In the sport bike world, speed is always a part of the equation. Whether it's nimble, racetrack-oriented pace or outright straight-line speed, sport bikes are made to go fast. Kawasaki, no stranger to fast sport bikes, has a lineup of Ninja bikes that are built with both the street and the track in mind. The company has 13 bikes sporting the Ninja name, separated into three categories: Sport, Supersport, and Hypersport. The standard Sport bikes, like the Ninja 500, Ninja 7 Hybrid, and even the Ninja 1100SX
I recently tested, are designed with comfort in mind, even if they are still very fast.
The Ninja Hypersport bikes all wear the H2 nameplate in some form, and all have Kawasaki's wild supercharged four-cylinder engine. In the middle, between the street-friendly and ultra-powerful supercharged bikes, lie the Ninja Supersport bikes like the ZX-6R, ZX-10R, and, at the top of the pile, the ZX-14R. It has a massive 1,441cc engine that puts out plenty of power.
More specifically, the ZX-14R's large four-cylinder engine produces 197 hp and 116.5 lb-ft of torque, in a machine that weighs just 593 pounds. Like many high-horsepower sport bikes, the ZX-14R has a limited top speed of 186 mph (299 km/h). There are ways to get around that limiter, though, with owners who've done so managing to achieve top speeds of nearly 200 mph.
Read more: 6 Of The Fastest Cruiser Motorcycles, Ranked By Top Speed
Bypassing The Top Speed Limiter
The ZX-14R is one of the fastest Kawasakis ever built, but like a lot of other sport bikes, it's limited at the top end. Thanks to a so-called Gentlemen's Agreement between motorcycle manufacturers, most supersport bikes are limited to the aforementioned 186 mph. This limit was set decades ago, but many manufacturers continue to limit their bikes for safety reasons. ZX-14R owners often turn to forums for advice on how to make their bikes faster, making changes to the bike's ECU and other components. The most common mod to bypass the 186 mph limit, however, changes the bike's speedometer permanently, according to owners. If you plan on doing anything besides top-speed runs on your ZX-14R, you may want to avoid this particular mod.
There's more to the ZX-14R than just top speed, and it has a lot of equipment and tech that make it an all-around high-performance bike. Four-piston Brembo brakes are standard, with large 310mm front rotors and a single 250mm rear rotor. The front and rear suspension is adjustable, letting owners set the preload, suspension rebound and damping, and even ride height. Other standard features include selectable power modes, traction control, and ABS.
The Kawasaki ZX-14R's Pricing And Rivals
With all its power, speed, and standard equipment, the Ninja ZX-14R isn't a cheap bike. It does, however, undercut some rivals that are worth mentioning. The 2025 ZX-14R has an MSRP of $18,414 (including $815 destination fee), which is less money than what you'll pay for the smaller ZX-10R, which starts at $18,614. The ZX-10R is a bit more modern, however, and it offers similar power in a much lighter package; the ZX-10R has 196 hp (just one hp less than the ZX-14R) and 83.9 lb-ft of torque, but it weighs around 450 pounds. And, as we discovered in our recent test of the ZX-10R, that's a much better package if you're looking to go knee-down through the corners at your local racetrack.
Most sport bikes in the ZX-14R's price bracket are similar to the ZX-10R, in that they're powered by 1,000cc engines. Bikes like the Honda CBR1000RR and the Yamaha R1, for instance, have similar prices but use the more typical liter-bike sizing. One of the few direct rivals to the Kawasaki ZX-14R left is the Suzuki Hayabusa. The 2025 Hayabusa is priced higher at an MSRP of $19,999 (including $600 destination fee), but, like the Kawasaki, it has a large engine with similarly big power. Suzuki's Hayabusa has a 1,340cc four-cylinder engine, and while Suzuki doesn't list horsepower for U.S. bikes, the U.K. versions of the Hayabusa are rated at 187 hp (190 ps) and 110 lb-ft (150 Nm) of torque.
Want the latest in tech and auto trends? Subscribe to our free newsletter for the latest headlines, expert guides, and how-to tips, one email at a time.
Read the original article on SlashGear.
