Kawasaki’s World Superbike Series’ manager Guim Roda recently hinted at an all new litre class rocket from the manufacturer. Talking to Speedweek, he informed that they are going to get a whole new bike for the 2016 season of the competition. The bike is expected to get race-spec electronics and a more refined and powerful engine.
Currently, the bike has a 998 cc inline-four engine that produces a whopping 197 bhp and 112 Nm of torque. Since it weighs 198 kg, the power-to-weight ratio of the bike translates to almost 1 bhp per kg. This makes green monster a very fast and ferocious bike and Kawasaki is saying that they are going to up the power, sounds like madness. This sort of power-to-weight ratio is only found in superbikes as the world’s fastest car-Bugatti Veyron Supersport does not have a ratio of 1 bhp per kg.
The new flagship Ninja will be competing against Ducati Panigale R, Yamaha R1, Aprilia RS V4 RR and the critically acclaimed BMW S1000 RR. The BMW is currently ruling in the litre class world with its performance and handling. But, others are also not far behind and Kawasaki may catch up with it this time.
In terms of pure power, the Ducati trumps everyone here as it has a bigger 1198 cc engine which produces 205 bhp and 136 Nm of torque and since it has a kerb weight of 184 kg, power-to-weight ratio zooms well above 1 bhp per kg.
Kawasaki will have to look on its WSBK prospective too when it is developing the bike. Though, it currently on top in the constructor’s championship, it needs a more powerful bike to maintain its status. Also, the bike has not fared well in Superstock category where the motorcycles only receive a few minor tweaks on their road legal versions. This means the stock bike is not as good as the others in the category.
