awesome 1984 GPz900R.

It was originally going to be called the Panther, until Kawasaki Marketing Director Mike Vaughn intervened and dubbed it the Ninja—a homage to Japan’s silent-but-deadly assassins (and, coincidentally, also the name of Vaughn’s sailboat at the time). The Ninja moniker could just as easily apply to Kawasaki’s design and engineering staff, which toiled in absolute secrecy for more than six years to develop the GPz900R, then the most technically sophisticated inline-four motorcycle ever built. While most of the moto world soldiered on with stone-age, air-cooled, two-valve-per-cylinder inlines like Kawasaki’s own GPz750R, the 900R was a thoroughly modern, 16-valve, liquid-cooled inline-four mounted in as stressed member in its steel frame, riding on air-suspension, with a futuristic full fairing. With lithe handling and a 10-second quarter-mile sprint, it outran and outhandled anything else on the market, deserving of the Ninja name.

In the decades that followed, the Ninja continued to define the outer limits of sportbike performance and technology. The Ninja 600R that appeared in 1985 was the first modern, liquid-cooled middleweight; the next year that same bike debuted the first aluminum perimeter frame in that class. The year 1986 brought the 160-mph Ninja 1000R, laying a path for the supersonic ZX-10s, 11s, 12s, and eventually 14s that followed. At the other end of the spectrum, starting in 1989, the ZX-7 series shrunk even smaller to dominate roadracing, early-adapting technology like four-piston brakes, wide wheels, and, of course, those conspicuous vacuum-cleaner hoses routing fresh air through the tank directly into the airbox.

Especially in America, 900cc sportbikes ruled the ’90s, led by the Ninja ZX-9R with its torquey lump of a motor that only furthered Kawasaki’s reputation for raw horsepower. With the exception of the race-ready ZX-7R superbike, much of the Ninja lineup lagged behind the rest of the market in the late ’90s, though that all changed with the introduction of an all-new Ninja ZX-6R in 2003 and an all-new ZX-10R the following year. Designed specifically for “race circuit domination,” both these bikes set new standards in their respective classes for agile handling and straight-line power—especially the upsized, 636cc ZX-6R.

Three decades later, Kawasaki’s Ninja remains steadfastly loyal to this performance heritage. From the Ninja 300 through the ZX-6R and ZX-10R all the way to the do-it-all Ninja 1000 and line-leading ZX-14R, the Ninja name consistently ranks at the top of our comparison tests. Here’s looking forward to writing the next 30 years of Ninja history!

Kawasaki bids happy birthday to its alpha sportbike platform with this pair of 30th-anniversary editions based on the cutting-edge Ninja ZX-6R and Ninja ZX-10R models. Distinguished with bold, black-and-white graphics over a signature lime green basecoat—what else!—and further set apart with green rim stripes and anniversary badging, these are even more extroverted versions of two already aggressive machines.

Bold new graphics are the only upgrade for the anniversary editions, but the underlying base bike offers more than enough technology and performance to back up the in-your-face appearance. For the ZX-6R that means the long-stroke, 636cc “cheater” engine monitored by two power modes and three levels of KTRC traction control—the Ninja is still the only Japanese middleweight with available traction control. The 998cc ZX-10R delivers an even greater level of electronic sophistication, with more advanced, on-the-fly adjustable S-KTRC circuitry and an electronically controlled Öhlins Twin-Tube steering damper.

Pricing rests at $11,999 and $14,599 for the anniversary-edition ZX-6R and ZX-10R, respectively, an increase of $300 over the base models. Throwing another $1,000 at either nets you KIBS—Kawasaki Intelligent antilock Brake System—which overrides the Nissin monoblock calipers with a Bosch-made, multi-sensing ABS system that monitors wheel speed, brake pressure, engine rpm, gear and throttle position, and more to provide ultra-quick, race-grade ABS response.