Kawasaki ZX4RR Did you or will you buy one?

Went and saw it in the flesh Wednesday. Made offer. Told them to take the day and call me Thursday. No return move on their part. I guess I'm just not a "market adjustment" kind of buyer.

 

I was at the Kawasaki dealer near me and talked to a salesman. Said they sold one for MSRP and it only lasted a couple of days on the floor.

 

1. Hope they bring back the ZX7RR for WSS

2. What will this 400 weigh in full race trim?

I'm sure it'll be fun, but you'll spend $16-17k on a full race build with bodywork/paint, exhaust/tune, shock/carts/damper, subframe/fairing stay, throttle, brake m/c+lines, rearsets/clipons...and that's if you build it yourself.

For less money than that you could get a new turn key Kramer that weighs 275 lbs. and has purpose built race chassis.

 

But what class does the Kramer fit in? I feel bad for you guys racing these days. Used to be you could run a lightweight bike all the way up to A, and still do well. Now you have to have the right bike for every class.

 

DSS,DSB, Clubman, and can hold it’s own in LWT class with the right pilot.

 

Lots of classes for the Kramer. I believe Kayla was running in the 31's the last time she raced her Kramer 690 at Barber. Not sure the Ninja will have that type of potential.

 

Not that I speak for everyone, but what I think is a big draw for the 400 is that it'll be popular, with many similar machines to race against and plenty of aftermarket support. Kramers are awesome, but certainly more expensive up front and going to your normal STG etc for Kawasaki race parts is something people are familiar/comfortable with compared to going into Kramer land.

 

I know why I thought it would be cool; because I'm old and remember how fun the FZR400 was. But not sure what the draw is for the younguns. As it's been pointed out, even with the motor sorted, it's still going to be an expensive, heavy, less tractable 600.

 

Points well taken for sure. I also agree. I love the fact Kawi is building this bike. Hopefully other manufacturers will follow suit and we'll have a late 80's/early 90's high revving 400 revival again. I was dying for a FZR400 when I was a kid.

Off Topic....but It's too bad Kramer doesn't have the type of money it would take to fund a Spec class like MA Junior Cup. The bike is galaxies better than the junk the MA kids are racing on and would be a much better gateway bike for young pro riders. If something like that were to happen, teams could buy a turn key bike for $15-16k. How much does it cost to build a front-running MA Junior Cup Kawi?....and how many motors are the teams using per season?

 

Don’t singles qualify for DSS using SBK rules. If not all these years one the 690 Duke I was breaking the law!!

 

From the sounds of all this FZR400 talk, I'm a bit younger than some of the guys clamoring for that '400cc screamer' feeling. I'm nearly 37, so I don't have nostalgia for FZR400s and the like. But I gotta admit, there's something incredibly fun about flinging a small bike around a track. A lot less mentally and physically taxing. The RS660 I rode gave great feeling toward that, but I'm thinking a good 400 will be another step toward that feeling.

A 100 degree day on my 998 or even my 675 is exhausting. A 400 sounds like an absolute blast in that environment.

 

Yep. You're a whipper snapper. A well set up FZR400 was an awesome thing. Maybe not TZ250 light, but man it was miles beyond what an RZ was in terms of handling. It sounds like all the good that is a light powerful 400, is negated with the weight and cost of the new ZX. I'd do an RS660 first.

 

In theory, yes!! But every single one in the paddock comes with an owner all too happy to tell you about parts availability and reliability... being non-existent. Every. One.

 

They should just go to NSF250s.

 

Yeah but realistically what does the Kramer even need outside of spares? I have two friends that each have a Kramer and they don't do shit to them outside of maybe spring swaps.

 

A superbike starts as a stock street bike. A Kramer is a formula bike (no road going version). Your Duke started out as a street bike, but as a single in DSS, it can run under Superbike rules.

 

That makes sense to me but if the Kramer is considered a formula bike wouldn’t that exclude it from D and even LWT classes altogether? Maybe I need read the rule book again.

 

Formula rules for singles in DSB. Really have to sift through the RB to get all the details.

 

There's an actual rulebook? I thought that was just a long running joke...