2019 Kawasaki Z400 ABS | First Ride Review
The 2019 Z400 ABS fills out Kawasaki’s Z lineup of naked bikes. Based on the Ninja 400 ABS, it’s truly a sport bike sans fairings. Photos by Kevin Wing.
In the 1960s, a term emerged among American motorcyclists: UJM, short for Universal Japanese Motorcycle, a not very enthusiastic characterization of the CB, KZ, GS and XS models flooding our shores. As a style, UJMs also birthed the equally unenthusiastically named motorcycle type known as the “standard.”
Simple, functional and stylish–in a “tank, seat, engine” sort of way–standards became, well, the standard motorcycle type for decades, as increasingly specialized niches evolved around them such as performance sport, sport touring, touring, cruisers, dual-sport, ADV?and lately factory custom, supermoto and flat track. There is a bike out there for every taste, but through it all standards, now known as slightly sexier “naked” bikes, have existed as cost-effective, fun options for those of us who just enjoy getting out and riding. For a comprehensive list of the Best Bikes for Smaller Riders (and Budgets), click here.
From 1974 to 1984, one of those UJM “standards” was the Kawasaki KZ400, built for the U.S. market in a new factory in Lincoln, Nebraska, the first foreign-owned motorcycle plant in the country. Thirty-five years later, Kawasaki is rounding out its modern-day “Z” lineup of naked bikes with the new 2019 Z400 ABS (made in Thailand...
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