I have no idea what you mean on prices stickman428. The DRZ is 6999, the Kawi is 9699 and a KTM motard is 12999. Now I have both the DRZ and the KTM and paid nothing like retail but that was before the big disaster of Biden. And I'm guessing you can have the most bang for the buck on the Suzuki, but of course I haven't ridden the Kawi. And I'm told the number of these little 400's coming to the US may be very small this year (I looked into it as a race bike), so I suspect it will be pricey initially.

Hopefully a non-KRT edition will follow, at a slightly lower price.

Hrcjon, my Kawi/Suzuki stealership quoted me nearly $10k last year out the door for a DRZ400SM. I am fully aware of these bikes MSRP. If my local dealership were willing to be reasonable I’d already own a DRZ though the more I think about it the more I know I’d get bored with the power and end up modding it.

When you factor in the money I’d certainly eventually spend on mods the KTM seems like the smarter move. Even a highly modded DRZ will be inferior to the performance of a KTM 690 Supermoto.

I was strongly leaning towards the KTM being my first and last bike I bought new. Now Kawasaki is tempting me with this shocking 400.

I think we might have noted that dealer silliness before. I'm sure you can find a DRZ at a good price. But I don't care how much money you spend on the DRZ its not going to even remotely approach the performance of the KTM. It is simply not possible. That said if you asked me about most fun for the $ while street riding (not racing) I'd say the DRZ is a way, way better bargain. And with the money left over you can get a Yamaha R3 and get your low power high corner speed kicks.

Went down a rabbit hole earlier...I've now re-emerged SERIOUSLY wanting an Aprilia RS660!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nhracecraft,

doesn't get any better than that (other than cost) for the small twins. They are stunning on the track.

Daytona Bike Week is going on, Kawasaki is there with a booth full of their products, the Ninja 400 is on center display, you can sit on it, but you can't ride it.

I did get a pair of nifty cool Kawi Green sunglasses for my granddaughter...

That’s not the Ninja 400. That’s the ZX-4RR. They are completely different models.

Austin YT channel has one & got it on a dyno
Jump to about 3:50 for the start & 5:40 for the results

TL;DR - About 51hp bone stock, to the wheel at about 11k RPM

Same channel, had the ECU flashed & his thoughts on the difference

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
That’s not the Ninja 400. That’s the ZX-4RR. They are completely different models.

It's the bike as noted in the OP....

The money I am saving installing flooring myself this summer will help me get this new Kawasaki small mill thrill something more retro this fall/winter.

It was an agreeable compromise with the wife, new flooring & new motorcycle. She did specify big bird would have to go so at some point I’ll install the new fuel pump/filter & flip my yellow BMW R1150GS. It is a big ole thing so getting rid of that will clear up a bit of space in the garage.

I’ve narrowed my list down to the ZX4RR, BMW RnineT, or a Triumph Scrambler in matte blue. Unless the supermoto changes my mind this fall.

I watched a very cool YouTube video where someone converted a CB750 into an 80mph 200 mile range electric motorcycle. A $4000 build yielded some impressive results!

It didn’t look like all that hard of a build and REALLY makes me want to learn how to weld. A twin motor or even a triple motor electric motorcycle with two hub motors and a mid drive motor would be damn interesting. The weight and hub motors would make braking/battery regeneration possible. It’s something I’ve been experimenting with on one of my electric mountain bikes as a range extender.

Granted I haven't had one on the road, but as much as I like how the R9T looks, the seat was horrible in the showroom. Dug into inner thighs & was a big put-off, price notwithstanding.

I do like the Bonnie line, and would be really tempted by a Street/Speed Twin, if I were shopping.

The seat and tail bolt off on the RnineT right?

I know the tail is removable. There should be some decent cafe racer style seats for the BMW.

Coming from the MTB saddles I am used to currently it’ll probably feel like a lazy boy.

Possibly, for me it was just too wide at the tank end of the seat. The actual seat was pretty comfy otherwise.

quote:

I watched a very cool YouTube video where someone converted a CB750 into an 80mph 200 mile range electric motorcycle.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Granted I haven't had one on the road, but as much as I like how the R9T looks, the seat was horrible in the showroom. Dug into inner thighs & was a big put-off, price notwithstanding.

I do like the Bonnie line, and would be really tempted by a Street/Speed Twin, if I were shopping.

I test rode a R9T and you are absolutely correct about the seat. 30 miles of pure torture. I couldn’t wait to get off that bike. I believe a 4x4 would have hurt less.

Z400RS May Join ZX4-RR

quote:

The Japanese magazine Young Machine has been doing some crystal ball gazing, and it is pointing to a new retro naked from Kawasaki.

The bike that is being touted is a Z400RS, and the theme of the bike should be familiar to fans of the Japanese brand. We’ve already got the Z900RS and Z650RS in the UK range, and like both of those bikes, which rely on the Z900 and Z650 as a starting point, the heart of the Z400RS comes from another model, the ZX-4R sports bike.