Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R Launched In Indonesia

It is the only 250cc sportsbike to feature an inline four-cylinder motor

• Comes in two variants: Std and Special Edition.
• 250cc in-line four motor delivers 52PS and 22.9Nm. 
• Gets 3-stage traction control, power modes. 

Kawasaki has launched the ZX-25R in Indonesia today. First shown at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, the bike comes in two variants: Std and Special Edition. Prices for the Kawasaki ZX-25R is IDR 96,000,000 (around Rs 4.99 lakh) for the Std variant and IDR 112,900,000 (Rs 5.97 lakh) for the SE variant. That is on par with the Kawasaki Ninja 400’s India pricing. The Ninja ZX-25R is priced high as it gets a complex 4-cylinder motor and top-spec underpinnings. 

The Ninja ZX-25R is styled similar to the new-generation Ninja's like the Ninja 400 and Ninja ZX-6R. It gets twin LED headlamps and a semi-digital instrument console. Just above the headlamp unit is a Ram Air intake that feeds air directly into the engine and helps improve performance at speed. 

The Ninja ZX-25R’s highlight is its inline four-cylinder motor. While Japanese bikemakers did make small capacity inline fours before, those were ditched in favour of more affordable single and twin-cylinder motors. With the Ninja ZX-25R, Kawasaki will be the only bikemaker to have a production 250cc four-cylinder motorcycle in its portfolio. The Ninja ZX-25R's liquid cooled 249cc motor delivers 50PS @ 15,500rpm (51PS with Ram Air)and 22.9Nm @ 14,400rpm. These figures are significantly higher than larger capacity supersport bikes like the KTM RC 390 and even the Ninja 400. The Ninja ZX-25R's motor can rev as high as 17,000rpm. The baby Ninja gets a six-speed gearbox with a slipper clutch and the SE edition gets an additional bi-directional quickshifter. 

The Ninja ZX-25R gets a tubular steel trellis frame with a gullwing style swingarm. It also gets a 37mm Showa SFF-BP fork with a horizontal backlink rear monoshock. Braking is via a 310mm front disc with a radially mounted monobloc caliper and a 220mm disc. It gets 110/70 R17 front and 150/60 R17 rear Dunlop GPR300 radial tyres. The 250cc bike also gets rider aids like two power modes (high and low), 3-stage traction control and a bi-directional quickshifter. At 180kg, the kerb weight is higher than that of the KTM RC 390. It gets a low 785mm seat height and a 15-litre fuel tank. 

It is highly unlikely that Kawasaki will launch the ZX-25R in India as the small capacity motorcycle could end up being priced higher than the larger Ninja 400 sold here. Even if Kawasaki thinks of bringing in a limited number of the Ninja ZX-25 here, they would probably have to get them here via the CBU route as opposed to other CKD Kawasaki bikes. The added taxes would then make the Ninja ZX-25R prohibitively expensive and it could end up being priced even more than the Ninja 650. So unless Kawasaki has a sizeable number of Indian enthusiasts willing to pay the extra premium, a number to justify homologating and setting up a separate assembly line for the bike, the Ninja ZX-25R remains a pipe dream for us.