Kawasaki engineers fix new Ninja’s valve problem

An engine valve problem on the new Ninja has been resolved by Kawasaki engineers.

KAWASAKI engineers have been working to resolve a problem with the engine of this year’s new Ninja model which is due to go on sale in the UK on January 27.
When the problem was discovered, the bike manufacturer suspended the launch of the new Ninja ZX-10R, but Kawasaki Heavy Industries have now revealed what the problem was and what the engineers have done to fix it.
The fault with the engine had come to light when some examples of the new bike were operated at high engine revs, on a racetrack for example. It was found that intake valve springs could surge causing one or more of the valves to “seat improperly”.
Having examined the bikes which developed the problem, the engineers have designed and tested a fix. On the machines produced so far, the camshaft, valve springs and spring retainers for intake valves are being replaced to prevent the valve springs from surging. The same design update is automatically being incorporated into the ongoing production run of most powerful Ninja yet produced.
Kawasaki’s sales and marketing manager, Michael Johnstone, congratulated the KHI engineers for their work. “While we have been thinking about Christmas and the New Year at this festive time, a team of engineers in Japan have been exhaustively testing new high performance components for the new Ninja ZX-10R.
“With the dealer launch of this and other incoming models on January 27 across the UK, this news is the best possible start to 2011 for Kawasaki dealers and riders”.