Gazing at the Traditional Air-Cooled Naked Bikes, KAWASAKI Could No Longer Suppress its Instincts!
KAWASAKI had a 20-year presence of popular, classic, liquid-cooled nakeds, starting with the ZRX1100 in 1997 and continuing through the ZRX1200DAEG in 2016. The origin of this trend was the Zephyr (400) in 1989, followed by the Zephyr 750 in 1990, and then the Zephyr 1200 in 1991. KAWASAKI, the leader in the naked category, had been vigilantly searching for a new model that would offer the performance and excitement of a naked motorcycle.
Although KAWASAKI was responding to the naked boom in Japan, the company's main focus was, needless to say, the development of a top-performance flagship. Based on the ZZR1100 released in 1990, the GPZ1100 debuted in 1995 with the ZZR engine tuned to be mid-range and torquey for the many long-distance, multi-day touring fans in Europe, the U.S., and Canada. KAWASAKI wanted to use this engine to create a machine that would allow riders to strut around the winding roads with pride of their skills in the big naked category, which was dominated by a nostalgic atmosphere! KAWASAKI's instinct to create a machine that would allow riders of all skill levels to enjoy the winding roads of the big naked category, a category that was dominated by the nostalgic atmosphere of the past.
KAWASAKI had a popular legendary motorcycle, the Lawson Replica, in the 1980s, commemorating Eddie Lawson, who won the U.S. National Championship AMA Superbike race in the unique American upright naked sport series. This Lawson Replica remained an icon for driving-conscious nakeds.
The ZRX1100 is the culmination of such a trend, and it has appeared with the high claim that it is clearly targeted at the rider who is a runner. The film was mainly a model with a mascot cowl, following the example of the Lawson replica. A completely naked model without the cowl was called the II and sold together with the ZRX1100.
The first 1997 model did not have the so-called Lawson replica coloring, and a variation of the color was released every year as a year model. Needless to say, lime green was added to the lineup from the 1998 model in response to many requests, and has continued to be included.
There were very few changes in the earliest models, and I miss the lime green models that repeatedly changed the coloring of the wheels from black to green and back to black again. Darker body colors were either black or dark purple, but lighter color schemes such as bright gray and blue graphics were also standard favorites.
After the 2000 model year, the ZRX1100 evolved into the ZRX1200R with a larger displacement and a more rigidly balanced frame. In 2008, the ZRX1100 was renamed the ZRX1200 DAEG after being converted to an injection engine to comply with exhaust gas regulations. In 2016, the ZRX1200 DAEG was finally released in a final edition, ending with the Lawson replica graphics that had been inherited since 1997.
Original Source [ RIDE HI ]
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