Kawasaki at Auto Expo 2018: Ninja 400, Ninja ZX-10R SE, road-legal dirt bike and others

Kawasaki is set to enthral biking enthusiast with a range of new bikes catering different segments.

Japanese motorcycle maker Kawasaki had a fruitful alliance with Bajaj Auto till April last year. Now, the company has decided to go solo in India and kick-started 2018 with the launch of Vulcan S cruiser. That is just the tip of the iceberg as the manufacturer will showcase its upcoming models at Auto Expo 2018 in February.

Kawasaki Ninja 400

The most important model in Kawasaki's stall will be Ninja 400. It will be brought in as the successor of hugely popular Ninja 300 sports bike. In place of the 296cc engine, the new Ninja 400 gets an all-new parallel-twin 399cc mill that develops 45hp of power and 38Nm of torque. The power and torque figures are significantly up from the 39hp and 27Nm of its predecessor.

Ninja 400 is fitted with new steel trellis frame claimed to offer improved stability and manoeuvrability. The new motorcycle also boasts of an assist-and-slipper clutch and 310mm front disc brake upfront with Nissin ABS which is largest in its class. In terms of design, Ninja 400 gets more chiselled body panels and the overall design language has been inspired by the flagship Ninja ZX-10R.

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R SE

Kawasaki India had launched Ninja ZX-10R in September 2017. Now, the company is expected to update the range with the SE version. What's so special about it to warrant the 'SE' title? The SE is Kawasaki's first motorcycle to come equipped with electronic semi-active suspension. It basically, adjusts itself to offer the best settings to match the road conditions.

The system works with the use of special stroke sensors. It measures the ever-changing movements of the fork and shock internals, once every millisecond, and send the information back to the ZX-10R SE's inertial measurement unit (IMU). Another important addition is the SE is a set of new forged aluminium wheels. This keeps the overall weight of the motorcycle down.

Road-legal dirt bike

Kawasaki already offers many dirt bikes like KLX 110, KX100, KX250F, KX450F and KLX450R in India. However, none of these is road-legal. You can use it either on tracks or private place. Kawasaki is expected to showcase 2018 KLX 250 at the show. This would be the first road-legal dirt bike offering in the country.

Source: Autocar