The legend of the 90s is making its return in modern guise. When this shows up, bye-bye parallel twin 250cc & 300cc sportsbikes. Current 2-pot Ninja 250 will do 12500RPM... if the old ZXR250 is anything to go by, an inline 4 250 engine will rocket up to 18000RPM and scream just like an F1 car.

The real killer however would be a 400cc inline 4 version, CKD.. if there is even such a plan in the works. If the old ZXR400 is anything to go by, that ought to be about 14000RPM, 60+ horses in a package not that much bigger than a 250cc bike - sounds plenty fun!

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In-line four-cylinder Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R ready in prototype form

The rumours about the in-line four-cylinder Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R have been around for quite some time now. In a new development, Indonesian website Gridoto claims that this rumoured quarter-litre motorcycle is ready in prototype form at the PT Kawasaki Motor Indonesia’s factory.

The report adds that the prototype motorcycle is equipped with a racing exhaust. The sound produced by the bike is claimed to be equivalent to that of a big bike. The details are scarce, but if a new model is under development, we can expect to see improved performance numbers. The two-cylinder Ninja 250, which is currently on sale in select international markets, draws 39 hp at 12,500 rpm and 23.5 Nm of peak torque at 10,000 rpm from its 249 cc liquid-cooled motor.

The quarter-litre four-cylinder model, if launched, will compete with the Honda CBR250RR and the Yamaha YZF-R3. Both its rivals feature a twin-cylinder engine.

The new engine specifications will be backed with updated hardware that should target the Honda CBR250RR. The quarter-litre from Honda packs upside down front forks and ride-by-wire tech. Kawasaki can try to integrate those features into the four-cylinder Ninja 250. The current generation model already gets full LED headlight. The semi-digital instrument console with an analogue tachometer can stay.

Like the Kawasaki Ninja 250, the rumoured Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R should feature single disc brakes on both wheels, but maybe with a larger rotor. Dual-channel ABS will handle the safety department. The world premiere may take place at either the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show or the EICMA 2019 in the final quarter of the year.

Meanwhile, in India, Kawasaki has commenced the pre-bookings for the 2019 Ninja ZX-10R, its litre-class supersport model. With the MY2019 update, the Ninja ZX-10R's engine's maximum power has gone up from 200 PS to 203 PS. The bike can be pre-booked with a deposit of INR 1.50 lakh.


https://indianautosblog.com/in-line-four-cy...-launch-p317157

This post has been edited by ZZR-Pilot: May 2 2019, 12:06 AM

possible to keep the price under 30K? lol
cbr250rr priced almost 35k, for 2 cil qtr litre bike

Exaggerating a bit there? The twins are still more practical and cost-effective compared to a quarter litre 4 cylinder bike since they use less EO and are cheaper to produce. Engine also has different characteristic.

ZX-25R seems to be more sporty and designed for those who really want the inline 4 sound without breaking the bank. Current Ninja 250/400 is more of a sport tourer/beginner machine because of relaxed riding position. Different strokes for different folks.

Time to see if Kawi's recently increased stake in Modenas will help them with pricing. If ZX-25R comes here, I expect it to be around 30~35k unless they pull off some magic trick.

This post has been edited by blackbox14: May 2 2019, 02:51 AM

Indonesia... Lol

It will be real interesting though if such a rumour is true, This might knock some sales out of the 2-cylinder bikes out there like the smaller 250's to maybe even the 400's. Don't think it would affect the 2 cylinder Ninja 650 though...

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I think it's better to make a 300cc/400cc 3/4-cyl. 250cc 4-cyl, sooooo comel la the parts... per cylinder smaller than a C70

Is Honda still making the CB400 Super 4 brand new? If yes then you're right, a 300cc or 400cc 4-cylinder could make sense but that would put it out of reach of the B2 riders

yes cb4 is still selling for japanese market...

the thing about this bike is the price. even ninja 250 is like rm24k+-. i dont see its gonna be cheaper than the current ninja 250.

Yup, can't expect it to be cheaper in any way. 2 more cylinders doesn't end there. There's technology to be added on to make it all work and there is a development cost as well...

Well let's see what Kawasaki thinks of it.

The way I look at it, the 2-pot 250cc market is getting crowded coz all the major players are throwing everything into it. Kawasaki might decide the need to create a differentiated offering far outweighs everything else, which may justify bringing back the inline 4 250cc pocket rocket and adjusting the 2-pot 250cc line-up to accommodate it.

That might then serve as a stepping stone towards considering reintroducing the inline 4 400cc class.

It's early days yet, but it's encouraging to hear abt the possibility of this category of bikes making a comeback. After all, it has been 20 bloody years.

Surely this can't be bad news at all.

There will definitely be some R&D cost that this bike will have to recoup, but then it isn't as if Kawasaki needs to sink serious money designing testing & tooling for a brand new engine from scratch like Yamaha did with its triple.

They already have that engine design as a base to improve on. Just like how they developed the current gen 2-pot engines that trace their origins to existing GPZ & ZZR/EL engine designs of the 90s.

I really hate the sound of parellel twin with modified exhaust.
Not to mention kapchai or single potter with loud pipes, including the dukes.

Damn nuisance.

Please bring in more 4 potters .

Wah really nostalgia

Will definitely be good news if Kawa is considering such an engine. I totally agree with you that the 2-cylinder market is getting too crowded and hopefully, Kawa product planners see this too. An entry level in-line 4 with 400cc wiill really be a nice stepping stone but then, how would that affect the Ninja 650 (2-cylinder)? Unless, the in-line 4 400cc is made to be for a different line, ZX4R perhaps and the next step up would be the ZX636... then it would be an SS (super sport) instead of a Sport Tourer. If it were to go along those lines, it might have a good chance imho

Team green > all.

Make it real Kawa.

From a business standpoint, its not likely to be mass market due to demand. But I am very keen to see this thru, my Gixxer is getting old.

What's your flavour? ZX250R or ZX4R? Assuming that Kawa really did a smaller in-line 4

fake news again gua