So my customer tells me he wants his brand new 2011 Kawasaki ZX10-R ABS to go quicker for trackdays. (His son races Indy cars.) "No problem, Mr. Customer. Sportbike Dynamics can handle your need for speed. Sign here." After doing some research, it was obvious the stock exhaust had to go. I contacted Tim Calhoun, the Big Cheese at Leo Vince USA, to ask him if they had any "go-fast" stuff available for this bike yet. I could hear him smile through the phone. He said their new Factory R EVO II carbon muffler and midpipe was the way to go on this bike. He was so right. My experience with the Leo Vince product line over the years has always been positive. They don't disappoint. The fit, finish and production quality of the Leo Vince pipes are all first rate. The sound, appearance and performance gains are significant. With some help from Bazzaz Performance and Leo Vince Exhaust, the project was started. Here's the stock bike with the OEM muffler: They must have given this SCUD misslie launcher design project to the new guy.
Leo Vince makes an absolutely gorgeous carbon can with a beautiful, throaty sound. Fit, finish and quality are all first rate. http://www.leovinceusa.com/ I'm a detail guy , so the pipe springs and hanger mount get safety wired:
The stock boat anchor of a midpipe is seriously heavy. The Leo Vince midpipe is a work of art and also adds an O2 sensor to the mix to help manage the Bazzaz fuel system. Here's the stock exhaust pieces bolted together.
Bazzaz Performance makes one hell of a fuel management system. It adds a 10 point adjustable traction control, shift-on-the-fly map changing and a bitchin' quickshifter. http://www.bazzaz.net/ Kitty quality control on duty. The programmable quickshifter handles full throttle clutchless upshifts in 40 to 80 milliseconds: Here's the traction control adjustment knob and A/B map toggle switch on the left clip-on: The traction control activation light goes on top of the instrument cluster:
The porky stock final drive of 17/39 525 was changed out to an aggressive 16/43 520 setup with Sunstar sprockets and a DID ERV racing chain:
Now I get to dial it in and make some final adjustments to make things perfect. Galfer HH pads and a Brock's Performance clutch kit round out the package. The throttle response is indescribable. Gobs of torque just drip off of this monster- it's a good thing it has traction control. Kawasaki has set the new gold standard for the literbike class. It's a friggin' animal. If you want civilized brutality, this is it. The bike hits like a runaway freight train. It's like putting Hulk Hogan in an Armani tuxedo. This beast can go head to head with anything and prevail. It's truly an amazing machine.
