After announcing 40th Anniversary Ninja editions of the supersport models based on the legendary ZXR two weeks ago, Kawasaki has now unveiled anniversary editions of the two sports tour models at the EICMA in Milan: the Ninja 650 40th Anniversary and Ninja 1000 SX 40th Anniversary.
No Japanese brand understands so well how important heritage is to create brand loyalty as Kawasaki, which is more than happy to hark back to the past.
The Z900RS is an incredibly good example of this, the engine not only looks exactly like the original from the 1970s, but also sounds like it and deliberately has an irregular idle running, to enhance the effect of to simulate carburetors.
When two years ago it was 50 years ago that the very first Z was put on the market, a 50th Anniversary of all Z models was released. The Z900RS and Z650RS in the original colors of the very first Z900, the Z900 and Z650 in the Firecracker Red of the Z1100GP, the dominant air-cooled Z model from the 1980s.
How much value Kawasaki attaches to heritage was demonstrated once again last year, when the KRT racing team showed up in very special colors during the Argentinian round: Jonathan Rea in the original colors of the ZXR750 and Alex Lowes in the original colors of the GPz900R.
So when Kawasaki announced 40th Anniversary editions of the Ninja ZX-4RR, Ninja ZX-6R and Ninja ZX-10R two weeks ago, you could have sensed that in the context of 40 years of Ninja, special editions of the two touring sport Ninjas, the Ninja 650 and the Ninja 1000 SX, in the colors of the original GPZ900R.
Next year it will be exactly 40 years since the first Ninja was put on the market by Kawasaki, although that is thanks to the Americans. Marketed in the rest of the world as the GPz900R, the American importer wanted a catchier name, so the groundbreaking motorcycle was marketed in the US as the GPz900 Ninja.
The two touring sport 40th anniversary Ninja models not only have exactly the same color scheme as the very first GPz, but also have similar logos. The 40th anniversary emblem is designed in a style similar to the championship sticker from that era, while the “Liquid-Cooled” logo is exactly the same.
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.