10 COMMANDMENTS

Or alternatively, ten reasons why you should have a superbike in your life

- Kartik Ware

1. Thou shalt ask first: What’s the point of a superbike anymore?

Now, a question cannot pose as a commandment, let alone a seemingly blasphemous one, but do bear with me. Although, really, in one way the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R seems to exist for little else than to enable Jonathan Rea to win one WSBK championship after another (six so far), creating history as they go along together. In saying that, it may become sort of implicit that the ZX-10R is the best superbike in the world and has been for some time now, although that’s doing its mighty rivals a mightier disservice. Never mind the lengths to which manufacturers will go to blur the lines between pit lanes and showroom floors.

Nonetheless, there are few words cooler than ‘Ninja’, especially when it’s stuck on a sharp and green motorcycle. The wildest of Japan’s quartet of litre-class maniacs has always been a fan favourite; if the Yamaha YZF-R1, the Suzuki GSX-R1000, the Honda CBR1000RR and the ZX-10R were The Beatles, the Kawasaki would most certainly be John Lennon. The Honda is the McCartney of the lot and will probably live the longest, but it’s the Kawasaki that’s likely to be shot by a fan.

2. Thou shalt become part of a famous history.