Kawasaki's little Ninja 250 has been with us for ages, and it's about time the bike got some love from its parents. The bike receives a makeover this year, the most obvious change being the new bodywork. Featuring a brand spankin' new full-fairing that looks more like the rest of the Ninja line, the styling is now much less likely to put off those who hated the dated lines of the old version. Of more importance, though, is the upgrade to 17-inch wheels, allowing for many more tire choices and a larger front brake rotor. Also of note are the revised camshaft profiles and the new 2-into-1 exhaust system. Despite often running at very high engine speeds, expect the smallest Ninja to return fuel economy well over 70 miles per gallon.
Related only by the fact that they are from the same manufacturer, the monstrous ZX-14 has received a few changes this year as well. In an effort to meet Euro-III emissions requirements, the bike got a third exhaust catalyzer and a remapped fuel-injection profile. While the changes were made to meet emissions and noise requirements, an added benefit was a bit more low-end grunt - as if this beast needed that!
So there you go... changes to Kawasaki's largest and smallest sportbikes, all in the name of fuel efficiency and emissions. We like the sound of that!
[Source: Kawasaki]
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