Kawasaki Z400 Incoming?

Kawasaki recently filed emission documents with the California Air Resources Board for two of its motorcycles. One was the Ninja 400 while the other was named ER 400 DK. Now the acronym ‘ER’ has got us interested. That's the acronym that has graced most of Kawasaki’s previous naked bikes. The Kawasaki Z650’s predecessor, for example, was called the ER6N. This could possibly mean then the ER in the document stands for a naked bike. The 400 denoting the engine capacity is quite obvious.

In a way, it is logical that Kawasaki would come up with a naked iteration of the Ninja 400. In the past, the Kawasaki Ninja 250, Ninja 650, and Ninja 1000 have all spawned the Z250, Z650, Z1000 respectively. The Z400 would be a good competition to the KTM Duke 390 as it makes more power.

So what to expect in the Kawasaki Z400? The front might get a headlamp design similar to the larger Z650, and, given that the Ninja 400 gets LED headlamps, get the LED treatment as well. Most of Kawasaki’s naked bikes have carried the fuel tank and rear tail section of their naked counterparts so we expect the Ninja’s instrument console, fuel tank, seats, tail section and LED tail lamps to feature on the Z900 as well.

Expect the 399cc liquid-cooled, parallel twin motor to be carried over from the Ninja 400 as well. It might carry the same state of tune, making the same 49PS and 38Nm of torque. The frame, brakes, tyres and suspension setup too are also expected to be carried over.

The Ninja 400 is currently sold in India at quite a high retail price of Rs 4.69 lakh (ex-Delhi). This price might come down in the future as Kawasaki is planning to set up a production hub in Chakan. We expect the Ninja 400 to drop prices similar to the Ninja 300. If the Z400 comes to India, it might be heavily localised as well, which means pricing might hover around the Rs 3.2 lakh. Thats sweet pricing for a 400cc parallel twin naked.

Source: Rideapart.com