You can say that I’ve gone on and on about the Kawasaki ZX-25R over the past few months. With a great percentage of articles about the baby sportbike on RideApart written by yours truly, saying I’m a fan of this bike is a massive understatement. If not for the freeway restrictions of 400cc and above where I live, I undoubtedly would snap this bike up once available.
For many of us motorcycle enthusiasts, sound is one of the things we love most about riding. Being a musician myself, I find myself extremely attentive to sound—especially sounds coming from my bikes. I’ll admit, I’ve spent well beyond a reasonable amount of money on several exhaust systems for my bikes just to achieve the perfect sound I’ve been craving for. To my shame, I’ve gone through six different exhaust systems for my bike, and still want to try more (my wallet is crying). Nonetheless, the moment I saw this video of Kawasaki Indonesia dyno testing their project track bike ZX-25R, I was immediately struck by how amazing this bike sounds.
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Equipped with a Yoshimura HeptaForce titanium system, the bike’s little in-line four engine was made to sing a song that would send shivers down the spine of any sportbike enthusiast. Being the smallest in-line four engine in mass production today, means it has an extremely high redline. Listening to its exhaust note instantly conjures up images of Japanese race bikes of the 90s blasting across the racetrack, and the smell of gasoline and hot tires at the pits.
I’ve said it about a thousand times, and I’ll say it again. The Kawasaki ZX-25R will definitely reshape the sportbike landscape across the world. Not to mention grassroots motorcycle racing. Kawasaki has shown us that the measure of a true high-performance sportbike doesn’t solely lie in massive horsepower figures and sophisticated performance. But rather in balance and finesse—important attributes that allow the pilot to maximize the potential of their machine.
Sources: Kawasaki Indonesia, Young Machine