Back in the 90s, the same inline-4 technology that was found in middleweight sports bikes was shrunk down to cater to a local demand for smaller displacement sport bikes.
With entry-level licenses capped at 250cc, it gave birth to a whole new class of motorcycle as all the big Japanese manufacturers got in on the act. Unsurprisingly, this caught on in other countries that had license restrictions too, as it was an especially fun kind of bike for those getting a motorcycle license for the first time. These bikes were far from entry level machines though, they were fire breathing little monsters that could rev higher than an F1 car. Prices for these bikes rather obviously went up over time, and they became a lot less popular. We all thought they were gone for good by the early 00s, until Kawasaki did the unthinkable.
Ninja ZX-25R: Not Your Average Beginner Bike
The little 250 will make as much as 50 horsepower, in some markets that is restricted to 44 horsepower but still more than enough to get the lightweight machine hustling.
Peak power comes in at a dizzying 15,500 rpm, with the redline set at 17,000 rpm and the analog rev counter just adds to the awesomeness of the machine. To comply with new emissions restrictions the carbs are long gone, replaced with EFI, but the precision feel of this machine is not lost. It is an incredible piece of engineering that has been brought back to life thanks largely to the sheer lack of performance and feel in the small displacement market, although Kawasaki is the only manufacturer brave enough to admit how dull the beginner bike market actually is.
The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R Is The Perfect Track Machine For Beginners
Not every rider will agree, but for most, it's a lot more fun to ride a small bike fast than a fast bike slow.
With all the 150+ horsepower bikes on the market today, some of them not as expensive as you might think, it is pretty hard to make the most of their power. Unless you are on a closed course or a track, it is actually literally impossible to make use of all that power. When you eventually do get it to a track, your life preservation instinct will more than likely get in the way of you attempting to push one of those bikes to the limit too.
On the well-equipped little 250 machine, you can have all the fun every day on the road at legal speeds, or if you want you can have even more fun on track, and it is unlikely that you will feel intimidated at any point. The bike won’t let you down in feel either, with a fully adjustable front Showa fork and an adjustable rear shock, you will be able to dial in the bike to your weight, height and riding style. Its SBK inspired chassis is also more than up to the task, and if you do somehow end up exceeding the limit, there is still a safety net in the form of traction control.
Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R Is A Hard Sell
Even though this is a fun little machine, it still doesn’t come cheap, in fact you will end up shelling out more than you would for the more powerful (and altogether more rudimentary) Ninja 650.
For most buyers that fact alone will eliminate the bike, it shouldn’t though. As much as the middleweight parallel twins have gotten a lot better (let's remove the Ninja 650 from that group though) the way this machine makes its power truly sets it apart. Having little to no power below 10,000 rpm will take some getting used to, but once you are used to it, we suspect everything else will suddenly seem rather boring by comparison.