Kawasaki Ninja ZX-7R

Kawasaki ZX-7R

Manufacturer	Kawasaki motorcycles
Predecessor	ZXR-750
Class	Sportsbike
Engine	749 cc (45.7 cu in) liquid-cooled dohc 16 valve in-line four-cylinder four-stroke
Frame type	Aluminum twin-spar
Suspension	Front: adjustable 43 mm inverted cartridge fork Rear: Uni-Trak (monoshock) swingarm
Brakes	Front: twin 320 mm (13 in) semi-floating front discs with Tokico six-piston calipers Rear: 230 mm (9.1 in) disc with twin-piston opposed caliper.

The Kawasaki ZX-7R was a sport bike made by Kawasaki from 1992 to 2003. It replaced the more race-oriented ZXR-750 in the 750cc supersports class. It remained largely unchanged through its production.

Between 1990 and 1995 in the US market the ZXR-750 and ZXR-750R were known as ZX-7 and ZX-7R respectively. Starting from 1996 Kawasaki dropped the ZXR name adopting the ZX-7R worldwide.

Overview

The ZX-7R was raced, gaining 12 AMA superbike championship victories. Kawasaki's Road Racing team riders were Eric Bostrom, Doug Chandler and Scott Russell. Doug Toland won the 1993 Endurance FIM World Championship. Andreas Hofmann won the 1997 Macau Grand Prix.

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

The frame used on the ZX-7R is a lightweight aluminum twin-spar item, designed using computer-aided design to optimize strength. The rear subframe was constructed using steel and aluminum, providing enough strength for a pillion passenger whilst keeping weight to a minimum.

The swingarm used largely the same fabrication techniques to produce a hollow cast and pressed aluminum alloy hybrid swingarm, and the Uni-Trak rear suspension system features a predominantly lightweight alloy and aluminum construction. The Uni-Trak system was designed to provide a progressively stiffer damping 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 43 mm inverted cartridge fork.

Front brakes are 320 mm semi-floating front discs and Tokico 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 to the front and rear suspension, a solo cowl with a slightly different subframe, and 41 mm flat-slide carburetors. It also has a close ratio gear-box fitted as standard and Nissin front calipers.

Notes

References

• "1996 Kawasaki ZX-7R", Cycle World, March 1996, pp. 43–45
• Owen, Paul (November 26, 2015), "Carbon Garage: A motorcycle cafe that's full of racers", Stuff.co.nz