EXPENSIVE PROPOSITION

The Ninja 400 is a gem of a motorcycle; the more time I spent with it, the more enamoured I was

- GAVIN RODRIGUES

Kawasaki has been known as a Japanese exotic motorcycle manufacturer with a foothold in India since the late 2000s. With the launch of its popular Ninja 250, the manufacturer introduced its first quarter-litre offering making the brand much more accessible. While most other Japanese manufacturers focused on mass numbers, Kawasaki remained a niche and positioned itself as a premium manufacturer that didn’t seem to care about making it to the masses.

After the success of the Ninja 250, it brought in its successor, the Ninja 300, which showcased performance improvements and offered a cutting new design language that sat more in line with its higher capacity motorcycles. Thanks to the motorcycle being a CBU and falling victim to heavy taxes, the Ninja 300 cost about 2 lakhs more than its nearest competitor. Kawasaki then went on to localize the Ninja 300, bringing the price down considerably, and also threw ABS into the mix. Fast forward to 2018, and Kawasaki launched its successor in the form of the Ninja 400 while continuing to sell the Ninja 300.

In its pre-BS6 avatar, the Ninja 400 had a whopping 49.5 bhp of power and 38 Nm of torque. However, after moving to BS6, the power dropped by about 4 bhp and the torque by 1 Nm, while the price remained unchanged. Being a CBU, the Ninja 400 has fallen victim to the same issues the Ninja 300 did, and it too now costs 2 lakhs more than its closest competitor, making it a dream for most entry-level premium performance buyers. Despite its high asking price, does the Ninja 400 justify the big bucks, or is it just another flawed motorcycle with a high price tag? Well, the answer may surprise you.

DESIGN