A Kawasaki 10R with a dash of MotoGP inspiration

Story by Tom Roderick // Photos by Lee Wallace
A Kawasaki 10R with a dash of MotoGP inspiration
and a twist of custom flare
M
otoGP is the proving ground for
motorcycle technology, and the reason why
late model sportbikes feature
slipper clutches and radial mount brakes. The
prototype bikes, besides Ducati’s Desmosedici, are
not available for purchase, nor will you find one on
eBay. Dressing a street unit to look like a MotoGP
racer is both a tribute to the genuine article and the
only way to own one. But why replicate when you
can innovate.
Outward similarities between Kawasaki’s
ZX-RR and Bob Fisher’s ZX-10R are apparent. The
black swingarm, frame and wheels, and the gold
forks weren’t random choices. The black, green
and white paint scheme is an obvious, albeit highly
stylized, rendition of the ZX-RR ink.
“I love roadracing, so I wanted to take that theme and twist it with the custom stuff that we
do,” says Fisher. “We took the GP theme and threw in some metal flake and candy color and
pearl white.” Gold leaf was the texture of choice for the number plates.
Kawasaki’s ZX-RR is a bad motor scooter, but it’s not
the prettiest one in the GP paddock.
A Real Performer
True to its racing theme, and unlike many of Fisher’s previous
customs the 10R is exempt of chrome. “I want to get away from it on
some of these builds because we’ve done so much of it, and I want to
do something a little bit different,” says Fisher.
The lack of chrome has helped keep weight to within 15 pounds
of stock, the rear wheel being the only area where weight was added
to the bike.
Besides no chrome, another disregard to what’s vogue is the
stretch of the swingarm. At only five inches over it’s far too short for
the mine’s longer crowd. “It may be a little longer than I wanted, but
we’re dealing with the first prototype for that model so we had to use
what we got,” says Fisher. When the swingarm goes into production
it could be as much as one to two inches shorter than the prototype.
Exacerbating the difficulty of building a shorter swingarm is the
stock undertail exhaust system. “Because of the way a wider wheel sits
in the bike you have to bring the swingarm legs from the swingarm
pivot back around the wheel while still clearing the footpegs and
different things that hang out; it can become unattractive. We fabbed
up a swingarm to work with the undertail exhaust, but it was not
aesthetically pleasing,” says Fisher.
Not done bucking trends yet, Fisher also
downsized the rear wheel to a Pirelli 240. “That
tire is really amazing; it has changed wide tires
for motorcycles. I think you’re going to see the
sportbike wide tire theme go backwards to
240 because there’s such an awesome tire
available,” says Fisher.
“Where before we were using cruiser tires,
now we’ve got a tire that’s Z-rated, which the
other ones weren’t, and it’s got a sportbike
profile, and a sportbike carcass and it’s got
grabby rubber. It’s a night and day difference:
turning characteristics, traction, feedback from
the suspension, it makes the wide tire bikes fun
to ride again.”
Reason For Being
It was at the request of Kawasaki that Fisher
built the 10R. “They asked that it remain a
bike that resembles the ZX-10 because a lot
of times when a bike gets customized it
loses its identity. You can confuse a
GSX-R, an R1 and a ZX-10 unless
you really know what you’re
looking at,” says Fisher.
Outside of these pages the
race-blinged Kawi will be
utilized as a promotional
tool for Team Green, who will
display the bike at various
consumer shows and events
throughout the year. Due to its nature as a show bike,
Fisher avoided any engine upgrades. When the 10R has
fulfilled its corporate duties, however, the bike may find
its way back to Fisher’s shop, Roaring Toyz.
“That bike, I hated giving it to them, because the bike
rides so nice. You can drop the clutch at 8,000 rpm and
the bike will just squat and take off, where a traditional
wide-tire bike you can barely get in throttle before the
tire spins,” says Fisher.
If, for some reason, this particular 10R doesn’t find
its way back to Fisher, there’s a good chance we’ll be
seeing more performance-oriented customs coming
from Roaring Toyz. “I hope so,” says Fisher. “It’s what
I like, but for the majority of our work, the customer
determines what the job is, and we have to do what the
customer appreciates.
“I like this style because it’s not completely destroying
the sportbike characteristics. You’ve got a bike that’s still
very capable in terms of riding, and it’s got a custom
twist to it.”
The inte
resting
hue of h
lighted
igh
me
of Florid tal bits is the w a Anodiz
ork
ing.
MotoGP bikes don’t really have seats, let alone ones covered in
stingray hide.
Specs
2007 Kawasaki ZX-10R
Builder
Bob Fisher, Roaring Toyz
Chassis
Roaring Toyz 240 wide tire swingarm conversion kit, Pirelli 240 Diablo rear tire, Performance Machine
Torque contrast cut 17x3.5 front wheel and 18x8.5 rear wheel
Engine
Roaring Toyz polished stainless 4-2-1, dual baffle low exit exhaust system
Paint
Custom multi color paint scheme, custom color anodizing by Florida Anodizing
Other
Roaring Toyz anodized engraved fork, yoke, axle and swingarm caps. Roaring Toyz anodized billet
diamond cut grips, lowering kickstand, oil fill cap and fairing spikes. Performance Machine radial
mount front and rear brake calipers, brake master cylinder and clutch perch/lever. H.E.L. custom
braided stainless brake lines. Clear Alternatives front and rear green turn signal lenses and integrated
L.E.D. taillight, Vortex rearsets and lowering links, Galfer rear wave rotor.
The R
oarin
The vis g Toyz low e
xit exh
ible ba
a
ffle is
easily ust system
feature
remov
ed.
s dual
ba
ffles.
In a performance comparison
the 10R may be no match for
the ZX-RR, but Kawasaki race
engineers could stand to
incorporate some of
Fisher’s creativity for
mechanical good looks
into the company’s race
machines. Hopefully
the engineers and
Fisher’s dime will
cross paths at
Laguna Seca
in July.