Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/944493
2018 KAWASAKI NINJA 400 FULL TEST P92 and preload adjustability only on the rear shock. The ride is soft for the most part, and the budget spec of the suspension does an amicable job of soaking up most of the crappy road sur- faces we encountered around Petaluma's rolling countryside. Track day riders and rac- ers will no doubt be upgrading the suspension right quick, as anyone who really begins to cut a respectable lap time will hit the outer limits of the suspension very quickly. It's still surprising just how quickly you can push a box- stock 400 around somewhere like Sonoma. Just ask Cycle World's Ari Henning, who report- edly went only three and a half seconds slower on the road- going 400 than his own Sonoma lap record, set on an extremely worked and modified Honda CBR250R. One of the big advantages over the 300 is the 400's new 310mm front disc, up from 290mm. There's more stopping power everywhere, but the front brakes also have this curious issue with a slight pulse when the lever is first engaged that no one at the test could figure out the solution to. Collective wisdom dictates it should be the ABS causing the issue, but as no non-ABS 400s where avail- able for testing, and Kawasaki couldn't tell us what the problem is, we were none the wiser. The brakes are another area likely to receive an upgrade when it's time to go racing, as the rubber lines would eventu- ally induce a bit of fade after repeated heavy braking on the track. On the road, this issue was not encountered and brake performance remained constant throughout the test—a set of race-spec steel braided lines will solve this issue, no worries. I sincerely hope this is the last capacity increase I see with the junior supersport category, be- cause I feel this is as fast as this class needs to be. The junior class, ever since the Ninja 250 came out all those years ago, is a shadow of what it once was in the 1990s and early 2000s, and now the class, led by this new Ninja 400, is right where it needs to be in terms of outright performance. That's the other thing—this Ninja 400 is the same price (non-ABS) as the Yamaha YZF- R3 at $4999. That's an awful lot of bike and performance for the money. Value for money with the Ninja 400 is absolutely brilliant, and the package on offer should keep riders enthralled for longer, rather than wanting to upgrade the second they feel they are ready. It will be interesting to see what, if any, restrictions the Ninja 400 has to operate under in the new MotoAmerica Junior Cup category, because the machine has a clear advantage over the rest of the field against Yamaha's YZF-R3, KTM's RC 390 and Honda's CBR500R in standard trim. CN 2018 KAWASAKI NINJA 400 ($4999 NON ABS; $5499 AS TESTED W/ABS) ENGINE: ............... Liquid-Cooled, DOHC, 8-Valve, Parallel Twin DISPLACEMENT: ........................... 399cc BORE X STROKE: .......... 70.0 x 51.8 mm COMPRESSION RATIO: ....................11.5:1 CLUTCH: ..... Wet multi-plate, assist and slipper type TRANSMISSION: .........................6-speed CHASSIS: ............................... Steel trellis FRONT SUSPENSION: .................... 41mm conventional fork REAR SUSPENSION: ....Monoshock with preload adjustment FRONT BRAKE: ................... 310mm disc, dual-piston caliper, ABS optional REAR BRAKE: .....................220mm disc, single-piston caliper, ABS optional FRONT TIRE: ....................... 110/70-17 in. REAR TIRE: ......................... 150/70-17 in. WHEELBASE: ............................... 53.9 in. SEAT HEIGHT: ............................. 30.9 in. FUEL CAPACITY: .......................... 3.7 gal. WEIGHT (ABS curb, claimed): ..... 366 lbs. COLOR: ................... Spark Black, Candy Plasma Blue, Pearl Solar Yellow/Pearl Storm Gray/Ebony, KRT Edition Lime Green/Ebony S P E C I F I C A T I O N S