It’s important to know the top speed of any motorcycle, especially a sportsbike like the Kawasaki Ninja 400. However, as a rider, acceleration is something you will notice much more frequently — every time you start moving. So how hard does the Ninja 400 accelerate?
When it comes to the standard 0-60 mph test, the 2019 Kawasaki Ninja 400 completed it in 4.63 seconds. There isn’t much of a difference with newer models, but it’s worth mentioning that the 2023 Ninja 400 shaves off one hundredth of a second, completing the test in 4.35 seconds. Keeping the same comparisons as before, the 2023 Kawasaki Ninja 650, unsurprisingly, finishes with a lower time of 3.5 seconds, and the Yamaha YZF-R3 clocks in at 5.2. So, while the Ninja 400 won’t catch up with its bigger Ninja sibling from a standing start, it dusts sportbikes of a similar size.
As for the quarter mile, the 2019 Ninja 400 completes the test in 13.19 seconds, while the 2023 model is a smidge slower at 13.2 seconds. Again, the bigger, stronger, and faster Ninja 650 beats both with a quarter mile time of 12 seconds, but things get interesting with the smaller sportbikes. The Honda 300R crosses the line in 15.15 seconds, but the Yamaha R3 finishes just one second after the Ninja 400, completing the quarter mile in 14.2 seconds.
