Inline fours are great. A parallel twin just isn’t the same. I have a Gsxs750 that can be ridden normally and then at 6,000 rpm the beast awakens. That’s hard to replace.
I miss my gsxs-s 750, in 2021 the chain snapped though it was only a little over half way through its life and took out the motor. I did get it covered by insurance and an a mt-09, but I wouldn't have ever sold that bike if it wasn't totalled out
Been riding bikes over 30 years, grew up in the US in the 80'S and loved the 600cc and 750cc sport bikes of the time. I bought a 2023 ZX4RR and I love it! It is such a fun bike to ride to its limits (something that is hard to do on a modern 600cc on the street), but when you look down at the speedometer and your not travelling as fast as you think you are. The sensation the bike gives you with the sounds of the high revving inline four is awesome. You mentioned it in your review, but it is a blast in the twisties. Just stinks you have to get the ECU flashed to get it's full potential and at least it is a noticeable change. Actually is one of my favorite bikes I have ever owned. Plus had a 1990 Yamaha FZR400 back in the day and loved that bike for the same reason I love this one. Very similar riding experience. Yes I have had way faster and more powerful bikes in the past, but can say I did not have as good a riding experience on those bikes as I do on the Zx4RR. rr
I bought one based in part on your review. I've had it a few weeks and am having a blast! It's the most fun I've had on a bike since my 2-stroke RD350.
we need more small inline 4 bikes. I've the zx4 for a little bit now and im constantly finding reasons to take it for a ride. its a blast. havent been on a motorcycle in 20 years but i absolutly love this thing.
The clencher for me was the insurance classification. My co counts this and the regular 400 as the same thing, so $480... A YEAR for this amount of fun is a bargain to me. I'd spend $2,900 each year on the newest zx6r, so the price between the two is close, once. Lots of factors to that price are individual to the person, so results will vary. I think its great. It feels like they finally made a bike for people my height that isn't cheap and full of cut corners. Before I kinda had to pick: ride a sportbike with nice parts that doesn't fit me, or a small-displacement that fits me, but everything is just the bare minimum spec. Cannot wait to see what the other big three manufacturers respond with in like 10 or 15 years.
Yes, given the fact that I used to own a 600 in Ontario, Canada I feel the pain of those insurance rates. The re-flashed ZX will be faster than a Ninja 650 with a relatively low insurance rate.
The late 80's - 90's 400cc bike in Japan is quite popular due to tax and licensure requirements. I love those bikes, the dual round headlamps still looks awesome even today. The frame on those bikes are also phenomenal, full adjustability on suspension and forks, the only thing missing from them are the quick shifters and traction control. There even was race series for the 400cc in Japan!!
Thanks for the excellent review! It is coming to Korea market at 24 spring and I booked one. As I am getting old and got back surgery a few years ago, this is my last sports bike for hilly mountain riding.
Great review! How did you find the bike 2 up? I'm old enough to remember the huge amount of "Grey imports" japanese 400 4's imported into the UK in the early to mid 90's, exotica like the CBR400RR, the VFR400, the ZXR400 kawasaki, (that ws officially impoorted too.) Ultra special, with Aluminium Frames, banana swingarms, and super high revving, screaming engines. I've yearned for one for years, but these bikes are now 30 years old, suffering owner neglect, lack of spares and the toil of 30 years of thrashing! I pinched myself when I heard Kawasaki may launch another, and as soon as it was announced, put a deposit on one to preorder, here in the UK. Not got lonmg to wait now, they're launched in september. Luckily for us, they are unrestricted full power in europe. I currently ride a VFR1200, which I'll keep also for the heavy lifting. I've not rode a bike less than 1000cc for 20 years, so I cannot wait to Thrash this little gem, because the big bikes can't be thrashed on the road.
While we’re on the subject of 400s, the latest sensation in India is Triumph Speed 400, a ‘roadster’ (around 400 CC, with 40 PS of power and priced at 3500 USD) on which test riders have clocked even 170 kmph on a track !
I like it ....alot...in line four is my favorite power plant....I own a CBR 600rr...2012...it's an awesome bike and just runs...no problems with it..I've got just under 26,000mi on the clock
I want to be helpful, not be a jerk or a know it all, in any regard, here goes. It's bad for engines to rev them high at idle. Because there's no load on it. Internal spinning parts want to fly apart. It's like straining your arm to throw a baseball, but with no baseball in your hand. Just air. Good way to damage your shoulder. Maybe on short stroke engines like this, it's "less bad" to do that. But certainly never do that, on like, a Harley v-twin or a Royal Enfield or a DR650.
