Could Kawasaki be about to revive the 250cc class?
Young Machine magazine has featured a Kawasaki ZX25-R on the front cover, pointing that a return of the small capacity four-cylinder motorcycle could be upon us!
JAPANESE magazine Young Machine have featured a rather interesting motorcycle on the front cover of their August edition. It’s a computer-generated image of a bike claiming to be a Kawasaki ZX-25R, a Ninja styled sportsbike that has all the hallmarks of a genuine Kawasaki design.
The one part of the bike that really stands out though, is the engine. In a world where most mid capacity bikes have single or twin-cylinder lumps at their heart; the ZX-25R clearly has a classy looking four-cylinder motor.
The idea of a four-pot 250cc from Kawasaki isn’t new, we even reported on it back in 2014, when some Indonesian blogs were reporting that the Kawasaki manufacturing arms based there were the source of the rumours.
It’s not clear if the magazine is running the image as a genuine design, rendered with some inside information from a rogue Kawasaki employee, or if the team is merely pondering the question of: What could a 250cc four-pot sportsbike look like in 2019? Whatever the answer is – the thought of a screaming sportsbike with 60hp, a 20k rpm redline and featherweight makes for a truly delicious daydream!
There are also probably a number of team owners in the TT and road racing paddocks who are praying that this happens!
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
