Carole Nash ambassador Jonathan Rea is a WorldSBK legend.
Despite six titles and over 100 race wins to his name, the Northern Irish rider remains as passionate in his love of motorcycles as ever. So, we thought, why not sit down with Jonathan to talk us through the five things he loves most about the latest incarnation of his factory Kawasaki ZX-10RR.
It’s probably not what you were expecting!
The name…
“One of the coolest things is that my team let me name my bikes! I have a little name badge behind the headstock, and it changes every year. My first Kawasaki was called Tatia after my wife, then it was the name of my first born, Jake, then after my second son Tyler, and even my dog, Bruno. This year’s bike is back to Jake.
“It’s always really cool because you like to have a bond with the bike. In pre-season testing, the team refer to your bikes as number one and number two, but for me it was Jake and Tyler… But, there then comes a time when you have to choose which bike you like the most (to use for the season)!
“Does that mean I’m a bad dad?”
The noise…
“The noise my ZX-10RR makes when changing down the gears entering a corner is something that I love. It’s quite technical as to what actually creates the sound, but it’s something to do with the balance of the fly-by-wire throttle setup, the exhaust and engine all doing their thing and it just sounds really, really cool.
“It doesn’t backfire and pop as such, it’s part of the engine braking strategy that we have and it make a unique sound. Listen out for it next time you’re watching WorldSBK, and you’ll hear what I mean…”
The looks…
“One thing that I think Kawasaki Racing Team nail every year is the livery of the bikes. I think they’re very savvy when it comes to the design, and it’s definitely one of the coolest out there.
“The team subtly reinvent it each year, so although the style has been pretty similar since I first joined the team back in 2015, the tweaks year after year just keep it looking fresh. It’s an iconic design I’d say, and one of my favourite things about my race bike.
“Every time I walk into the garage, it looks even better!”
The launch…
“Another really cool thing is the launch control! Not many road bikes have launch control so you may have never experienced the feeling or the sound. But it’s great.
“What a lot of people don’t know is that you sit on the start line and both my feet are down. I’ve actually got the throttle wide open. You can’t just drop the clutch like you can in a supercar, you have to feed it out while holding the throttle flat out.
“In that period of two to five seconds, when you hear the bike bouncing off the launch control limiter at around 9,000 rpm, there’s not many better sounds in my opinion.”
Its brakes…
“Finally, and possibly the coolest thing that I’ve got on my bike is a dual braking system. So, I have a rear brake lever on my right foot, which those who ride will be totally familiar with, but I also have a rear brake lever on my left handlebar – like a scooter brake.
“That means my clutch lever is pointing upwards, but I only use that for the starts anyway, not during the race, so it doesn’t really matter.
“Having this set up makes a big difference to my riding. I use my right foot brake in all left-hand corners, and I use the scooter-style brake in right hand corners, because when you’re leaning over, you can’t get your foot in position to use the foot brake. It’s dead simple, but I love it.”
So, there you have it! Five cool things about Jonathan Rea’s factory Kawasaki ZX-10RR superbike, from the man himself! Don’t you just love the fact that it’s all about the noise and the green paint?
