7/2/23
If you're of a certain age and have been a sportbike fan for most of your 40 to 50 years, you probably spent your teenage years pining over and daydreaming of the ultracool 400cc Japanese inline-four sportbikes that weren’t available in the US. You always want what you can’t have, right? For Cycle World Editor-at-Large Blake Conner, the want bordered on obsession. So when Kawasaki announced the 2023 Ninja ZX-4RR and the return to a high-revving inline-four, Conner demanded to be the one to test the new Ninja. Problem is, I also had teenage dreams of a small-bore screamer—the Yamaha FZR400, to be exact.
Despite my keen interest in the Ninja ZX-4RR, Blake is quicker and more skilled on the track, so I slid the green ticket his way. After lapping Thunderhill Raceway on the 400cc Kawasaki sportbike, Blake texted me just eight letters: “I want one.” Safe to say he was impressed with the small screamer, but you should read his detailed first ride report here. Now, I have a serious feeling of missing out—just like the mid-’90s…
It’s no secret we have a fondness for small-displacement motorcycles here at CW, so you should check out some other notable tests from recent years. There’s an especially cool track test of Japanese 250cc inline-fours by the legendary Kent Kunitsugu and a showdown between Yamaha’s YZF-R3 and Kawasaki’s parallel-twin-powered Ninja 400.
As always, there’s more than we can fit into this email. Check out cycleworld.com for additional tests, reviews, and news.
Ride on,
Justin Dawes
Executive Editor
