Kawasaki Ninja ZX-4RR 40th Anniversary Edition 2024 — Specifications

It roars! The joy of hearing a 4-cylinder rip its guts out to transcend itself. With the ZX-4RR, you don't even need 200 horsepower to experience the thrill and hysteria. Just 80 horsepower, 99.7 cm3 4-cylinder engines each... That doesn't stop it from being able to display more than 245 km/h on the speedometer, with 14,500 rpm of vocalizations... As well as 40 years of Ninja history in the rearview mirror.

Indeed, joy and camaraderie, the ZX-4RR is part of the official selection for the celebrations of the four decades of Kawasaki sportbikes. With the ZX-10R and the ZX-6R, our three protagonists stand out with a commemorative badge on the tank and especially with a vintage decoration with green, white and blue stripes.

The affiliation with the 1989 ZXR 750 is evident, Kawa having chosen this decoration to remember the many victories of the ZXR-7 official in the 1990s. But there's no need to enter the sphere of world competition to find direct genetics: the distant ancestor ZXR 400 already wore the same outfit. Although separated by 30 years, these 400 cm3 sportbikes naturally pass on yesterday's and appropriate attire. The small iconic touch!? The green painted rims and the silver colored frame!

Comparing these two bikes shows not only how important designers have become in engineering offices but also the extent of the progress made. From the ZXR to the ZX-4R, the engine sends 1500 rpm and 20% more power; injection has replaced carburetors, and electronics are nothing like it: ignition module on the model of the 1990s - color TFT screen, four Riding Modes, traction control, ABS, shifter, USB socket and Bluetooth module for the latest model. In terms of revs, the old one laughs with its 15 kilos less. The new one makes up for it with a pollution and consumption of another dimension.

We keep talking about the ZXR. So we need to refocus the debate around the 40 years. They lead us not to the Stinger but to the GPZ 900 R. It was the first of the Ninja. A bomb for the time, combining the best of a 750 and an 1100. The first motorcycle to go below the ratio of 2 kg per horsepower. A symbol of an era, where beating the Paris-Marseille TGV with this motorcycle inflamed (in the good sense) the readers of Moto-Revue.

M.B - Photos constructeur