Would you ride a modern day Kawasaki ZXR400, if they were as good as they used to be in the 90s" I think I would. And we might just get the chance to soon, because rumour has it, Kawasaki have got a model ready to launch that might hark back to the ZXR400, and their going to call it the Ninja ZX-4R.

Of course there?s absolutely no guarantee that if Kawasaki do launch a ZX-4R, they?ll import them into the UK. Kawasaki (as well as the other Japanese factories) still make models that are specific to the Asian market, like the ZX-25R for example.

If you?re not sure what the Kawasaki ZX-25R is, it?s a 249cc four-cylinder four-stroke, with 50bhp, a tubular steel frame and it weighs 182kg. And that?s relevant because by the sounds of things, the Ninja ZX-4R will be quite heavily based on the ZX-25R. That?s to say it?ll have the same frame, swingarm and similar bodywork.
The ZX-25R that the 400 version may or may not be based on.

If it does happen, I?d expect them to go with a green ZX-10R-esque paint job. But it would be lovely to see something slightly more retro, like the old Kawasaki ZXR400 scheme.

Obviously the engine would be different; I?m hoping it?d be something like the engine in the old Kawasaki ZXR400 models from yesteryear. Anyone who?s ever owned one or even ridden one will know they were cracking little things to ride. They might have only had about 60bhp but the combination of the super-revvy engine and lightweight chassis made them a ri...