The Kawasaki ZZR1100D series motorcycle went through several evolutions culminating in the D9. The machines enjoyed several cosmetic developments and a change to bigger carburetors, but throughout the years Kawasaki stuck with the same front Tokico four piston brake calipers.
Anyone who has owned these machines will know what a vivid performer they are. The chassis is planted and stable with it's long wheel base and smooth suspension. The riding position in unison with the full fairing presents the rider with a superb platform to cover fast long mileage with ease. This of course was rendered possible by the power plant. The ZZR1100 engine was legendary against its contemporaries and put the icing on the cake of this fabulous bike. The only problem now was stopping it!
What was the solution to the under specified front brakes? Several manufacturers came up with bespoke adapter brackets that would take an off the shelf, uprated caliper and marry it to the OEM forks. There were also after market bespoke calipers for direct fitment but both these solutions came in at an excess of £700.
Luckily there was a high performance bike (the Suzuki GSXR 1000K1/2) whose front calipers fit the ZZR1100 fork almost without modification. The GSXR calipers are a six piston Tokico unit in an attractive gold finish. They are significantly more powerful than the OEM four piston units on the ZZR1100. The caliper mounting lugs take M8x1.25 (coarse pitch) bolts and when offered directly to the ZZR fork, are slightly off lateral alignment with the brake rotor by about 2mm. The only modification necessary is to reduce the the fork leg diameter on the ZZR1100 from 10mm, the original brake mounting bolt size, to 8mm to take a bolt that would fit the GSXR1000K1 calipers. This is a simple adaptor kit you can see on this installation video.
See my other article for technical tips on installation, improving power through re routing your original brake hoses and guidance on finding good Tokico six piston calipers to use with the adapter kit. Also, don't forget to see our author bio underneath for our contact details too. Happy Braking.
One of the best things you can do to get your sportbike noticed is replace your factory fairings with a more stylish aftermarket set. This is one of the most common modifications for sportbikes, as it is somewhat easy to do and it is affordable. Not to mention you will have the ability to make your bike look however you want it. There is everything from OEM style kits to race replica kits.
I have a set of aftermarket fairings on my 05 CBR600RR. When I bought and installed my CBR600RR fairings, I was thrilled. My bike had been wrecked, so the fairings on it were in rough shape. After installing the fairings, it was like a new bike. Many people said to be careful when buying aftermarket fairings, as many are cheap and will not fit well. I found this not to me the case with my set.
Installing fairings on the 05 CBR600RR is not to difficult. However if your not to mechanically inclined, you probably will want to pay someone. The motorcycle fairing kits fairings fit very well, despite what many people had told me about these kits. I did not have any issues installing my fairing kit, and it only took me a couple hours to install.
Fairings make your bike. You cant have a good looking sportbike without nice fairings. And since they are so affordable, it just make since to keep your bike looking clean and stylish. Install is not to hard, but if your not into it, it is probably worth it to pay someone.