Kawasaki KZ1300 Motorcycles, page #31

Moto blog

Kawasaki Recalls Concours 14 for Rear Brake Problem A Previous Recall Failed to Fix

Kawasaki is issuing a recall for the Concours 14 for a rear brake pedal issue the company had previously tried to fix in 2008. According to documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, road debris can get trapped between the brake pedal and a pedal guard, causing slight pressure on the rear brakes. The rear brake drag can cause the brakes to overheat, potentially leading to brake damage, a rear brake lockup or failure of the rear brakes.

Eric Bostrom to Race TTXGP for Brammo at Laguna Seca

Eric Bostrom has signed on to ride the Brammo Empulse RR in the electric motorcycle race at Laguna Seca July 28-29. The race is the final stop on the TTXGP‘s North American series and a joint event with the FIM’s ePower series. The AMA racing veteran will join Steve Atlas to represent Team Icon Brammo at Laguna Seca.

WSBK: 2012 Brno Results

Marco Melandri bit a chunk off of Max Biaggi‘s World Superbike championship points lead by taking a pair of wins at Brno. The double was the first in Melandri’s career and the first for BMW. Biaggi, who arrived in the Czech Republic with four wins and nine podium finishes in ten previous races at Brno, was held off the podium this year, shrinking his lead in the championship to 21 points from 48.

Former F1 Champ Fittipaldi Producing Limited Edition Kawasaki ZX-10R

Emerson Fittipaldi is probably best known for his four-wheel racing career which include two Formula One World Championships, a CART racing title and two Indy 500 victories. What might be less known, at least outside of his native Brazil perhaps, is Fittipaldi owns a pair of Kawasaki motorcycle dealerships. The 65-year-old former racer and his team has produced a limited edition run of 50 Kawasaki ZX-10R sportbikes in the black and gold colors of his 1972 F1 Championship-winning John Player Lotus 72 car.

ZX-10R inspired by JPS Lotus?

Spotted on Kawasaki's Facebook page, this 'Limited Edition' ZX-10R has been created by none other than double-F1 World Champ Emerson Fittipaldi, who is - amongst other things - a Kawasaki dealer in Brazil and who also happened to win his first World Championship in 1972 in a JPS Lotus that had a very similar colour scheme. Fittipaldi started his motorsport career on a motorcycle, aged just 14, before heading to hydrofoils (surely no-one else at world level has ever raced these?!) and then the more traditional route of karting. Question is: what do you think to the paintjob?

Go camping with your bike

Keep your bike close to you when you go camping with the MOTOTENT from motorcycle adventurers Lone Rider. Priced at £450, here's a round-up of the features from Lone Rider: The MOTOTENT is spacious enough to shelter a dual sport bike as big a BMW R1200 GSA with all its luggage, to have room to work on it, and to be able to stand in the tent. The tunnel-shaped design allows a very quick setup of the tent when needed.

Lascorz smiling in first post-crash photo

Nearly three months on since Joan Lascorz's accident in the post-race test at Imola, the first image has appeared showing the Spaniard in good spirits whilst he undergoes rehabilitation. The terrible crash left the 27-year-old factory Kawasaki rider with a fracture to his C6 vertebrae, and fears that it would leave him quadriplegic. Fortunately, as shown in the picture with his raised arm, Lascorz has recovered full sensitivity in his upper limbs.

Do WSB bikes need fake headlights?

Next year's WSB bikes must carry fake headlight stickers to make them look like their road-going equivalents – and Kawasaki previewed the new look at yesterday's race at Aragon. The idea is to add to WSB's road bike links and to further distinguish the bikes from the latest breed of CRT MotoGP machines. However, it means adding meaningless stickers on a large and potentially valuable acreage of prime sponsorship space on the bike's nose, with much of the rest already taken up by the rider's number; not necessarily a good thing when money is already hard to find in international racing.

New 1972 Kawasaki Z1 only £720

Looking at the pictures of Japanese firm Yamato's new Kawasaki Z1 you'd be hard pushed to tell it's not the real thing. But in fact it's a scale model only just over a foot long, made with incredible attention to detail with several years of development to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original 900cc Z1 of 1972. Using 3D scanning of real parts, the bike was scaled down to create this model, which has now gone on sale in Japan at an eye-watering £720 apiece.

WSBK to Make Fake Headlight Stickers Mandatory for 2013

World Superbike racebikes will be required to have fake headlight stickers on their race fairings to more closely resemble their production series counterparts. The new regulation, set to kick in for the 2013 WSBK season, was designed to establish a closer link between the production model and the race-trim superbike. The new rules will also mandate 17-inch aluminum wheels.