Kawasaki has just unveiled the Z300 at the 2014 EICMA show. The Z300 is similar to the Z250 as far as aesthetics go while it uses the same engine as the Ninja 300.
Kawasaki is on a roll this year, at least internationally. The company is on a product offensive as so evident by the range of bikes which have come out of the Japanese automaker’s green garage. The latest motorcycle is the Kawasaki Z300 which broke cover at the on-going 2014 EICMA motorcycle show. The Z300 is visually similar to the Z250 but uses the engine from the Ninja 300, similar to how the Z250 is powered by the Ninja 250’s mill. Kawasaki is offering the Z300 with exactly the same output as the Ninja 300. Thus the Z300 becomes the Ninja 300’s street-fighter alternative which will be offered for a slightly lower price.
The 296cc, parallel-twin engine in the Kawasaki Z300 generates the same 39 PS of peak power at 11,000 RPM and 27 Nm of peak torque at 10,000 RPM. Kawasaki is offering two colours on the Z300 – green and grey, both getting metallic black inputs. The 300cc mill in the Ninja 300 is a high-revving one and the same will transform the riding experience on the Z300 as well, making it a very fun to ride motorcycle on the streets. The Z300 has aggressive styling and one can relate to bigger Z models after looking at it, although the rear is a bit toned down.
The Z300 weighs 168 kgs without ABS, the system adding 2 kgs more to the kerb weight. ABS isn’t standard but optional but Kawasaki doesn’t offer ABS on any of its India assembled motorcycles, limiting the safety feature to fully imported models. Kawasaki launched the Z250 in India just recently and thus the Z300’s arrival in India seems highly unlikely. Given the price of the Z250 in our country, it’s better Kawasaki doesn’t launch the Z300 as it will cost as much as the already overpriced Ninja 300.
