Kawasaki WSBK Team Tests New 2021 Ninja ZX-10RR Superbike
Production models to be revealed Nov. 23
Kawasaki‘s World Superbike racing team has begun testing of the 2021 Ninja ZX-10RR, revealing the superbike’s new look. As KRT riders Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes take the new Ninja out on the Jerez circuit, Kawasaki confirmed the production model ZX-10RR, and presumably the Ninja ZX-10R as well, will be revealed on Nov. 23. (Updated with high resolution photos).
We’ll have to wait until then for full technical details, but we already have a good idea of what the updated 2021 ZX-10R and ZX-10RR look like. Photos and video from Kawasaki’s racing team provide show how the ZX-10RR looks in the team’s KRT Winter Testing livery, confirming the new look we uncovered in Australian certification filings.
KRT Ninja ZX-10RR 2021 in Jerez Winter Test
Discover more next Monday (23-11-20) at YouTube Kawasaki Motors pic.twitter.com/3bKes2esEh
— KRT WorldSBK (@KRT_WorldSBK) November 18, 2020
Warming up @jonathanrea ’s 2020 & 2021 bikes for Jerez Winter Test day 2 pic.twitter.com/bB5mfUZ0bf
— KRT WorldSBK (@KRT_WorldSBK) November 18, 2020
Kawasaki also shared onboard video of Rea taking a lap of Jerez, letting us hear how the ZX-10RR sounds:
KRT Ninja ZX-10RR 2021 on board lap to Jerez Circuit. @MotoplasticPuig https://t.co/Dedz8fi7nJ pic.twitter.com/TSz9emBCNI
— KRT WorldSBK (@KRT_WorldSBK) November 18, 2020
When we first published the photos from the Australian certification documents, the initial reaction to the new look was… less than positive. The ZX-10RR’s new face draws a lot from the Kawasaki H2, and in the Winter Test livery there’s a bit of a Darth Vader look to it as well.
What is a bit surprising is a lack of winglets that the ZX-10RR’s competitors all seem to be adopting. The Ducati Panigale V4 R, for example, has winglets protruding from either side of the headlights while the Honda CBR1000RR-R has its aerodynamic elements between the layers of its fairing. The bodywork jutting out from the headlight may be Kawasaki’s solution for adding more downforce without interfering too much with the shape of the side panels.
We’ll know more on Nov. 23, when Kawasaki reveals more information on the 2021 Ninja ZX-10RR and ZX-10R.
Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
More by Dennis Chung
Comments
Join the conversation
I like it. Maybe being all in black is throwing detractors' perception off. It's saying "Don't F**K with me, I'm coming through." Awesome video.
The video is great.