The quarter-litre 4-cylinder motorcycle concept is not a new one, in fact, manufacturers like Kawasaki and Honda have had quite a bit of success with their 250cc, inline-4 engine in the past. For example, Honda in the 80’s had the ‘Honda MC19’ which was a 250cc, 4-cylinder, 4-stroke machine. Now, it is rumoured that the Japanese motorcycle manufacturer Kawasaki has already developed a modern inline-4 cylinder engine with a maximum displacement of 250cc for the masses. The prototype of the motorcycle is ready at Kawasaki Motors Indonesia factory and is rumoured to be called the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R.
At this time, any details of the engine specification are not available, but it is obvious that an improved performance figure as compared to the twin-cylinder 250 engine will be seen. The current quarter-litre engine in the Kawasaki line up in India is the Kawasaki Z250 powered by a 249cc, parallel twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled motor producing 32 PS of power and 21 Nm of torque coupled to a return type 6-speed constant mesh gearbox.
The new inline-4 cylinder engine will have more power and will be tuned differently than the Z250 as it is tuned to more street bike like characteristics. The international spec Kawasaki Ninja 250 which is only available in select foreign markets is powered by a twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled motor with a maximum displacement of 249cc which generates 39 PS of power and 23.5 Nm of torque and comes with a 6-speed gearbox.
The Ninja ZX-25R will feature ride-by-wire technology along with other advanced features. It will also feature LED headlights and could have a full LCD instrument console or a semi-digital one. It is expected to get upside down fork and a link-type rear monoshock. The brakes are expected to be large, single hydraulic discs on the front and rear equipped with a dual-channel ABS system.
The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R, if comes out of development and into production, it will compete with the Honda CBR250RR and the Yamaha YZF-R3 which are both powered by twin-cylinder engines. The bike may be showcased at the upcoming EICMA or Tokyo Motor Show in 2019.
In related news, Kawasaki India has started to accept bookings for the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. Booking prices start at INR 1.5 lakh and the new ZX-10R has an improved, more powerful engine than its predecessor which was priced at 14.30 ex-showroom, Delhi. Pricing on the new model is yet to be revealed.