The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-7R was a motorcycle in the

Ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...

sport bike A sport bike (sports motorcycle, or sports bike) is a motorcycle designed and optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on asphalt concrete race tracks and roads. They are mainly designed for performance at the expense of comfor ...

series from the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki produced from 1989 until 2003. It remained largely unchanged through its production. Kawasaki used inverted forks starting in 1991, added ram air using a single tube, and in 1996, twin tube ram air and Tokico six piston brakes and fully adjustable suspension. From 1989 through 1995 in the US market, Kawasaki called the ZXR-750 and ZXR-750R the ZX-7 and ZX-7R respectively. Starting from 1996 Kawasaki dropped the ZXR name worldwide and the former ZXR-750 was now ZX-7R and the limited edition homologation special ZXR-750R/ZX-7R started in 1991 was now ZX-7RR.

Overview

The ZX-7R has a 749 cc in-line four-cylinder,

four-stroke engine A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

. The frame used on the ZX-7R is a lightweight aluminum twin-spar item, designed using

computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

to optimize strength. The rear subframe was constructed using steel, providing enough strength for a

pillion A pillion is a secondary pad, cushion, or seat behind the main seat or saddle on a horse, motorcycle, bicycle or moped. A passenger in this seat is said to "ride pillion". The word is derived from the Scottish Gaelic for "little rug", ''pillean' ...

passenger. The

swingarm A swingarm, or "swinging arm" (UK), originally known as a swing fork or pivoted fork, is a single or double sided mechanical device which attaches the rear wheel of a motorcycle to its body, allowing it to pivot vertically. The main component of ...

used largely the same fabrication techniques to produce a hollow cast and pressed aluminum alloy hybrid swingarm, and the Uni-Trak rear

suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspend ...

system features a predominantly lightweight alloy and aluminum construction. The Uni-Trak system was designed to provide a progressively stiffer

damping Damping is an influence within or upon an oscillatory system that has the effect of reducing or preventing its oscillation. In physical systems, damping is produced by processes that dissipate the energy stored in the oscillation. Examples incl ...

and spring rate under compression. The rear suspension unit is fully adjustable in terms of damping, preload and compression. The front suspension found on the ZX-7R comprises a fully adjustable 8-way compression and 12-way rebound 43 mm inverted cartridge fork. Front brakes are 320 mm semi-floating front discs and

Tokico is an automobile parts manufacturer that once existed in Japan. After the acquisition and merger by Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hi ...

six-piston calipers. Rear brakes feature a 230 mm disc with a twin-piston opposed caliper. The ZX-7RR differs from the road model with an adjustable head-stock angle, swing arm pivot, additional increased adjustability 28-way compression and 13-way rebound to the front and 14-way rebound for the rear suspension, ten more than the R model, a solo cowl with a different aluminum subframe, and 41 mm flat-slide

carburetors A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meterin ...

versus the 38mm on the base R model. It also has a close ratio gear-box fitted as standard and a crankshaft flywheel that is heavier and Nissin front brake calipers.

Cycle World ''Cycle World'' is a motorcycling magazine in the United States. It was founded in 1962 by Joe Parkhurst, who was inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame as "the person responsible for bringing a new era of objective journalism" to the US. ''Cyc ...

recorded a time of 10.82 seconds at .

Racing

The ZX-7RR was raced, winning 12 AMA

superbike A sport bike (sports motorcycle, or sports bike) is a motorcycle designed and optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on asphalt concrete race tracks and roads. They are mainly designed for performance at the expense of comfor ...

championships. Kawasaki's

Road Racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

team riders were

Eric Bostrom Eric Bostrom (born November 19, 1976 in San Francisco, California) is an American professional motorcycle racer and brother of Ben Bostrom, who also races motorcycles professionally. He is currently racing in the AMA Superbike series for Attack ...

Doug Chandler John Douglas Chandler (born September 27, 1965) is an American former professional motorcycle racer. He earned a reputation as one of the most versatile racers of the 1980s and 1990s. Chandler is one of only four riders in AMA racing history to ...

and Scott Russell. Doug Toland won the 1993

Endurance FIM World Championship The Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC) is the premier worldwide endurance championship in motorcycle road racing. The championship season consists of a series of endurance races (with a duration of six, eight, twelve or twenty-four hours) he ...

. Andreas Hofmann won the 1997

Macau Grand Prix The Macau Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prémio de Macau; ) is a motorsport road race for automobiles and motorcycles held annually in Macau. It is the only street circuit racing event in which both cars and motorcycles participate, and one of onl ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawasaki Ninja Zx-7r Ninja ZX-7R Sport bikes Motorcycles introduced in 1995