25 years of Ninja

When Kawasaki’s first Ninja production motorcycle, the Ninja GPz900R, hit the market in 1984 it marked a new era in motorcycling.

Initially branded as "Ninja" in the American market only, the evocative name that conjures up an image of cutting edge performance, soon spread across the globe. The iconic GPz900R was the predecessor of today’s fast, big-capacity sport bikes, adding technology from the race track to a street bike in a way that hadn't been witnessed before.

The compact design was years ahead of rival manufacturers' efforts, and the Ninja GPz900R dominated over its bigger capacity litre class competitors; even winning the 1984 Production TT at its very first attempt in the hands of Geoff Johnson. In the 25 years of the Ninja’s existence, many successful models were created, like the 1985 GPz600R, the 1994 Ninja ZX-9R, the 1995 Ninja ZX-6R and the 1996 Ninja ZX-7RR.

Also in the new millennium the Ninja has continued to turn heads, for example the highly revered Ninja ZX-12R that saw the light in 2000, the class-winning 2003 Ninja ZX-6R series with 636cc engine capacity and the legendary hard edged 2004 Ninja ZX-10R.

In 2008, the Ninja series was reborn once more. Making the Ninja brand attainable to a younger audience, the Ninja 250R was launched to an enthusiastic, Ninja eager public.

In the many years since the first production model, the name Ninja has become synonymous with Kawasaki and its strong engineering credentials. Kawasaki will continue will proudly expand the Ninja series still further in the years ahead. The strong performance image associated with the name Ninja was not created overnight. It was fostered by multitudes of Kawasaki fans for whom the Ninja brand holds a special meaning, as it does for Kawasaki.

In 2009 the Ninja delivered success again, claiming victory (Ninja ZX-10R) and a close 2nd position (Ninja ZX-6R) in the internationally acclaimed Supertest; a prestigious appraisal of machines from all the main manufacturers by highly skilled professional racers and journalists from across Europe, including the UK's Motor Cycle News.

And now the Ninja brand moves into 2011 in the sleek form of the newest Kawasaki litre Supersports bike, the Ninja ZX-10R. Already talked of as one of the key performance benchmarks of the upcoming season, the aggressive new machine features a raft of technical innovations designed to increase the riding experience and, crucially, to help reduce lap times further still. Three way switchable traction control and power modes are accompanied on the impressive spec sheet by Kawasaki’s first ever sports ABS system vaunted as being among the world’s smoothest in operation.

So here’s to the next 25 years!