Ninja ZX-25R Test Ride Review: A Screaming Machine that Goes Through at 17,000rpm!

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Photo: Kosaku Hoshino

I have participated in a media event to test ride KAWASAKI's long-awaited ZX-25R super quarter, so I would like to share it immediately. I took the ZX-25R out for 2 days of test rides on public roads and on the circuit, and I'll be sharing with you my review focusing on its sporting performance on the circuit.

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Full throttling isn't scary

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When I sit on a machine in a leather suit, I was in a tailor-made position, and that was enough to get me fired up. For a 250cc sports motorcycle, it's a bit large and has a nice face. At first glance, it could be mistaken for the Ninja ZX-6R. It feels slightly larger than the Ninja 250, especially in terms of voluminosity around the engine. Exactly, this was the first 4-cylinder machine in a long time that I had been waiting for.

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Once the engine is fired up and blipped lightly, you've come to know the resonating sound of the inline-4. I had a calm ride, and opening the throttle doesn't give you a doozy, which is greatly unique to the 250cc. So you can open the throttle right away and it's not a scary thing.

Top speed is 20km/h more than the Ninja.

It stirs up a smooth-touching quick shifter with a high-pitched inline-4 sound while applying the accelerator to full throttle until it truly clicks. On the 1km straight at Autopolis, I kept the 3rd gear fully open just before the last corner while switching back and move up through 4th, 5th, and 6th gear. I entered the top gear halfway of the straight line, keeping my head down and stared at the meter. At the end of the day, I reached a peak at 17,000rpm and a meter reading just about 180km/h.

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For reference, I tried to test ride the Ninja 250 (39ps full power overseas specs) with 160 km/h at 14,000rpm at the same Autopolis 3 years ago. This should be enough to explain ZX-25R's power performance.

I can't help but burst the excitement of the screaming sound.

At cornering, the ZX-25R accelerates at full throttle on full bank, even in high-speed corners where it turns in 3rd or 4th gear. The typical high-revving, high-output engine keeps you in the powerband above 12,000rpm. Anyway, the charm of 250cc's is that it's almost a full-throttle except when braking and turning the curve. Imagine that.

It is the excitement of riding at full throttle with the screaming sound at 17,000rpm. It felt so good that I couldn't help but scream into my helmet (lol). The ZX-25R is a screaming machine in two ways!

Leave it to traction control to fully accelerate

However, it is hard to accelerate the throttle if there's a little bit of a wet patch or something. That's when the KTRC comes into play. The so-called Traction Control is selectable in 3 modes (it can be switched off).

The mode 2, recommended by the KAWASAKI Development rider, was perfect for ZX-25R, and it definitely intervened at the exit of the curve and other situations where strong traction is applied while the motorcycle is banking. The feeling is very natural, the lights are flashing but it moves the machine forward without any problems. You can open the accelerator with confidence, leaving it to the traction control.

Excellent, reminiscent of race ABS

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Once you get used to it after a few laps, you can plunge to the 100m sign at the straight end with ease. The NISSIN radial monoblocks have a strong and subtle touch, and it stops that well for a single disc. It's a short braking distance that you wouldn't expect on a big motorcycle. The ABS is also excellent, almost like a race-type that works at the rear with a lot of grips, and I felt safer not to turn off the ABS even when riding on the track.

As I had expected, the ZX-25R showed off the circuit performance that exceeded my expectations. In my next article, I'll be bringing you a detailed review of the ZX-25R, including on public roads.

See KAWASAKI Moto Index Page
See Accessories for KAWASAKI ZX-25R
See Accessories for KAWASAKI NINJA250 (EX250)
See Accessories for KAWASAKI Ninja ZX-6R

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