Adapt or die. It’s an adage that’s never been truer for motorcycle manufacturers than it is right now, prompting a load of big decisions when it comes to new model production. If you went back a decade or two, there seemed something of a steadfast formula for sportsbike owners, who typically kicked things off with a learner-legal 125 before stepping onto a 400, then a 600, and maybe even visited the 750 sector before hopping onto a litre bike. It made sense, it helped people progress, and it seemed set to stay that way forever – but time has shown us that’s not the case. Gone are the 750s, most of the 600s, and even the resurgent 400 sector has had a battering in recent years. But with the aforementioned absentees, we’ve also witnessed new offerings hitting the market. The most successful scene of all has to be the 700cc(ish) parallel twin market. Every brand and their dog have wheeled one out, or so it seems, often boasting naked and sportsbike packages – such as the R7 in this feature – that burst into showrooms back in 2022, and has been doing decent ever since.
Kawasaki’s Ninja 650/Z650 models are also huge hitters, with many a Lightweight TT win to their name… which makes Kawasaki’s most recent decision to revive a 400cc in-line-four screamer to the market all the more brilliant. Quite simply, it didn’t need to, as it already had machines that covered the capacity/output pretty tastily. So why bother? Probably, it’s down to the demands of the emerging global markets that often have little interest in litre bikes but have an unparalleled craving for the smaller stuff. For Kawasaki, the Ninja 400 makes perfect sense, and it does for us too, adding a much-needed stepping stone for riders as they ascend through the sizes.
PICS: CHAPPO
Interestingly, unlike the R7, there’s not an A2 eligible option, despite the key similarities and fact the two bikes have proven different ways to go about nailing the same equation, with both it and the Yammy making roughly 75bhp, weighing in a little under 190 kilos, and both costing just shy of £9k. While I’m on one with my sayings, it seems apt to throw another one into the equation… there’s more than one way to skin a cat – or, in this case, there’s more than one way to make a racy middleweight. The question is, which is best? More cylinders/ revs or more capacity? There was only one way to find out…