The Kawasaki Ninja 400 and Z400 are two of the most popular motorcycles in the entry-level motorcycle space. However, back in 2020, Kawasaki had to axe these models for most markets (barring America) as the bikes fell prey to stringent Euro-5 norms. After a brief hiatus, though, Kawasaki is finally undoing its mistake and has taken the wraps off the 2023 Ninja 400 and Z400 with a few detrimental updates.

2023 Kawasaki Ninja 400 & Z400 - What’s New?

“Why fix something when it ain’t broke?” This is probably what was going through the minds of Kawasaki engineers while planning the 2023 Ninja 400 and Z400 because both motorcycles remain mostly the same, with the only exception being the engine.

Speaking of which, the 399cc, parallel-twin engine has received a refresh and now adheres to Euro-5 norms. It churns out the same 44 horsepower but marginally less torque at 27.2 pound-feet. More importantly, the Euro 5-compliance means the bike will make a comeback in the European market where both bikes have prevailed previously.

Apart from this, Kawasaki has also introduced new color options for the MY23 Ninja 400. It now gets a new KRT livery that’s greener than before (just like the bike itself) alongside a Metallic Carbon Gray color featuring all-black bodywork and subtle green inserts. Meanwhile, the Z400 makes do with its older color options.

2023 Kawasaki Ninja 400 & Z400 - What’s Unchanged?

Everything else except for the aforementioned bits remains as is. Both bikes employ a steel trellis chassis sprung on 41mm telescopic forks and a preload-adjustable Uni-Trak monoshock. The brakes are the same too, with a 310mm front petal disc and a 220mm rear petal disc.

As for features, the Z400 and Ninja 400 get front and rear LED lights, a semi-digital instrument cluster, and dual-channel ABS. This puts the two 400s on a slight backfoot in the market, especially when you bring into context the better equipped KTM 390 siblings.

2023 Kawasaki Ninja 400 & Z400 - Price & Availability

Kawasaki is yet to announce the price of the updated Z400 and Ninja 400. What we do know, though, is that both bikes will reach European dealers by August 2022, closely followed by their American launch. So if you’re planning to get either of these, we suggest you wait it out and go for the 2023 variant.