New Kawasaki 250cc 4-cylinder could be more expensive than a 400cc

The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R is about to be launched in Indonesia. The launch date is set for July 10, 2020. It seems though that some Kawasaki dealers have gotten a bit excited and have leaked the prices in the hopes of getting early reservations.

We’re talked a lot about how much power it produces from its small displacement. We’ve also cautioned that having a small, brand-new, 4-cylinder engine instead of the usual parallel twin could bring up its price.

Over the past week, dealers from New Zealand and Indonesia have revealed their prices for the upcoming model, perhaps in a bid to gauge interest in the bike. Over in New Zealand, since the bike will be imported as a whole and in small numbers, it comes out to NZD 15,990 (PhP519,000).

Over in Indonesia — a market much more similar to ours — the bike is priced at IDR 98,800,000 (PhP335,000) for the non-ABS model, and at IDR 114,000,000 (PhP395,000) for the ABS model.

Keep in mind that the ZX-25R will be assembled in Indonesia. Since Indonesia, like the Philippines, is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), we can expect very low tariffs for Indonesian-made motorcycles when imported into the country. Unfortunately, that means the price isn’t likely to change much. If it does, it will increase by a few thousand pesos once the minimal taxes and duties are applied.

At that price point, it makes the ZX-25R more expensive than Kawasaki’s Z400 and Ninja 400. The ABS model could be even more expensive than Kawasaki’s Z650, and just a hair under the Ninja 650, Vulcan S 650, and Versys 650. Unfortunately, this pricing will likely make some customers shift to the highway-legal 400cc and 650cc offerings as opposed to the ZX-25R. We wouldn't be surprised if Kawasaki Philippines opts not to offer the model here.

Of course, these prices aren’t final. There is still a lot of other factors we may have not considered that can still change the price of the ZX-25R.

Would you buy a 4-cylinder 250cc screamer over a parallel twin 400cc? Let us know in the comments.