June 2010 | BikeAdvice - Latest Bike News, Motorcycle Reviews, Electric Vehicle Updates

According to concrete news, Japanese two wheeler manufacturer, Kawasaki is planning 3 new models for 2011, two based on a 400cc engine along with the 2011 special edition of Ninja 250R. According the latest information received through official company news Ninja 400 would sport a 399cc 4 stroke Liquid Cooled Parallel Twin engine with 4 valves per cylinder. We enlist the various revelations that have taken place so far. Important Points: Power: Ninja 400 would be capable of producing 44bhp from its fuel injected mill Looks: The bike looks a killing machine in the pics which have been revealed till now with a fiery front and a well complemented contoured rear Offset laydown monoshock: Kawasaki has used the shocker as a design element as it is not covered like the Ninja 250R Twin Colored fairing: Contrary to Ninja 250R, the elder sibling will get twin color treatment for the fairing Under Engine Muffler: The muffler peeps out with a small hole from under the engine. It also lowers the center of gravity and enhances the overall geometry of the bike. Concentration on Low and Mid range: According to Kawasaki, they have placed emphasis on enhancing the low end and mid range performance of the bike. Large Petal Disc Brakes: Similar to Ninja 250R, 400 also boasts of front as well as rear discs in petal shape. Looking from the naked eye they do look bigger then 250s Higher Weight: The bike boasts off a kerb weight of 203kg which is slightly on the higher side considering the relatively smaller engine size. Light Handling: Despite a higher weight, Kawasaki promises the new bike to be a light handler due to a rigid and well engineered chassis. LED Tail lamp: Following the overall curves of the body, the rear ends with a curved-pointed slim LED Tail lamp to complement the overall aesthetics of the machine Innovative Grab Rails: Split grab rails have been placed on the rear panels to enable the pillion to keep sticking to the bike when needed most. These are optional fitment Non-Split Normal seat: 400 doesn’t have the split step seat from the 250 and the saddle height is also low at 790mm same as 250. Humped Tank: 400 has a more humped tank than 250 and also looks more muscular and stylish. Full Digital Instrumentation: Contrary to 250s traditional analogue console, 400 has a Moto GP inspired instrumentation which has a huge digital orange backlit console which displays speed, fuel quantity, trip length along with a bar type digital tachometer similar to Indian FZ. Fatter Tyres: Though we do not know the exact specifications, we expect the tires to be fatter than current 250s stock. Bulged out Visor: The front visor is slightly bulged out which complements the overall fantastic looking twin-eyed fairing RVMs are similar to 250 Fuel tank capacity is 15.5 liters Bore and Stroke 68.4 x 54.3 mm Compression ratio 11.0:1 Kawasaki has made it clear that this bike will not be made available in the UK market. No mention of the Indian market has been done. But only if wishes were horses, we would expect this bike to make it to India majorly because of its homogonous practicality as compared to 600-650cc or the current liter class and above insanities! It produces ample amount of power to burn the roads in any kind of imaginable way possible in India at the same time being slightly lesser in acceleration (hence more controllable) at a sudden raise of a throttle making them safer to operate (read ‘ride’). After the official foray of company’s fully owned subsidiary in India very recently, conditions and equations do become very ripe in favor of launching of this bike in India. If we are allowed to speculate in whichever way possible, we will step ahead and even try to dilly dally with the pricing part. Considering that Ninja 250R (producing 33 ponies) retail at upwards of 3 lakh Indian grands and the touted 650R (producing 70 odd bhps) comes around the 6 lakh (on road) bracket, this bike (producing 44 horses) would very much find a very good place at around 4.5 lakhs and with the kind of looks and specifications this bike boasts off, we are sure it would find many takers as has been the case with success of 250R as well. Ok enough of wild guesses and calculations; we are keeping our fingers crossed, are you? We would like you to leave comments for this machine. Who knows Kawasaki is listening! - Saad Khan Source

Monthly Archives: June 2010

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