2023 models of Kawasaki Ninja 400 and Z400 have been unveiled by the company in the European markets. The big news about this development is that the engine used in both motorcycles will be fully compliant with the Euro-5 norms. This simply means that the Ninja 400 can make its comeback in the Indian market as it was discontinued when India implemented compliance with BS6 emission norms.
Both bikes come powered by a 399 cc, parallel-twin, liquid-cooled engine capable of putting out 45hp and 37Nm of max power and max torque respectively. It is important to note that there hasn’t been any change in the power output although the torque has been marginally reduced by 1 Nm. That said there won’t be any considerable change in the performance of the bikes as the total curb weight of both machines continues to remain the same.
One of the important changes the company has made on the Ninja 400 is the use of a lighter slip and assist clutch. There has been an improvement of 20% which, according to the company, significantly reduces the efforts during the process of changing gears. However, there hasn’t been any change to the bodywork of the bikes which means that the trellis chassis and suspension system will be carried forward to new versions.
The stopping power will be provided by 310mm and 220mm discs at the front and rear respectively. The only perceptible difference on the outside is the change in the shades of the bikes as new colors have been included in the portfolios of products. It would be better if the company had used this opportunity to replace the old school analogue-digital cluster of Ninja 400 with some modern, new-age TFT unit.
Now it is an opportunity for Kawasaki to bring back Ninja 400 into the Indian market but they should be very careful about their pricing strategy. Unlike the last time when they did a blunder by pricing the bike towards the higher end of the price spectrum at Rs 4.69 lakh (ex-showroom, India), this time they should adopt the sane approach while deciding the asking price of the bike and it could do wonders for the brand.
