THE WILD CHILD

Having waxed lyrical about Suzuki's game-changing GSX-R1000 K5, it's only right to look at the rivals it was up against. As it happens, just the year before, the major players from Japan decided to unleash a fresh raft of firepower onto the market, with the ZX-10R stealing the limelight for being the new wild child of the scene.

- JON URRY

Some bikes are just born with a bad attitude, none more so than the 2004 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. Bristling with aggression, the original litre Ninja was unleased on the world with a point to prove. The bods at Kawasaki were fed up of being the whipping boys of the premium sportsbike class with their outdated ZX-9R and, rejuvenated through a new brash attitude, they were going to do something about it. The result of this now seriously fired-up Kawasaki was a bike targeted at dominating the track - and if it scared a few road riders along the way, then that was all the better...

Boasting a claimed 172bhp (182bhp with RAM-Air included) from an all-new engine, Kawasaki then packed it in a chassis that was incredibly compact to ensure the ZX-10R had the sharpest handing in its class. Add to this inverted forks, radial brakes with petal discs, a slipper clutch and even - get this - dimples on the screen to improve aerodynamics, and you get a clue as to how serious Kawasaki was about ensuring that the new Ninja topped the sportsbike tree.