Description
Additional photos of this Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 Monster Energy are available here for your perusal.
First unveiled at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show, the ZX-14R is a large sport tourer and Kawasaki’s modern-day answer to the Hayabusa. Successor to the earlier ZX-12R, the 14 became Kawasaki’s most powerful production sport bike model. The 2009 ZX-14R — the largest offering in the Ninja lineup — featured a liquid-cooled, four-cylinder, 1,352cc, DOHC, inline-four with chrome composite plated aluminum cylinder bores, gear-driven dual-engine balancers, ram air induction, digital Mikuni fuel injection, and digital ignition. The 1.35-liter four was good for more than 113 ft-lbs of torque and a claimed 190hp.
Surrounding the engine was a monocoque aluminum chassis with cast aluminum sections around the steering head and swing-arm pivot. In addition to using the motor as a stressed member of the frame, the structure also housed the ZX-14R’s battery, airbox, and air filter. With a curb weight of just under 570 lbs and a 57.5-inch wheelbase, the ZX-14R is not only crazy fast in a straight line, but is also incredibly stable, largely thanks to a well-designed chassis and wind-tunnel-developed bodywork.
The ZX-14 is capable of clocking a 2.5-second 0-60 mph time — the same as a late-model Porsche 911 Turbo S or a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport! Top speed was electronically limited to 186 mph (or 299km/h), as per an gentlemen’s agreement between Team Green and the rest of the major Japanese manufacturers. Despite being capable of breakneck speeds, the ZX-14 has a surprisingly comfortable yet still fairly aggressive riding position, falling somewhere between your average superbike and sport-tourer.
Running gear on the big ZX consisted of beefy 43mm inverted forks and a gas-charged mono-shock — both adjustable or preload, compression, and rebound damping — while braking duties went to dual semi-floating 310mm discs bit by radial-mount four-pot calipers in front and a single 250mm disc with a dual-piston caliper in back.
Toward the end of the aughts, Kawasaki teamed up with Monster Energy to create the Monster Energy Edition ZX-14R. While the special edition’s mechanics and componentry went unchanged, the bike did get a few unique cosmetic features. The bodywork was adorned in “Metallic Diablo Black” with Monster Energy graphics, and it also came with special blacked-out rims with green pinstripes and a matching blacked-out frame.
The example is VIN: JKBZXNC109A012604.
The seller acquired it in a crate, however he was sick of it seeing that way.
He asked us to take it out of the crate and make it a runner, which our White Glove service gladly took care of (see the video up top). It still has zero miles.
The potent inline-four hasn’t been broken in, and the bike has yet to see its first mile. Every inch of the bike is pristine, and it’s even still wearing its factory covers. You’d be seriously hard-pressed to find another ZX-14R example this clean, let alone a special edition model.
