The first thing that struck me about the 2008 Kawasaki ZX-10R test bike when I collected it was the colour - an intimidatingly loud metallic orange, vastly different from the traditional shamrock green or the slightly more formal metallic royal blue I'm used to seeing on sports bikes from the smallest of Japan's Big Four.
However, once you get used to it, the orange is actually appealin and, unlike on some sharper-edged European bikes, the body panels - black and orange - flow together.
The fairing follows the layout of the engine and frame so closely it could almost have been shrink-wrapped. That usually means very little protection for the rider but I rode the ZX-10R home in pouring rain and stayed remarkably dry behind the abbreviated bodywork, except for my shoulders and boots.
The screen is kicked up so you can see the warning lights without having to crouch. Somebody at Kawasaki has realised that the flat, racing-style screens made popular by Ducati are the first thing even Ducati racers change.
Kawasaki builds superb engines - and this is one of its best. Although designed as a racer, the 2008 ZX-10R will run smoothly all the way down to about 2200rpm in top - about 50km/h - and pull away, growling gently, from 3500.
There's a green zone on the rev-counter from 6000rpm to 12 500 - and that's really where it all happens.
The ZX-10R pulls like a freight locomotive from 6500 and goes ballistic from 9000, all the way to the red line at 12 500. The power falls off quickly after that; I took it to the rev limiter at 13 200 in fourth once (to find out where it was) but it didn't do any good.
The bike went straight up to 12 400rpm using less than half of my six-kilometre test straight with the shift light flickering in top and 299km/h writ large on the digital speedo.
Mr Garmin and his friends in the sky told a different story; true top speed was 276km/h - nothing to be ashamed of - and what's more the bike was rock steady although my head was a little buffeted.
The ZX-10R developed an impressive thirst during performance testing, 8.3 litres/100km over the test period -but the only time it felt unsettled was on full-bore upshifts, not unusual with the steep steering angles used on modern sports machinery.
The clutch is typical Kawasaki: bulletproof and taking up firmly, but the bike stalls easily at very low revs.
Crisp as iced Champagne
Gear lever travel is very short and light but the gearbox is distinctly notchy around town. I was prepared to be a little disappointed but as soon as the revs went into the green zone the box smoothed out and became as crisp as iced Champagne - with or without the clutch.
Even changing down all I did was to feather the clutch so as not to chip the dogs - if I went down through the gears too quickly I could feel the clutch lever kicking against my hand as the slipper clutch made up for my clumsiness but the bike never got out of line.
At first the bike felt reasonably comfortable - and very stable - in traffic but my wrists soon began to ache; the weight distribution was much better once I was out in the open road with hands, feet and backside sharing the weight.
There's nothing nicer than bunking out of the office on a crisp autumn afternoon and heading for the hills on something that really goes.
The suspension was firm but never harsh - even on my bumpy test route - in contrast to some more expensive machines I've written about recently. The brakes are superb, big monobloc Tokico calipers clamping petal discs and linked to a radial master cylinder by stainless-steel hoses.
Perfect combination
The set-up delivers a perfect combination of bite and controllability so you can trickle to a stop in traffic without loading the front suspension - or hit the brakes hard enough going into a fast corner to get the rear end wagging like a happy puppy.
Dial in 8000rpm going in, however, and you'll come out like a ski-jumper soaring off the end of the ramp
The factory settings on the beautiful Ohlins damper resulted in slightly lazy steering, which I didn't adjust 'cause that's the way I like it.
At the end of the afternoon I put in a dozen or so laps of Killarney, not standard practice but necessary with a machine of such all-round competence.
On the track the wide spread of power was very useful in slow turns while the huge spread of power and lack of steps in the power band inspired confidence; with the correct set-up it's easy to see why Sheridan Morais is winning races on one.
The mechanical architecture is compact but heavy, most of it under the engine in the middle of the bike, and the seat is close-coupled with the handlebars close to the rider; the bike handles beautifully, with accurate turn-in and excellent mid-corner stability.
Verdict
The ZX-10R is a race bike in street clothes. Its build quality is better than I expected, however, a distinct improvement over the previous model, and its low-speed behaviour impeccable.
It's the most complete large-calibre sports bike Kawasaki has yet produced.
Price: R119 995.