The Kawasaki Ninja 400 is the latest addition to Kawasaki’s Indian portfolio. However, within the brand, there are two other motorcycles that pose serious threat to the Ninja 400. We are referring to the Ninja 300 and the Z650, which stand on either side of the Ninja 400. We take a look at how the three bikes stack up against each other -
Ninja 400 gets a bigger engine and price tag
Design
Both the Ninjas are fully-faired sportbikes, while the Z650 is a streetfighter. The Ninja 300 draws inspiration from the flagship Ninja ZX-10R, with an edgy and aerodynamic fairing and the twin-headlamp setup. The Ninja 400’s design is an evolution of the Ninja 300’s, and every styling cue and body panel has been sharpened to give it a more aggressive look. The fairing even gets chin spoilers inspired by the Ninja H2R. The Z650 was launched here last year as a replacement for the ER-6n. While the Kawasaki ER-6n was a conservatively designed motorcycle, the Z650 gets aggressive styling cues to align it with the rest of the ‘Z’ range.
Engine
All three motorcycles here are propelled by parallel-twin engines, albeit with different capacities. The Ninja 300 uses the smallest engine, which displaces 296cc and delivers 38bhp and 27Nm of torque. The Z650 is the most powerful of the lot. It displaces 649cc and churns out 67bhp and 65.7Nm of torque. The Ninja 400 is the perfect intermediary. The 399cc engine pumps out 48bhp and 38Nm of torque. All three motorcycles get a six-speed transmission with slipper clutch as standard.
Ninja 300 gets Ninja ZX-10R-inspired looks
Cycle parts
The Ninja 300, being the oldest model here, is built around a double cradle frame. The Ninja 400 adopts a more modern trellis frame architecture. And despite featuring a bigger powertrain, the Ninja 400 tips the scales at just 173 kilograms, which is just one kilogram heavier than the Ninja 300. Even the Z650 is based on a trellis frame, and tips the scales at 190 kilograms. All three motorcycles ride on conventional telescopic front forks and a rear monoshock. While the Ninja 300 gets 37mm front forks, the other two get beefier 41mm forks.
The brake setup on the Ninja 400 consists of a 290mm front brake. The Ninja 400 gets a bigger 310mm front disc. The Z650 is the only bike here to feature a dual disc setup up front. Both the discs are 300mm in diameter. The rear brakes for all three bikes use a 220mm disc. The Ninja 400 and Z650 benefit from an ABS system as standard.
A bargain in the company of Ninja 400 and Ninja 300
Pricing
We used to think that the Ninja 300 is exorbitantly priced, until Kawasaki announced the pricing for the Ninja 400. While the Ninja 300 will set you back by Rs 3.6 lakhs, the Ninja 400 sports an astronomical price tag of Rs 4.69 lakhs. And both these bikes make the Z650 look like a steal. Priced at Rs 5.1 lakhs, the Z650 costs just Rs 30,000 more than the Ninja 400. You do miss out on the supersport styling, but end up with a lot more horsepower.
