Hi, why should I choose R3 over Kawasaki 400? Honest question

Take them both for a ride (possibly along with an RC390) and then buy the one that you prefer.

I picked the R3 because it has better ergonomics for me personally, and it seems to handle better out of the two. (Also, it was NZ$1000 cheaper at the time.)

Honesty, whichever one you end up with, you'll have a good bike. The performance, build quality and handling are close enough that, unless you're riding side by side with the other bike, and swapping between them that you won't really notice that much difference between them in terms of outright performance.

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I bought an R3 because there is a Yamaha dealer in town and no Kawasaki dealer.
And it is prettier than the Z400.

I've ridden the R3, RC390, and Ninja 400.

The Ninja is, hands down, the best bike of the three. I still race and track my R3 too.

The Ninja has better suspension, more power and a factory slipper clutch that really works nice.

i've heard R3 handles better than the 400, but i haven't ridden it 🤷‍♂️

I found the Ninjas suspension much nicer. I was riding it on The Dragon for a couple of days and it was wonderful. Especially the slipper clutch going into corners.

The R3, at a minimum, needs new tires to even start to think about safe cornering. R3 stock tires suck.

Wish I had kept my Ninja 400 and raced that, but didn't want to go through all the cash it takes to convert it to a full race bike. I kept the R3 which I had already converted.

Either bike is a good choice. I just liked the Ninja better.

Capitalview said:

I've ridden the R3, RC390, and Ninja 400.

The Ninja is, hands down, the best bike of the three. I still race and track my R3 too.

The Ninja has better suspension, more power and a factory slipper clutch that really works nice.

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Couldn't have said it better myself. I have Ninja 400 and R3 racebikes, my lap times are faster on the N400 every time, despite more seat time on the R3.

While I've never ridden a N400, I'm very happy with my R3. If your only concern is highway use, you have nothing to worry about. The R3 has enough power to handle highway speeds. That being said, I wouldn't want to take it on long distance tour either (that goes the the N400 as well).... I've tracked my R3 and got 116 mph (indicated). With gear, I'm over 200#. I purchased my R3 because it had enough power to use on the on the highway. I race a 2016 Yamaha FZ-07. I make "better" choices on the street with the R3, and it still has enough power to keep it interesting-