The 2017 Kawasaki Z1000R - Naked-Bike R-Edition

Kawasaki have revealed an R-edition of the naked-bike Kawasaki Z1000, which achieves Euro4 compliance without any reduction in power or torque.

The Kawasaki Z1000R gets some superbike-level trinkets to spice it up, too. First is the addition of a set of 310mm Brembo floating front discs, with lateral grooves for improved head dissipation. They’re gripped by a pair of fat Brembo M50 monoblock calipers, fed fluid by a set of stainless steel braided brake lines, for improved performance.

Adding a little more finesse to the Kawasaki Z1000R’s suspension is the addition of flash of gold and yellow – in the form of an Ohlims S46DR1S full-adjustable shock, with remote preload adjuster. While the hardware is unchanged at the front, Kawasaki say they’ve introduced revised settings to ensure the forks match the rear Ohlins’ action.

In terms of electronics, there are revised ECU settings to deliver smoother power, a new digital gear position indicator, and an adjustable shift-light that illuminates the rev counter display.

The Kawasaki Z1000R edition gets its own Metallic Spark Black and Metallic Graphite Grey paintscheme, with a special graphic package, seat material embossed with the Z logo and further individual touches adding up to an incredible visual appearance.

The standard Kawasaki Z1000 will also still be available in 2017, and will come in two new colors: Metallic Spark Black and Golden Blazed Green, as well as Candy Burnt Orange and Flat Ebony.

At Kawasaki Thailand some say that the Kawasaki Z1000R will be available in Thailand in the first quarter of 2017, and others deny that it’s coming and say the Z1000R is still under consideration and they first need to study market demand.