WHY doesn’t every bike come with the option of a black paint scheme with gold trimmings? Seriously, can you name one with that colour combination that looks anything other than great?
There’s something about that JPS-inspired appearance that just manages to take even the dullest shape and transform it into something that’s leagues classier, sportier and more stylish. So congratulations to Kawasaki’s Japanese designers for their decision on the newly-launched Ninja 400 Limited Edition.
Of course, we don’t get the Ninja 400 in Europe. It’s basically identical to the machine we call the ER-6f, but with the addition of a better name and a downsized version of the ER-6’s 650cc parallel twin engine to suit Japanese rules, where the licence and MoT (or Shaken) costs massively favour sub-400cc machines.
The new Limited Edition version, of which only 300 will be sold in Japan this year, gets a dark grey main colour with black, carbon-effect decals on various bits of the fairing and tank, plus that all-important gold pinstripe with matching wheels, brakes and rear shock mount. It’s a small change but one that makes it look infinitely better than the base version (available in either black or white this year, both with a green rear spring as the only dash of colour.) It’s about 10% more expensive than the base model in Japan, but the limited edition only comes with ABS, which alone accounts for more than half the additional cost.
Come on Kawasaki, where’s our 650 version?
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