The Kawasaki Ninja 400 has been officially revealed.
After the bike was spied on a TV newscast earlier this year, the world knew a new Ninja 400 was coming. The question was when, and what would the change be over the previous 300 version?
Now we know the Ninja 400 has an all-new chassis, an all-new motor, a lighter curb weight, new bodywork, and several other upgrades.
Kawasaki says the reason the old Ninja 300 was discontinued after a five-year run (a comparatively short timespan for an entry-level Ninja, when compared to the old 250 model) was the upcoming Euro4 emissions standard. The 300 didn’t meet the new legislation, and was being outmuscled by the competition anyway (our words, not theirs), so Kawi bumped displacement to 399 cc.
The new engine (still a parallel twin, for reasons we discussed here) makes 45 hp at 10,000 rpm and 28 lb-ft of torque at 8,000 rpm. It’s also lighter than the outgoing powerplant, as is the updated chassis. Supposedly, in total, the bike is down 8 kg from the Ninja 300, but still has a big-bike feel due to physically larger bodywork. Wet weight is supposed to be 168 kg.
The forks are still non-adjustable budget items, but they’re 41 mm units now (previously, 37 mm). The previous 300 had a slipper clutch, but the new 400 also has an assist function to make it easier to handle in traffic. A 310 mm front brake disc (single disc only) is supposed to be the biggest in-class, and Nissin ABS will be available (standard in some markets, but likely optional here in Canada).
Fuel capacity is 14 litres (supposed to give over 330 km of range). The headlight is LED, but it seems the rest of the lighting is all standard incandescent bulbs. There will be an official Kawasaki accessory high seat, tank bag, tank pad, wind screen, frame sliders and pillion seat cover.
Canadian pricing and availability for the Kawasaki Ninja 400 haven’t been announced yet.
GALLERY
Check out all the pics that go with this story!
Has it got an offset crank perchance, with 270 deg firing ?
I good entry I think. Could someone please tell the MC manufactures that a single disk in the front just looks lame… no matter how effective they are.
“still a parallel twin, for reasons discussed ..(where?)”
https://canadamotoguide.com/2017/07/13/parallel-universe-the-surprising-comeback-of-parallel-twins/
The versys x uses the same motor as the Ninja 300 so it would be reasonable to conclude that motor is also not euro4 compliant. Seems a good bet that the Versys X should get the new motor. That would be quite interesting.
The Versys X-300 is Euro 4 compliant, it received a new fuel mapping and bigger cat but they could have done the same thing with the Ninja unless there isn’t enough room for a bigger cat.Don`t know if the new engine would fit in the Versys, might need a new frame and as the model is rather new i can`t see such change being made before the model is updated,well at least we know that for 2018 it`s still a 300.
Hmmm, I wonder if this means the Versys-X is going to get bigger too ?