Flash the ECU on that baby... I love an inline 4... Have an 81 GS750 E tucked in the corner of my garage, and drag it out often to hear that thing sing it's song.
If you've ever ridden a 400/4 you'd know. But they do make more sense in Europe and the UK, as American roads are less twisty, where in the UK it's rare to find long straights off the motorway network. My old CBR400RR was a stunning bike when I got it back in 1997, it's the most fun I ever had on a bike until it got nicked 😞 Now I've been riding for 28 years and have a Ninja 650 atm, but I'm looking seriously into the ZX4RR, it's such a cool looking and sounding bike 😁
My first big bike back in 1983 was a Z400j, 4 cylinders had to rev the hell out of it but it was such good fun, sometimes times don’t change even from 40 years ago.
Nice review. Did you have KQS enabled? It's often not when you get it or on demo's. It's easy to upshift even with it off, but down shifting will be much more hit or miss. Mostly miss.
Love the bike but I am not sure I'll fit. Pretty tall guy. Ride an MT-09 right now although it's quick, I like the faired sportsbikes better I think. And I only do twisties and back roads. Perhaps this is better actually.
Of course it's Kawasaki. I had,a brand new 1982 1100 Suzuki with a Yoshimura 4-1 pipe, with centre stand and it was maybe the best bike ever, but tires were a problem after a few decades. My current Z1000 is perfect, light, powerful and paid for. But of course it's a Kawasaki and seduces me with it's effortless 11000RPM redline. Whew. I'm too old and have no will power, or reflexes. Of course, Kawasaki-and ugly green race paint. Love/hate, baby.
Don't take this the wrong way, but your wife or any other passenger on that type of bike looks like a golf ball on a tee. There's lot's that I would say about this style of bike, but best not get started. Have a great day!!!! Illinois, USA
technically we europeans holding a2 licenses are limited to 48hp but it is allowed to detune a honda cbr 650r for instance to said 48hp. This is only allowed for bikes with at most 96hp (double the 48) so the zx4rr would still be an appealing bike for a2 license holders. After two years of riding a 48hp bike you are allowed to upgrade your license to a full on "a" which allows you to ride any street-legal bike. So many riders when they turn 18 get an a2-license and after two years of riding they can undo the detune and ride their bike with its usual power. This seems very complicated at first but to summarize: 16years old: A1-License = 11kW (15hp) allowed 18years old: A2-License = 35kW (48hp) allowed but you can detune a bike that originally has 70kW (96hp) or less. 24years old / after two years of riding A2: A-License = Any street-legal bike
It took no time for top speed videos to hit YT. The top speed of this 400 was only about 4mph less than the 600... Considering this will flick through through corners easier than a 600, in the right hands it will beat 600s on a particularly twisty track.
@@DifferentSpokesTV in a country that only allows the 12,000rpm model, yes. Insurance companies will very quickly learn that the unrestricted models are 160mph machines
I paid $11k in 09 for an 2008 zx10r goes just at or over 190mph I had it up to 196 near 200 hp at 13000rpms. so I ask why are they charging TWICE the price for almost no extra speed or Horse power? I'm not paying over $20 k for these be PoS
@@DifferentSpokesTVI gave up my Ninja 1000 SX because the insurance company suddenly decided it was 'restricted'...despite having the same engine as the Versys 1000, which is apparently fine. We need to send a message to insurance cos here in Ontario that enough is enough...other provinces have already fixed this.
I'd still rather build a Ninja 400. Torque-less engines are rather dull. There's a engine builder company I found online that will extract a lot of power from the 400 twin cylinder. Costly, but very interesting and retains the featherweight of the twin cylinder bike, vs. the inline-4. Cylinder head porting Valve stem seals Three angle valve seat job Custom velocity stacks Compression ratio increase Custom camshafts Head gasket High compression pistons Carrillo connecting rods Increase bore diameter on throttle bodies Heavy duty oil pump Result? Over 65 horsepower at the wheel! A properly modified Ninja 400 will be under 360 pounds wet weight. People will cry, "WHY NOT JUST GET A ZX-6R AND BE DONE WITH IT?!!" Because no ZX-6R will feel like an aggressive twin cylinder race bike that weighs less than 360 pounds. You can't cancel weight by adding power. If that were the case, everyone would just ride turbo Hayabusa's around every race track and win every race. Stock ZX-4RR makes 56 horsepower and 25 ft-lb stock on a dyno. It's limited by about 12 horsepower by ECU and exhaust restrictions!!
