NINJA ZX400
And so it came to pass that Kawasaki’s trusty Ninja
300 had to pass its Samurai sword to the Yamaha
YZF-R3. It had been on the cards though, the 300
could trace its lineage back to the free-revving,
but not overly powerful, GPX250R of the mid-
1980s, via an update in the Ninja 250. With the
Yamaha being a brand new design and sporting
bigger guns it was inevitable – the Ninja gave away
29cc to the 321cc Yamaha and in a game where
300cc is your all, 29cc is something of a handicap.
Not that the 300 was a bad machine, far from it.
Sporty styling and an ease of use that learners
loved along with reasonable performance made
it a popular seller. Our own Avalon Biddle races
one too. Well, she did. At the track she was lined
up next to u s with a hefty dose of anticipation
for the all-new 399cc machine, looking for every
advantage that the new bike looks to offer.
So the engine is a completely new design. There’s
no linking this lump back to the 80s. Power is up and
torque is up, to the tune of 33.4kW (45ps) vs 29kW
(39ps) and 38Nm vs 27Nm. And thanks to the bigger
bore and longer stroke of the new design, as well as
a higher compression ratio, this extra performance
is achieved lower in the rev range, giving this a
much more muscular feel than the bike of old.
Peak torque is 8000rpm, some 2000rpm lower in
the revs and peak power is made 1000rpm lower.
It’s not often that a manufacturer launches a new
bike along with the old one there for a comparison.
Kawasaki clearly knows it’s onto a winner with the
new bike. Back-to-back the old bike felt sluggish and
wobbly, with only adequate braking performance.
It’s a night and day difference. The new bike has
noticeably more power, a shorter wheelbase, less
steering rake, a wider rear tyre (up to 150mm from
140mm), a bigger 310mm front brake disc with
anti-lock braking, bigger diameter 41mm forks,
and has lost weight in the process. The numbers
don’t really matter, the story here is that the bike
Class-leading performance; great
price; huge fun
Small if you’re a six-footer
KIWI RIDER 45