Borrowing styling cues from the bigger, Z900, and its motor from the Ninja 400, the Kawasaki Z400 showed up at the ongoing EICMA 2018. Powered by a 399cc parallel-twin which develops 45 PS and 38 Nm, like the other ‘Z’ family bikes, this motorcycle too flaunts its Sugomi inspired cuts and lines.
The bike’s chassis is a tubular, steel trellis-type frame which is lighter and aids in handling. Taking the fight to the Duke 390 in the A2 class internationally, this naked Kawasaki for its engine configuration, will be more expensive than the KTM. The Kawasaki Z400 employs 41mm conventional forks up front and a link-type monoshock at the rear which is adjustable for pre-load. A 310mm petal-type disc at the front and a 260mm unit at the rear help with braking duties.
At 167 kilos, the Z400 isn’t feather-weight and will come fitted with standard ABS. Talking about rubber, 17-inch wheels are wrapped in 110 and 150 section rubber at the front and back respectively. In terms of features, you get LED headlights, a tiny windscreen, a fully-digital instrument cluster and a 14-liter fuel tank. Having said all that, the premium a twin-cylinder bike used to command in our market, will be unjustified with the advent of the Royal Enfield Twins. Any entry-level premium bike which is priced too up north in comparison, will only find it that much tougher to slug it out. Needless to say, the Duke 390 continues to be the king of the hill even with a cylinder deficit.