Kawasaki ZX-25R – Is it Too Strong?
A 250cc four-cylinder engine, doesn’t it sound a bit ridiculous? It was a more common set-up in the 80s, including the early Ninja 250 generation. It is no longer as common, but the idea of what seems to be an excessive number of cylinders is not completely dead for such a small displacement. This is the case with the new Kawasaki ZX-25R that was introduced in Tokyo in October.
No specifics have been revealed about the baby Ninja, but we are now getting confirmation that the new ZX will become one of the highest-revving motorcycles on the market.
The 4-cylinder Monster
Kawasaki Indonesia released a video showing some of the latest ZX-25R’s features including its dashboard. Looking at the rpm scale, we immediately notice that on the dial there is a very little redline. It’s not necessary: the redline of the tiny new engine is set at 17,000 rpm.
The new CBR 1000RR-R Honda Fireblade redlines at 14,500 rpm for comparison. Ducati Panigale V4 R does so t 16,500. The red limit is set at 14,000 rpm for the Kawasaki Ninja H2. These are bigger engines, of course, but I find it interesting to equate them with some of the best-performing sportbikes out there. To put it simply, the higher threshold of revolutions would allow riders to get more power out of the tiny motor.
It is estimated that the new mill will produce nearly 60 horsepower— no official figures have yet been released. Let’s equate it to previous Ninja generations sold in the US to help understand what that amount could mean. The Ninja 250 (non-ZX) produced 25 horsepower while the 300 was good at 35 hp. As for the Ninja 400 at the moment? It’s churning out a healthy 43 horsepower!
“If the somewhere-around-60 turns out to be true, that’s an impressive amount of power for such a small bike. It should also result in an interesting power-to-weight ratio.”
Unfortunately, there’s no discussion about the Kawasaki ZX-25R appearing in the US for now, at least. We’re not in the “never” territory but if it ever does release, it could be a while before that happens. Meanwhile, we’re going to have to watch others have all the fun and hear what they’ve got to say about the latest Ninja.
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Source: RideApart
