India Kawasaki Motor has dropped the teaser for something interesting on its social media handles, hinting at a brand new four-cylinder offering coming soon. While the Japanese manufacturer retails a number of in-line four-cylinder motorcycles in India, this could be its most affordable yet and possibly the most manic one so far as it is likely to be the Kawasaki ZX-4R supersport.
The Kawasaki ZX-4R is already on sale in the international market and is based on the Ninja range, drawing power from a four-cylinder heart instead of a parallel-twin in the sub 400 cc space. The new offering is a spiritual successor to the Kawasaki ZXR400 that was introduced in 1989 and saw a 300 cc four-cylinder heart for some serious power. The ZXR400 had to be discontinued in more recent years owing to the stricter emission norms globally as well as the popularity of motorcycles in the larger 600-1,000 cc segments.
Also Read : Kawasaki KX65 and KX112 launched in India, but you can’t ride them. Here’s why
Interestingly, even stricter emission norms, regulations and taxation in some markets prompted Kawasaki to bring the 399 cc four-cylinder motor back in an all-new avatar. On the ZX-4R, the newly-developed engine is a liquid-cooled, inline-4 with a DOHC setup. The motor churns out 78 bhp at a whopping 15,000 rpm and 37.6 Nm of peak torque at 12,500 rpm. It’s paired with a 6-speed gearbox and gets an assist & slipper clutch and a quickshifter.
On the design front, the Kawasaki ZX-4R borrows heavily from the Ninja 400 and other Ninja models. This includes the split LED headlamps, sporty riding posture, Showa-sourced USD front forks and preload-adjustable monoshock at the rear, and disc brakes at either end with a dual-disc setup at the front with radial calipers and a single disc at the rear with a floating caliper. The bike rides on 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 120/70 section front and 160/60 section rear tyres.
Also Read : 2024 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R launched with Euro5 compliance. India comeback likely
The Kawasaki ZX-4R gets four riding modes – Sport, Road, Rain and Rider (customisable), which can be controlled using the 4.3-inch TFT screen that gets Bluetooth connectivity with turn-by-turn navigation and notification updates.
The ZX-4R is a niche offering and it would be bold of Kawasaki India to bring the small displacement four-cylinder motorcycle to the Indian market. It’s likely that the bike will arrive in India as a Completely Built Unit (CBU), which should keep prices at a hefty premium between ₹7-8 lakh (ex-showroom). That said, there will be a handful of enthusiasts who will enjoy the screaming in-line four motor on the ZX-4R at that price. Kawasaki India is yet to officially announce details though and we expect the same in the coming days.
First Published Date: 05 Sep 2023, 16:38 PM IST