@@exothermal.sprocket So let me get this straight. I ask you a simple question, and that means I have no critical thinking skills and that I’m uninitiated. I already new all that work would cost quite a bit of money, must likely in the thousands. Since you didn’t bother to mention the engine builder you were talking about I thought it was reasonable to ask what the cost comparison would be. I wonder did you consider a simple question as an attack on your personal opinion, or just maybe you are not able to understand that other people might have a different opinion than yours. Of coarse there are also those that are just curious.
@@ProjectFairmont then why most of the people saying that its not worth getting the zx4rr because almost cost as much as the zx6r ? 3000€ (here) is a really big difference…
Inline fours are great. A parallel twin just isn’t the same. I have a Gsxs750 that can be ridden normally and then at 6,000 rpm the beast awakens. That’s hard to replace.
Love that rush of power. The 750 must pull like crazy.
I miss my gsxs-s 750, in 2021 the chain snapped though it was only a little over half way through its life and took out the motor. I did get it covered by insurance and an a mt-09, but I wouldn't have ever sold that bike if it wasn't totalled out
A Parallel Twin Engine is different.
They never run hot, and they last a really long time.
Been riding bikes over 30 years, grew up in the US in the 80'S and loved the 600cc and 750cc sport bikes of the time. I bought a 2023 ZX4RR and I love it! It is such a fun bike to ride to its limits (something that is hard to do on a modern 600cc on the street), but when you look down at the speedometer and your not travelling as fast as you think you are. The sensation the bike gives you with the sounds of the high revving inline four is awesome. You mentioned it in your review, but it is a blast in the twisties. Just stinks you have to get the ECU flashed to get it's full potential and at least it is a noticeable change. Actually is one of my favorite bikes I have ever owned. Plus had a 1990 Yamaha FZR400 back in the day and loved that bike for the same reason I love this one. Very similar riding experience. Yes I have had way faster and more powerful bikes in the past, but can say I did not have as good a riding experience on those bikes as I do on the Zx4RR.
rr
he said 78hp, its been tuned
I bought one based in part on your review. I've had it a few weeks and am having a blast! It's the most fun I've had on a bike since my 2-stroke RD350.
Glad im live in Asia where ZX4RR came 77 horsepower from the factory. Test ride it once and yep its fun to ride even in low speed urban area.
Nice to see bike content from people in my home province. I want to get one of these next year.
we need more small inline 4 bikes. I've the zx4 for a little bit now and im constantly finding reasons to take it for a ride. its a blast. havent been on a motorcycle in 20 years but i absolutly love this thing.
I love Inline fours. The ZX4RR looks awesome. Hopefully Suzuki, Honda & Yamaha follow with 400cc Inline fours.
Just bought one and run around Houston on it and love the hell out of it. ❤
The clencher for me was the insurance classification. My co counts this and the regular 400 as the same thing, so $480... A YEAR for this amount of fun is a bargain to me. I'd spend $2,900 each year on the newest zx6r, so the price between the two is close, once. Lots of factors to that price are individual to the person, so results will vary.
I think its great. It feels like they finally made a bike for people my height that isn't cheap and full of cut corners. Before I kinda had to pick: ride a sportbike with nice parts that doesn't fit me, or a small-displacement that fits me, but everything is just the bare minimum spec. Cannot wait to see what the other big three manufacturers respond with in like 10 or 15 years.
Yes, given the fact that I used to own a 600 in Ontario, Canada I feel the pain of those insurance rates. The re-flashed ZX will be faster than a Ninja 650 with a relatively low insurance rate.
Joe please respond ( again ), what / who is your insurance company's name ??? Thanks again.
The late 80's - 90's 400cc bike in Japan is quite popular due to tax and licensure requirements. I love those bikes, the dual round headlamps still looks awesome even today. The frame on those bikes are also phenomenal, full adjustability on suspension and forks, the only thing missing from them are the quick shifters and traction control. There even was race series for the 400cc in Japan!!
Thanks for the excellent review! It is coming to Korea market at 24 spring and I booked one. As I am getting old and got back surgery a few years ago, this is my last sports bike for hilly mountain riding.
you gotta hear mine its tuned my 2wheeldyno works and sounds insane
Great review! How did you find the bike 2 up? I'm old enough to remember the huge amount of "Grey imports" japanese 400 4's imported into the UK in the early to mid 90's, exotica like the CBR400RR, the VFR400, the ZXR400 kawasaki, (that ws officially impoorted too.) Ultra special, with Aluminium Frames, banana swingarms, and super high revving, screaming engines. I've yearned for one for years, but these bikes are now 30 years old, suffering owner neglect, lack of spares and the toil of 30 years of thrashing! I pinched myself when I heard Kawasaki may launch another, and as soon as it was announced, put a deposit on one to preorder, here in the UK. Not got lonmg to wait now, they're launched in september. Luckily for us, they are unrestricted full power in europe. I currently ride a VFR1200, which I'll keep also for the heavy lifting. I've not rode a bike less than 1000cc for 20 years, so I cannot wait to Thrash this little gem, because the big bikes can't be thrashed on the road.
