Kawasaki may be planning to release a new Ninja 400 in America as a 2018 model.

On Tuesday, July 11, a local TV news crew caught a video production company shutting down streets in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to film bright green Kawasaki motorcycles being ridden.

The news crew from WTMJ-TV, the NBC affiliate in Milwaukee, broadcast footage of the Kawasakis and their handlers in action on TV and on their website here: http://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/kawasaki-shut…

The placards in the position of the license plate identify each motorcycle as a “Ninja 400.”

Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. media relations personnel could not be reached at post time, but a person familiar with the project confirmed to Roadracingworld.com that motorcycles wearing the Ninja 400 plates are being filmed this week in Milwaukee by Kawasaki Motors Corp, U.S.A. contractors.

Because this is U.S.-based personnel filming in a U.S. setting, it’s believed this model is coming to America, and because of the timing of the filming, it’s believed this motorcycle will be introduces this fall as a 2018 model.

Kawasaki has produced a Ninja 400 model for several years in selected markets, including Japan and Canada, but those models featured the styling and chassis of the previous Ninja 650 and the Kawasakis seen in the news report appear to be based on the current Ninja 300 platform.

Regardless of the styling and chassis, the new Ninja 400 will likely have a four-stroke parallel twin engine.

Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.