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.