Retro Kawasaki Z400RS Under Development: Report

Kawasaki is all set to expand its modern-classic range soon with the new Z400RS if a new report is anything to go by. The bike maker has been slowly and steadily making headway into the retro-styled motorcycle segment with offerings like the Z900RS and more recently the Z650RS joining the line-up. Now, a new report now suggests that a Z400RS is also in the works and interestingly, it could sport an in-line four-cylinder engine instead of a parallel-twin cylinder motor that powers the Z400 currently on sale globally.

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The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R is expected to spawn the Ninja ZX-4R which will be joined by the Z400RS

The whole speculation stems from the fact that Kawasaki is developing the Ninja ZX-4R, which will be a four-cylinder upgrade over the Ninja ZX-25R that was introduced in Japan some time ago. The new ZX-4R will get a larger displacement iteration of the ZX-25R's engine, which should make things more fun for those looking for a high-powered small-displacement motorcycle. Given how well the Ninja ZX-25R has done for Kawasaki in Japan, there's reason to believe that the manufacturer is looking to replicate the same success story with the ZX-4R as well.

This would also make way for the Kawasaki Z400RS, tapping into the modern-classic popularity that's presently common the world over. For Kawasaki, the brand has some history of its own to fall back on in terms of the 400 cc segment. The manufacturer sold two popular motorcycles in the past - the 1979 Z400FX with a 399 cc four-cylinder motor and the 1989 Zephyr which was a hit in the 1990s and pretty much saw Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki bring their own 399 cc four-cylinder motorcycles of their own in the segment.

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The Kawasaki Z400RS will look identical to the bigger Z650RS and the Z900RS with the round headlamp, redesigned fuel tank, twin-pod cluster and more

That said, Kawasaki already sells the 399 cc parallel-twin cylinder powered Z400 street-fighter. That motorcycle could still be retained for several markets intentionally. The upcoming Kawasaki Ninja ZX-4R is expected to make its debut in Japan towards the end of the year. We can expect to hear more about the four-cylinder Z400RS around that time, which could be a Japan-specific model. However, it could also find success in other markets like South East Asia as well as in Europe targeted at A2 licence holders. The chances of the Kawasaki Z400RS making it to Indian roads though seem slim. The bike would be too expensive for the segment and would possibly cannibalise sales of the Z650RS.

Source: Young Machine