The Kawasaki ZX-4R might be coming soon according to rumours. Reports have suggested that Kawasaki is working on a higher displacement version of the ZX-25R. The Kawasaki ZX-4R is said to be based on the ZX-25R and even uses the same basic engine, just bored up to get the additional displacement.
In the late 80’s the big four Japanese manufacturers – Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, and Kawasaki were head-to-head in the 250cc segment. All four manufacturers had brilliant 250cc motorcycles that revved way past the mark litre-class motorcycles could dream of. Some of them revved all the way to 19,000rpm.
As a result of the high revs, the motorcycle produced an output other 250cc motorcycles could only dream of. The 250cc single-cylinder and twin-cylinder motorcycles of today too lag in terms of power output when compared to these legends of yore.
As time went by, stricter emissions norms came into play and manufacturers ditched the inline-fours for single-cylinder engines and parallel-twin engines. In 2020 though, things changed quite rapidly. Honda and Yamaha were reported to be working on motorcycles with 250cc inline-four engines. Kawasaki went a step ahead and launched the Ninja ZX-25R.
The Ninja ZX-25R is a gamechanger and motorcyclists all over loved it. It features top-shelf components and sophisticated electronics. It is powered by a liquid-cooled, 249.8cc, inline-four-cylinder engine with a maximum power output of 51bhp at 15,500rpm and a peak torque output of 22.9Nm at 14,500rpm. A 6-speed gearbox drives the rear wheel.
It seems like Kawasaki wants to build on the success of the ZX-25R. Reports coming from Japan state that Kawasaki is developing a larger displacement variant which will be called ZX-4R. The ZX-4R moniker is not new. Kawasaki produced a high-performance motorcycle by the same name between 1989 and 2003.
The 249.8cc displacement of the ZX-25R correlates to a capacity of 62.45cc per cylinder. In order to reach a total displacement of 400cc, Kawasaki has to bore out each cylinder to a capacity of 100cc, which shouldn’t be a big deal for the engineers of the Japanese motorcycle giant.
The older ZX-4R was only sold in Japan and it produced an output of 64.1bhp at 13,000rpm and 39.2Nm at 10,000rpm. Quite obviously then, the new one that Kawasaki is said to be working on will produce more power and torque. It could produce around 80bhp.
This puts it in a segment with bigger motorcycles like the Aprilia RS660 and Yamaha YZF-R7 that produce 100bhp and 72.39bhp respectively. It is all speculation at the moment, but it is trustworthy speculation. More details are expected to come out in the next few months.
Thoughts On Kawasaki ZX-4R Being Developed
The very thought of a Kawasaki supersport motorcycle powered by a 400cc inline-four engine is exciting to say the least. Kawasaki didn’t launch the ZX-25R in the Indian market or the European market. If the ZX-4R is indeed being developed, we do wish from the bottom of our hearts for Kawasaki to launch it in India.