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Super sporty 400cc four-cylinder engines were plentiful 35 years ago. First in Japan, later in smaller numbers also here in Europe. In the 1990s, the technical highlights disappeared and it seemed as if they would never return, until now. Kawasaki surprised last year with the ZX-4RR, which now hits a 30 year old ZXR400!
Back to 1989, the year of the ZXR400's birth. That engine was built for the increasingly demanding Japanese 400cc racing class. In the second half of the 1980s, strict legal restrictions on heavy-duty motorcycles gave rise to a fascinating category of high-revving 400cc four-cylinder engines in Japan. These light versions of the real superbikes were hardly inferior in terms of technology to their 750cc brothers.
Born in Japan out of necessity, but so cool that quite a few came to Europe unofficially (and some subsequently also officially). The ZXR400 in service here dates from 1993; the color scheme with the frivolous brush strokes is typical of those years, earlier versions had tight straight lines. Now, more than thirty years after its predecessor, the ZX-4RR fills the big shoes left by the ZXR400. The 2024 generation still has to prove itself on the circuits; In many countries, including England and Germany, a ZX-4RR cup is already in the starting blocks. But what has actually changed in those three decades? We're going to find out.
In any case, both Japanese have one thing in common: they crave high speeds! But you can of course read what the differences are after thirty years of development in MotoPlus 09/2024!
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