The wait has been long and hard for the Kawasaki ZX-25R. Ever since it was first unveiled at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show in October last year, it has managed to stay in the news and for all the right reasons! Kawasaki Indonesia has been teasing us by uploading a plethora of videos, making us drool at the end of every video. A track-focused quarter-litre four-cylinder Japanese motorcycle? Who wouldn’t be excited? The motorcycle finally got launched today as Kawasaki Indonesia hosted a digital launch event. Here’s everything you need to know about the motorcycle:
The pricing
Kawasaki has brought in two variants of the ZX-25R, namely: standard and special edition. The standard variant is priced at DR 96,000,000 (Rs 4.99 lakh) while the top-spec Special Edition variant will set you back by IDR 112,900,000 (approximately Rs 5.87 lakh) on-road. If you compare the prices, it is twice as much as the KTM RC 390!
Two variants
But you shouldn’t judge a motorcycle of this calibre by its pricing alone because it packs quite a lot of features as compared to its Austrian rival. So what sets these two variants apart? The special edition will get you some extra goodies apart from the standard package and that includes rider modes, quickshifter and traction control. All these features will come in handy when you’re belting down all the power on the racetrack. As for the colours available, the ZX-25R is available in four different liveries: lime green, white/black, blue/black and black.
The powertrain
Ever since it was first unveiled, the engine has been the most talked-about feature of this motorcycle and rightly so! How often do you see a quarter-litre motorcycle utilizing four-cylinders? Not very. Even though Kawasaki already revealed that the engine can rev to over 17,000rpm, the exact performance figures remained a mystery. A few days back, dyno tests of the same motorcycle were leaked online and according to the results, the ZX-25R produced 42 PS @ 15,350 rpm and 20.8 nm @ 12,500 rpm. But these figures were measured at the rear wheel.
Now, the exact performance figures are out in the open and this time around, officially. The Ninja ZX-25R is powered by a new 250cc, 4-cylinder, DOHC engine which churns out 50 PS of maximum power @ 15,500 rpm. Kawasaki has also included ram air input, just like the ZX-10R and that takes the maximum power output to 51 PS. Torque output stands at 22.9 NM @ 14,500 rpm. The engine is coupled with a 6-speed gearbox. Expect the engine to have a pretty high-revving nature but the rider modes might come in handy in manipulating the power according to the riding conditions.
Other details
The ZX-25R can hold 15 litres of fuel and that is pretty decent according to the purpose it was built for. It is nowhere close to being a lightweight motorcycle though because the standard variant has a kerb weight of 180 kg while the SE variant weighs 182 kg. Kawasaki has made sure to go all-in while choosing the cycle parts to develop the ZX-25R. Suspension duties are handled by separate function big piston USD forks (SFF-BP) and a horizontal back-link preload-adjustable monoshock. It is pretty much expected that the suspension has been tuned to match its track-focused intent.
If a small motorcycle makes this much power, ample braking force is required to handle all that power being sent down on the road. The ZX-25R doesn’t disappoint in this department as well as it gets a single 310mm disc clamped by a radially-mounted four-pot monobloc caliper up front and a 220mm rear disc brake. While the SE variant also gets the added protection of dual-channel ABS.
A motorcycle like this is developed to demolish the racetracks and to do so, tyres play a very crucial role. They make sure that the rubber side stays up when you’re leaning like a mad dog in a corner. The reason why Kawasaki has equipped the ZX-25R with Dunlop GPR300 radial tyres measuring in at 110/70 up front and 150/60 at the rear. It also gets a semi-digital instrument cluster which reads out information like estimated fuel range, traction control, power modes and features a gear position indicator and clock.
Also read: Check Out WSBK Champs’ First Impressions About The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R
Has Kawasaki given birth to a new battle in the affordable performance motorcycle segment with the Ninja ZX-25R? Will other manufacturers take note and develop motorcycles of the same calibre? Only time will tell but there’s one thing for sure, the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R is going to be one tough nut to beat.