The 2018 Kawasaki Ninja 400 - All New Sportbike
A new Kawasaki Ninja 400 has been outed after the firm shot an advert for the motorcycle in Milwaukee, USA. While Kawasaki did its best to hide the undisguised motorcycles during the filming of the advertising, the whole caboodle was caught on camera.
The new 2018 Kawasaki Ninja 400 appears to be a replacement for the current Ninja 300. The number plate reads Ninja 400, giving away the name and capacity. The swingarm, fork and brakes look similar to the existing Ninja 300’s, but the bodywork is completely new.
The engine appears to be a new unit, the old Ninja 300 engine was unable to pass the European EURO4 exhaust emission regulation. The engine of the Kawasaki Ninja 300 parallel twin has its roots in the GPz250’s engine, introduced way back in 1983, a replacement is well overdue. The clutch cover appears to be positioned higher, as is normal on more modern engine and transmission designs.
While increasing the capacity from 300cc to 400cc might seem a leap, it makes sense given that Kawasaki’s rivals are also getting larger. Yamaha’s YZF-R3 uses a 321cc twin, KTM’s Duke 390 has a 373cc single and Honda’s expected CBR350RR is expected to be a 350cc parallel twin.
