Is the baby ninja no longer a baby ninja?

Over the years Kawasaki has given us a great number of fantastic machines. From the legendary Z series to it’s flagship ZX10RR and the supercharged H2R, but now they have upped the game yet again and taken the baby ninja out of it’s diapers.

Behold the Kawasaki ZX4RR KRT! 

At its heart is a new liquid-cooled, DOHC 16-valve 399cc inline-4, yes…I said inline 4, which adds two more cylinders than the Ninja 400’s 399cc parallel-Twin. Developed with input from Kawasaki’s Ninja ZX supersport machines, the engine has an oversquare bore and stroke of 57.0 x 39.2mm and is said to deliver impressive power of 80hp (more with the addition of a RAM air intake) and a claimed peak of 26.5 lb-ft of torque at 11,000 rpm.

The engine features fine-sand cast intake ports, large intake and exhaust valves, precision-machined combustion chambers, forged camshafts, cast-aluminum pistons, and a 12.3:1 compression ratio, the things you would find on the bigger bikes, yet it runs on regular unleaded fuel.

Equipped with a fly-by-wire throttle, the bike features four ride modes (Sport, Road, Rain, and Rider customizable) that adjust traction control (Modes 1-3 or Off) and power mode (Low or Full). It has a 6-speed transmission with a slip/assist clutch and an up/down quickshifter. It sports a 4.3-inch color TFT display, the same one that sits on the ZX10R, that includes a Circuit Mode for track riding and of course, Bluetooth connectivity via Kawasaki’s Rideology The App.

The chassis has bee designed using input from Kawasaki Racing Team’s (KRT) efforts in the World Superbike Championship, and consists of a high-tensile steel trellis frame with various pipe diameter thicknesses, a swingarm pivot section, and a high-tensile steel swingarm. The suspension is courtesy of Showa and features a 37mm inverted SFF-BP (Separate Function Fork – Big Piston) fork with adjustable preload and 4.7 inches of travel, and out back is a fully adjustable horizontal back-link BFRC (Balance Free Rear Cushion) Lite shock with 4.9 inches of travel.

Keeping it’s speed in check is a pair of 4-piston radial-mount monoblock front calipers squeezing 290mm semi-floating discs and a 1-piston rear caliper squeezing a 220mm disc. Keeping it on the road is a set of Dunlop tires (120/70-ZR17 front, 160/60-ZR17 rear).

The price is a bit steep, coming in at just under 10000$. 

I would still love to have one!