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Kawasaki 400cc Inline 4 Screamer Coming Soon?


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2020-Kawasaki-ZX-25R.jpg

Remember the age of screaming small-displacement inline fours?  Well, according to MCN and their “Japanese sources,” there is at least one new screamer coming.  And, it’s again coming from Kawasaki.

Team Green has already released its ZX-25 inline four pocket rocket for the Asian market.  The ZX-25 has all the traits you might remember about high-performance, small-displacement motorcycles, with light weight and high redlines.  In the case of the ZX-25R, it’s 17,000 rpm.

While the little inline-four makes a very respectable 50 hp at 15,500 rpm, its torque output is not spectacular.  If you want to go fast on the little screamer, you’re going to have to row through its quickshifter equipped gearbox.  The quarter-liter screamer only makes 16.9 lb-ft of torque at around 14,500 rpm.

400cc ZX-4R screamer

Now, if MCN’s unnamed sources can be trusted, Kawasaki is going to up its screamer ante up a bit.  This time around, they will up the engine’s displacement to 400 cc.

MCN makes the claim not only on the backs of their unnamed sources but also point to a 2019 Japanese Patent Office application.  Reportedly, the patent specifically says that the design is “preferably applied to a vehicle having four-cylinder 400cc engine”.

Other than the engine change, MCN suggests that a ZX-4R could “share the vast majority of its parts with the existing ZX-25R, including the tubular steel frame, banana swingarm, and most of the bodywork.”  However, the bike will get some new parts, such as a new nose and headlights, which will resemble those found on Kawasaki’s ZX-10R.

According to MCN’s projection, the ZX-4R could make as much as 80 hp with ram-air effects.  Torque would likely rise, potentially to about 24 lb-ft.

If Kawasaki builds the ZX-4R, its initial market will likely be Asia, where small-displacement bikes reign king.  But if it sells well there, could the 400 cc displacement be “big enough” for the machine to be exported to other markets?  Time will tell.

Vezi sursa

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