Kawasaki were the first of the World Superbike teams to get on the track in 2011 with a planned four day testing at Sepang where they will hope to iron out any problems with the new ZX10R.
Among the riders taken to Malaysia for the test outing was Chris Vermeulen, taking his first ride aboard a race spec bike since undergoing surgery on a knee injury sustained in the opening round of the 2010 season almost a year ago.
Vermeulen had the surgery later in the season in July 2010 and has spent the last six months recuperating, he said that he has only started walking in the last three weeks.
His test ride aboard the Kawasaki ZX10R cheered the rider no end, although rain hampered his progress during the afternoon and he will be looking forward to further testing today.
Pleased with his first impressions of the Kawasaki Vermeulen admitted that his knee still has some way to go before full recovery saying that although it had improved a lot over the last couple of weeks, he cannot bend the knee enough at present on right hand corners.
Kawasaki team mates Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz were also on track in Sepang during the private testing, ahead of the official first test in Portugal at the Portimao circuit on January 26th.