PERFORMANCE TEST
How fast is an A2 motorcycle? Faster than you might think ‘Kawasaki have set a new performance benchmark’
Our results show Kawasaki’s 2018 400 sets new standards in terms of performance, recording a true 119.52mph (with the speedo showing 125mph). That’s impressive for an A2 licence bike. The Honda recorded a true 109.06mph with the KTM recording 106.24mph, which isn’t bad for a 390cc single.
The Ninja blasted down the quartermile strip in 13.96 seconds, flashing through the speed trap at 96.37mph. The Honda was a little slower at 14.35 seconds and 91.71mph with the KTM last with 14.42 seconds and 91.62mph. Just for fun, we also recorded the time to reach 100mph from a standing start. As expected the Kawasaki was the quickest, hitting a ton in 15.4 seconds, the Honda 19.2 seconds and the KTM 20.94 seconds.
So it appears Kawasaki have set a new performance benchmark for A2 bikes, but it still can’t match the glory days of sporty 400cc machines when Kawasaki’s own ZXR400 ruled the roost. Back in the ’90s a standard ZXR400 recorded a true top speed of 139mph and set a standing quarter-mile time of 12.9 seconds. Happy days.
But in the real world, away from illegal top speeds, how do the bikes compare when you want to lazily accelerate in top gear? The KTM took 26.45 seconds to drag itself from 40mph to 100mph in top.
‘The Ninja has enough power to get past slowmoving traffic with ease’
The Honda was three seconds quicker (23.07 seconds) and the sporty Kawasaki took just 20.37 seconds, which is pretty impressive.
We also tried accelerating from 40mph to 90mph in fourth gear. Unfortunately, the KTM, with its relatively short gearing, never reached 90mph in fourth. However, the Honda only took 12.61 seconds, and the Kawasaki took just over 10 seconds. So on the road you could join the A1 at 40mph, crack the throttle in fourth and be at 90mph 10 seconds later. Our brake test from 70mph to a standstill didn’t do the KTM any favours either. It’s by far the lightest bike, yet with a 57.67m stopping distance compared to 55.19m for the Kawasaki and 57.89m for the Honda, failed to impress.