While we’re on the subject of 400s, the latest sensation in India is Triumph Speed 400, a ‘roadster’ (around 400 CC, with 40 PS of power and priced at 3500 USD) on which test riders have clocked even 170 kmph on a track !
Nice bike. I’ve seen it and would love to try it out.
Inline 4....just awsome....make that engine work and tell you it is...alive!!!
great review !!! just wondering how tall are you ?
I like it ....alot...in line four is my favorite power plant....I own a CBR 600rr...2012...it's an awesome bike and just runs...no problems with it..I've got just under 26,000mi on the clock
Yep, I used to ride the old F4, your bike’s ancestors. The only problem I ever had was a blown fuse. $5.
I want to be helpful, not be a jerk or a know it all, in any regard, here goes. It's bad for engines to rev them high at idle. Because there's no load on it. Internal spinning parts want to fly apart. It's like straining your arm to throw a baseball, but with no baseball in your hand. Just air. Good way to damage your shoulder. Maybe on short stroke engines like this, it's "less bad" to do that. But certainly never do that, on like, a Harley v-twin or a Royal Enfield or a DR650.
Inline 4s are fantastic!
Flash the ECU on that baby... I love an inline 4... Have an 81 GS750 E tucked in the corner of my garage, and drag it out often to hear that thing sing it's song.
Nothing more UJM than the sound of an in-line four.
Love concept but its same weight as my R6, so whats the point.
If you've ever ridden a 400/4 you'd know.
But they do make more sense in Europe and the UK, as American roads are less twisty, where in the UK it's rare to find long straights off the motorway network.
My old CBR400RR was a stunning bike when I got it back in 1997, it's the most fun I ever had on a bike until it got nicked 😞
Now I've been riding for 28 years and have a Ninja 650 atm, but I'm looking seriously into the ZX4RR, it's such a cool looking and sounding bike 😁
My first big bike back in 1983 was a Z400j, 4 cylinders had to rev the hell out of it but it was such good fun, sometimes times don’t change even from 40 years ago.
Nice review. Did you have KQS enabled? It's often not when you get it or on demo's. It's easy to upshift even with it off, but down shifting will be much more hit or miss. Mostly miss.
Thanks for the info.
Have to watch the gear light to downshift with kqs if it’s solid use the clutch rpm’s are to low for kqs
Love the bike but I am not sure I'll fit. Pretty tall guy. Ride an MT-09 right now although it's quick, I like the faired sportsbikes better I think. And I only do twisties and back roads. Perhaps this is better actually.
Of course it's Kawasaki. I had,a brand new 1982 1100 Suzuki with a Yoshimura 4-1 pipe, with centre stand and it was maybe the best bike ever, but tires were a problem after a few decades. My current Z1000 is perfect, light, powerful and paid for. But of course it's a Kawasaki and seduces me with it's effortless 11000RPM redline. Whew. I'm too old and have no will power, or reflexes. Of course, Kawasaki-and ugly green race paint. Love/hate, baby.
how did you get your tires to last a few decades
Don't take this the wrong way, but your wife or any other passenger on that type of bike looks like a golf ball on a tee. There's lot's that I would say about this style of bike, but best not get started. Have a great day!!!! Illinois, USA
What road were you riding on?
Out of curiosity, what’s the fuel mileage like?
Anywhere from 36-48 mpg depending on riding habits.
A friendly correction; "All bikes are awesome!"😊✌🏽
True that!
@@DifferentSpokesTV 👌🏽
truth being spoken here! All bikes are awesome
Hi all, anyone found in NYS / USA a economical price for the Ninja ZX4RR insurance coverage ?? THANKS for any and all responses.
technically we europeans holding a2 licenses are limited to 48hp but it is allowed to detune a honda cbr 650r for instance to said 48hp. This is only allowed for bikes with at most 96hp (double the 48) so the zx4rr would still be an appealing bike for a2 license holders. After two years of riding a 48hp bike you are allowed to upgrade your license to a full on "a" which allows you to ride any street-legal bike. So many riders when they turn 18 get an a2-license and after two years of riding they can undo the detune and ride their bike with its usual power.
