Who's excited by this? Possible return of the pocket 4 cylinder rockets led by China companies. Or is Malaysia and the world still crazy about power nakeds. For me, I'm wishing for the comeback of sport bikes and sport tourers. On the Japanese end, we have the ZX25R and the proposed ZX4R. Let's discuss.

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/new-bik...-excelle-400rr/

https://www.rideapart.com/news/627823/kove-...tbike-unveiled/

This post has been edited by lowpro: Jan 1 2023, 11:26 AM

I like this:
"An ultra-short 35.6mm stroke and wide 59mm bore, along with a 13:1 compression ratio and modern tech, including fuel injection, contribute to a power figure far higher than any of those old Japanese 400cc fours could achieve, and Colove say it’s completely designed in-house. The bike will be under 160kg and have a top speed north of 135mph."

In Japan & Singapore, there is a niche for 400cc bikes due to their licensing structure (in Singapore for example, Class 2A license lets you ride up to 400cc, a year after holding a Class 2A you can finally move up to the full Class 2 to ride anything >400cc).

There is no such niche to create a demand for 400cc bikes in particular, unless they create this niche via pricing instead.

I don't know how they're going to do that here though to make it even worth their while.

I used to own a GSXR400-RR - it was a fun tool to terrorize the 750s in Batu Tiga circuit, coz you could outbrake the heavy 750s into the corners. When the Sepang circuit opened, it was kinda pointless...

Considering I had a FZR400 before, small displacement sports bikes are fun as a toy.

Not so much as daily transport. You have nothing until 8000rpm. After a while it gets tiring.

Can I say the same for 600cc supersports? I was told they are like that.

This post has been edited by alexei: Jan 2 2023, 04:41 PM

honestly, I wouldn't want to be riding a supersports on the daily, or long distance for that matter.

But as a weekend canyon carver or track day weapon, definitely. There is something about the power, sound, lightness and 14000rpm redline that is pure distillation of what fun is on a bike.


If I compare my old FZR and my Dominar, both 400cc class, The dominar gets all its torque by 5500rpm, while the FZR doesnt even start making much until 8000rpm, meaning in most city rides you are stuck in 2nd or at most 3rd gear. While i can comfortably pot around town at 60 on 5th or 6th with the dominar....with enough torque to pull away from traffic if need be. Both weigh in similar at about 185kg, but the geometry of the FZR is much tighter and thus much more responsive and quick in switching directions. The Dominar feels like a loaded truck.

The FZR having 20hp more, can easily do a sub-5 seconds 0-100 (1/4 mile is sub 14s) while the dominar does the same sprint in a very leisurely 8 seconds. I've taken the FZR to slightly over 200, while the Dominar maxes out at 160.

Different animal and tool for different jobs.

Do I miss that 12000rpm wail from the 4 pot of the FZR? Very much so.



This post has been edited by jaycee1: Jan 3 2023, 09:07 AM

Wah, nice bike! 400cc screamer... but, why? why did you sell it?

the modern 400cc twin to 600cc 4 cylinders, or even the triples, are more enticing to ride on faster roads now, making the smaller bikes for UNIMAP or the older Batu Tiga track. I was at Batu Tiga the day before the excavator was sent in.

Blew the headgasket...swapped in the 600. Wasnt the same anymore. Very short riding season, carbs got all clogged up over winter. Gave up. LOL. Basically riding eason is only 4 months....6 if you are lucky and can tahan the cold, and basically every spring you need to rebuild the carbs. .......

The bike was a 86...and I was 20 at that time. Im more than double that age now, realistically, i cant handle the ergos for a supersports anymore.




This post has been edited by jaycee1: Jan 3 2023, 11:51 AM

yikes, u need to winterize the bike
the FZR600 is weak, then there's the FZR750... but these are stories for another day.

On topic, there's a Ninja250 Ohlins edition.
https://www.kawasaki.com.my/ninja250-ohlins-edition

Keeping the engine on the boil was part of the fun, but yea it was gutless in the lower RPMs. It was a lot like the 2-stroke 250s of the time - RS250, RGV250 etc.

The old Japanese 400s tend to have a low seat height and I would have happily gotten the CB400 SuperFour for the wife if it weren't so fucking expensive for what it is.

2 stroke you can slip clutch to "VTEC" it into higher RPM and utilize those instant torque.

many KIPS/TZ/NSR outrun the ZZR during Bkit tinggi climb during heyday after they close the Batu tiga..