(Cred: Bikez.com)
The Kawasaki ZRX1200, sometimes affectionately known by owners as the Z-REX, is a naked retro-styled muscle bike based upon the 1981 - 1982 KZ1000 World Superbike championship winning machine of "Steady" Eddie Lawson.
(Cred: Kawasaki Heavy Industries)
It was manufactured from 2001 to 2016, with it being exported worldwide until 2007, and then sold past that date in Japan's domestic market as the DAEG, with fuel injection added to reduce emissions.
It's engine is based heavily upon the GPZ1100, ZZR1100 and ZZR1200 line of sports bikes, but with differences in ignition timing and camshafts to lend it to lower hp, higher torque figures.
It produces around 120bhp at the wheel in stock form, and will run an 11 second quarter mile pass with no modification.
Top speed is officially 130mph, but in reality this bike can surpass 170mph on stock gearing, given enough of road. However, due to the relative lack of aerodynamic wind protection on these machines, it's unlikely to be taken that quickly for beyond the briefest of spurts.
It has won praise for it's versatility; being equally at home on the racetrack, carving canyons or in a low speed commute - it's veritable buckets of torque (81ft/lb) meaning it can be ridden in any speed in any gear without the engine complaining.
Unlike modern sportsbikes it has a riding position similar to that of a UJM (upright), making it ergonomically friendly.
Braking is handled by twin 320mm disks on the front, with twin six pot Tokico calipers ensuring plenty of stopping power for this beast's 250kg plus rider mass.
Suepension is fully adjustable front and rear, and it has a cavernous under-seat storage area, along with a dry compartment inside the bike's tail section.
(Credit: R.Seay)
It delivers 40mpg consistently, sometimes more, depending upon throttle application. Because of it's racing heritage (the ZZR1200 which it's engine is based upon was at one point the fastest road going motorcycle in the world), it is easily and inexpensively modified. Cam and piston changes can see it topping 180bhp. Still other owners have removed the stock exhaust system and turbocharged these bike reliably.
A stock ZRX engine can take up to 5lbs of boost and this will lend it an increase of over 100bhp, to a staggering 222bhp. With a thicker base gasket and lower compression pistons it can reliably take 10lbs of boost delivering a scarcely believable 330+bhp.
This truly is a machine with many different faces to it, and a motorcyclist's motorcycle.
Should you have the opportunity, please, do yourselves a favour and jump on one. It's something you will never regret!
This one is all mine:
(Cred: yours truly)