This seems very complicated at first but to summarize:
16years old: A1-License = 11kW (15hp) allowed
18years old: A2-License = 35kW (48hp) allowed but you can detune a bike that originally has 70kW (96hp) or less.
24years old / after two years of riding A2: A-License = Any street-legal bike
That's sad knowing this bike got a huge nerf in your country.😢
I got quoted $120 for 12 months in Massachusetts for insurance if not financed.
It took no time for top speed videos to hit YT. The top speed of this 400 was only about 4mph less than the 600...
Considering this will flick through through corners easier than a 600, in the right hands it will beat 600s on a particularly twisty track.
Plus you’ll save on insurance.
@@DifferentSpokesTV in a country that only allows the 12,000rpm model, yes. Insurance companies will very quickly learn that the unrestricted models are 160mph machines
You're wrong about this ZX-4RR. It is a new rider friendly bike according to Kawasaki USA.
I paid $11k in 09 for an 2008 zx10r goes just at or over 190mph I had it up to 196 near 200 hp at 13000rpms.
so I ask why are they charging TWICE the price for almost no extra speed or Horse power? I'm not paying over $20 k for these be PoS
I don't ride track and for the road I'd rather stick with my 600 in line 4.
Yeah, I used to have a 600 and it was a blast. My insurance company unfortunately decided to cancel my insurance one year.
@@DifferentSpokesTV ☹️
@@DifferentSpokesTVI gave up my Ninja 1000 SX because the insurance company suddenly decided it was 'restricted'...despite having the same engine as the Versys 1000, which is apparently fine. We need to send a message to insurance cos here in Ontario that enough is enough...other provinces have already fixed this.
I'd still rather build a Ninja 400. Torque-less engines are rather dull.
There's a engine builder company I found online that will extract a lot of power from the 400 twin cylinder. Costly, but very interesting and retains the featherweight of the twin cylinder bike, vs. the inline-4.
Cylinder head porting
Valve stem seals
Three angle valve seat job
Custom velocity stacks
Compression ratio increase
Custom camshafts
Head gasket
High compression pistons
Carrillo connecting rods
Increase bore diameter on throttle bodies
Heavy duty oil pump
Result? Over 65 horsepower at the wheel!
A properly modified Ninja 400 will be under 360 pounds wet weight.
People will cry, "WHY NOT JUST GET A ZX-6R AND BE DONE WITH IT?!!"
Because no ZX-6R will feel like an aggressive twin cylinder race bike that weighs less than 360 pounds. You can't cancel weight by adding power. If that were the case, everyone would just ride turbo Hayabusa's around every race track and win every race.
Stock ZX-4RR makes 56 horsepower and 25 ft-lb stock on a dyno. It's limited by about 12 horsepower by ECU and exhaust restrictions!!
That Ninja 400 is probably a great bike but it won’t sound like the ZX.
@@DifferentSpokesTV Certainly. Wish a 270° crank was what Kawasaki chose for their twins, but alas.
And how much does all that cost versus an ecu reflash on the ZX4RR
@@NoGlockTrucker It cost more than buying critical thinking skills for the uninitiated.
@@exothermal.sprocket So let me get this straight. I ask you a simple question, and that means I have no critical thinking skills and that I’m uninitiated. I already new all that work would cost quite a bit of money, must likely in the thousands. Since you didn’t bother to mention the engine builder you were talking about I thought it was reasonable to ask what the cost comparison would be.
I wonder did you consider a simple question as an attack on your personal opinion, or just maybe you are not able to understand that other people might have a different opinion than yours. Of coarse there are also those that are just curious.
in america maybe the zx4rr and zx6r is almost the same price but in Europe the ZX4rr is 10.000€ and the Zx6R is 13.000€ so there is a big difference
Same difference in the US.
@@ProjectFairmont then why most of the people saying that its not worth getting the zx4rr because almost cost as much as the zx6r ? 3000€ (here) is a really big difference…
@@johnnyhun1 IDK, if you compare the current year MSRP, $3k is the difference.
I took one for a test ride. It is NOT a racebike.
You have to consider the ecu flash and ram air into the price tag. Which kind of sucks it’s basically the same as a zx6r which needs nothing at all.
Yes but where I live the insurance companies crush you for riding a 600.
Not if you live in a normal country. Only america sells it with 50 hp.
There is a turbo kit for the R7. So….
Nice review... but... sneakers !?
That was just a quick run. On the serious ride I wore the boots.
yur check engine light is on.....
How tall is your wife ?
She’s 5’7” or 170cm.
Annnnd recalled due to safety issues.
It is beautiful machine. A dying species.