I bought my second Kawasaki ZX10r last year, needing a new bike, I hunted around for something that was sporty, light, looked good and was fast, and I just kept coming back to the 10. The price at the time was a shade over £8000 after a bit of negotiation however due to the weak pound and the currency rates hitting lows, dealers are passing on the manufactures price hikes and my bike now will cost you nearly £10000. The 2009 ZX10R comes in the usual Kwaka green, black and pearl white, however they also made a few in orange, yuk I hear you say but when you get the bike in the sun or even bright light the metallic paint comes to life, even the black plastic infill’s have been treated to a subtle metallic finish, I was so impressed by the look of it, that’s the colour I went for and to date I have only seen one more.

The reviews I read about this model weren’t great, even scary, writers going on about what a handful the bike is and how its no good for British roads and should be confined to the track and I must admit this did put me off to start with, however when you read a bit more and as the weeks go by the reviews change slightly, yes it is an awesome beast of a bike and it would like nothing better than to throw you off, but give it the respect that it needs and it becomes a very fast, stable and agile sports bike. The Nissin brakes which are standard are awesome both front and rear, although it is quite easy to lock the back wheel up.

The slipper clutch which is also standard is handy if like me you stomp your way back down the box, the so called traction control is non existent and is supposed to regulate the rear wheel spinning up due to loss of traction, however having experienced a couple of wiggles on the back end, this can not be relied on at all. 

The riding position I find quite comfortable, even with a small belly you can lean on the tank and feel comfortable, even though the seat is small it allows for heaps of movement forwards and back, so you can either tuck in or sit quite upright whilst in slow traffic, the small screen is more than adequate for high speeds and doesn’t produce any buffeting.

The tank is 17ltr with no gauge, a light comes on when you have 4ltr left,  the range obviously varies according to your riding style, I can get about 120 miles on a tank !!!!!

Tyres are Pirelli Corsa 3s (tri-compound) and are fantastic in the dry but not so great in the wet, I have 4500 miles on mine at the moment and they are now starting to square off, I have been advised to change to Michelin Pilots as these are a better all round tyre and should give longer life.

The bike comes with a single trumpet exhaust, immobiliser and a number plate hanger that hangs out the back like a trailer, so most common additions are, after market can, tail tidy, Thatcham 1 upgrade alarm, seat cowl and smaller hugger,  just these few items transform the look of the bike.

Build quality is good, paint finish is very good, and powder coated black wheels resist chipping even when using a heavy chain day in, day out.

Mick Kerrison

The Bad

Takes some taming to benefit from the power

Standard tyres no good in the wet

The Ugly

The number plate hanger

Large black Hugger

The good

Excellent looks

Awesome power

Good riding position

Good build and finish quality

Plenty of after market extras