What might’ve happened if progressive licensing had been adopted world-wide ? Maybe herds of 4-cylinder DOHC 250’s would be roaming North America. Or could the wide open spaces and 5-day coast-to-coast rides have eventually nudged us toward 1300cc water buffalo ? This gray-market ZX-R250 makes one wonder.
1994 Kawasaki ZXR-250 for sale on eBay
The ZX-R250 was built primarily for the Japanese market and was also know as the ZX-2R and ZX-RR. Many found their way to Oz but they are quite rare here. Rather than a commodity bike, the ZX-R250’s were a showcase for Kawasaki engineering, way ahead of their time for 1988, and had competition from Honda and Suzuki.
Just under two inches across, the pistons in a 250cc four have little mass to keep them from their nearly 20,000 rpm redline and 39-45 horsepower depending variant. Seeming like a tabletop project, the diminutive double overhead cams and 4 Keihin carburetors fit across the aluminum perimeter frame. Suspension was also state of the art with upside-down forks and Uni-Track monoshock rear. Brakes were oversized at 300mm dual fronts and single rear. The fairing is easy to confuse with a mid-size ZX-7R, with ram air tubes and dual seat.
Not very well documented, but not showing much in the way of damage or corrosion, looks like it’s been in storage for a while. From the eBay auction:
This is not to be confused with the American spec zx250… these were serious little bikes. The motor is a 4 stroke, 4 cylinder that revs to nearly 20,000rpm. Power is listed as 45hp at 16,000rpm and wet weight is under 300lbs wet. These bikes are incredible.
I also find it amazing that in the early 90’s this bike came stock with hollow-cast wheels, and inverted forks… we didn’t get that on most sport bikes till 10 years later(!) These 250c’s were built to be special, and the riding experience shows it.
Aftermarket mods are limited to the HID’s, carbon-can exhaust, and lithium-ion battery, all of which came on it.
My bike was imported through a broker in Tampa and still carries the 12 digit Japanese VIN on a clean Florida title.
A neat full-featured sportbike, the ZX-R250 might take some getting used to, not many riders are ready to run 10,000 rpm or above regularly, and it’ll be a requirement for the little four. Maintenance and repair parts, because these bike were never here, could require attention to some .au websites, unless you have a friend in green. But as most manufacturers are going with twins and singles for their smaller displacement bikes, a 250-four will be an exotic and fun thing…
-donn
Luv these little 250 screamers. Rode a Honda 250/4. You could wring its neck and still be close to legal speeds. You have to work for every MPH. Puts a smile on my face!
better learn Japanese,
although popular – most of these bike in Australia are grey imports from the 90’s and early 2000’s.
so not supported by the manufacturer in this market. (no English parts catalog)
I know the CBR250RR was only brought in for one or two years officially. and differed from the Japanese models in the electrics and carburetor boots, having a lower performance.
No it was a japanese law change that restricted the max hp that went into effect in 93. They got engine tweaking to restict them more the cbr250rr sold in aus where leftover later models only the colors differ due to the importer. This is why many bikes like mc21 vs mc28 or vfr400 vs rvf400 the earlier 90’s models made slightly more power.
the carburetor boots are definitely different, they can be squeezed on with a bit of effort, but not ideal and risk splitting.
have a good friend that races them, and I worked in parts.
I personally have had several issues with ordering electrical parts from the Australian model only for it to not fit an imported bike.
and have been told of several other issues. remember the only one we legally got was the last models produced 98-99 (model- years for Honda Australia)
don’t fall into the trap of thinking manufacturers only build one bike and its just the colors that change for different markets.
Manufacturers alter the bike to suit the market and make it legal. a good example example is the RZ500 having an restricted engine in japan, but an alloy frame. as opposed to the steel frames of the other markets. i used to work with Harley’s and they used to list all the parts (other manufacturers just give parts fiche for the Australian market) surprising what was changed, (almost always the lighting, electrical, intake, ECU and exhaust)