Kawasaki has re-launched their Ninja 400 in our market after nearly a two-year hiatus.
In most international markets, this is the smallest parallel twin from Team Green you can get your hands on. However, in our market, the Kawasaki Ninja 400 BS6 is sold alongside the evergreen (pun intended) Ninja 300, which has remained mechanically unchanged, except for emission and ABS compliance, since the BS3 era.
Kawasaki Ninja 400 BS6: new colour schemes
The Ninja 400, when sold here in its BS4 guise, was available only in the signature Lime Green paint – a Kawasaki hallmark. Now though in its BS6 guise, it gets two paint options. There’s, of course, the Kawasaki Lime Green (Kawasaki Racing Team) for those who want the quintessential Kawasaki paint option. Alongside that is a stealthy Metallic Carbon Grey, which pairs a black-grey combination with green highlights.
Kawasaki Ninja 400 BS6: slightly less torque on tap
In its BS4 avatar, the Ninja 400 made 45hp and 38Nm of torque out of its 399cc parallel-twin motor. However, the transition to the ever-stringent BS6 emission norms has impacted the little Ninja’s performance figures, reducing 1Nm of torque over its BS4 version, with the numbers currently standing at 45hp and 37Nm.
Kawasaki Ninja 400 BS6: same hardware and features as before
The Ninja 400 continues to be suspended by the same 37mm telescopic front fork and preload-adjustable monoshock at the rear. Signature Kawasaki petal rotors perform stopping duties, with a 286mm unit at the front and a 193mm unit at the rear, paired to dual-channel ABS. The calipers at the front and rear both feature a twin-piston set-up. The steel trellis chassis keeping all these things together remains unchanged as well.
Unlike its primary rivals – the TVS Apache RR310 and the KTM RC390, which use a colour TFT screen – the Ninja 400 makes do with a semi-digital instrument cluster showing all the pertinent information, although, it does get a full LED headlamp setup like the aforementioned duo. Another thing to note here is that the Ninja 400 does not come with adjustable levers.
Kawasaki Ninja 400 BS6: priced on the higher side
At Rs 4.99 lakh, the Ninja 400 is undoubtedly an expensive purchase. This price tag is all the harder to digest, given the fact that its primary rivals, as well as its peer from Kawasaki, the Ninja 300 (Rs 3.37 lakh), carry much more affordable price tags. The KTM RC390 is priced at Rs 3.14 lakh and the TVS Apache RR 310 is even more affordable at Rs 2.65 lakh.
It is also worth bearing in mind that Kawasaki has a miniscule dealer network (31 outlets) in our country, especially compared to its primary rivals, TVS and KTM.
Kawasaki Ninja 400 BS6: bigger bikes for not that much more
Pricing big bikes well is as much a Kawasaki forte as pricing small bikes poorly is their Achilles’ heel. For example, their 650cc line-up of bikes, which start at Rs 6.34 lakh, will probably present a much more compelling proposition to the prospective Ninja 400 buyer.
The final word on the likeable little Kwacker is always going to be its bitter pill of a price tag. And until Kawasaki rectifies that, it will continue to sell in the diminutive numbers it did before.
All prices, ex-showroom, Delhi.
Would you pick the Ninja 400 BS6 over its rivals? Let us know in the comments section below