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Originally Posted by Alex
Who knows? Time will tell...
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People seem to give them a lot of credibility. I mean, here are a few quotes I’ve found touting the veracity of Young:
“Young Machine, a veritable prophet of Japan's motorcycle magazine industry, says the new 400 is almost here.”
“Japanese publication Young Magazine is normally very accurate in its reporting of new models, features a new Kawasaki ZX-4R on its cover.”
“We've now got more concrete evidence from Kawasaki that a Ninja ZX-4R high-revving machine is in the works.”
“Concrete?” That one is from webBikeWorld’s byline (shows in Google search results but not on the mobile page). Young must have a stellar track record.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DannoXYZ
gosh, déja vu all over again like with ZX25R rumours! That turned out to be major disappointment with 400-lb weight and only 45 bhp. Squarely defeated by Ninja 400 @ 362-lbs and ~50bhp.
Now let's hope this thing comes in at around 370-lbs and 60 bhp minimum. For comparison, here's some 400 4-bangers from past:
FZR-400 - 407-lbs and 66-bhp
VFR-400R - 400-lbs and 59-bhp
CBR400RR - 396-lbs and 59-bhp
GSX-R400 - 372-lbs and 59-bhp
When hopped-up, these were easily in 80-hp range.
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Based on the description of the ZX-4R I expect the next ZX-25R to get a matching facelift with a ZX-10R-style upper.
The renders all show a Ninja 400-style exhaust but I don’t think the exhaust will be different unless that is needed for emissions or something. That said, most of the articles say emissions are why Kawasaki is making this a 400 in the first place.
Like the old Canadian Ninja 400 that was a sleeved-down 650 and the Ninja 300 that was a Ninja 250 with 8mm more stroke, the ZX-4R will likely have the same weight as the smaller counterpart because it is essentially the same bike. Then again, since there is no more ZX-6R they might make more substantial engine changes to get as much HP as they can out of this thing. If they are defining it for emissions and compensating with increased displacement, I doubt they will be aiming for maximum performance but, damn, I’d love to be wrong. Hey! Maybe they can kill two birds at one time with a turbo/super charger?
