I will start from the most important attribute that anyone factors while choosing their dream machine – the dough.
You will have to cough up 4.57 Lakh ex-showroom Delhi (which will be less than 5 Lakh INR!@ on road!). This is an extremely competitive pricing.(In nepal I am guessing around 17 lakhs minimun) I figure this bike will reach nepal within 1 month, but is there a market for it ???
The next is the brand equity and its legacy. The Ninja brand name is pretty darn strong. Say Ninja in a biker’s meetup and everyone sees green and fast bikes. In retrospect, It’s unbelievable how bold a move it must have been to give a bike named Ninja the flagship color of lime green. I am sure it wasn’t by design, but destiny. Much like the success of our own Pulsar here. Kawasaki is also a reputed company, plus Ninja 250R has been there for a long enough time and has proved its mettle in India.
Then come the looks. No matter how good the engine is, it is the looks that make machines like these a commercial success. And with a country like India which just has a handful of options and an infatuation with faired bikes, this is again goes positively for the Ninja. My first look impressions involved me getting in love with that green again. It reminded me of my green Ninja 250 which I acquired an year ago. Coming to that, I felt a little confused, the N650R did not look as BIG as compared to its younger sibling. Now, before you get me wrong – discerning and informed motorcyclists like you and me know that they are two very different machines – but for many who will buy the N650R will be not be comfortable with a Ninja 250R standing besides it and getting equal if not more gazes from the curious onlookers. I have been around enough to be able to vouch for this predicament that will be inevitable for every N650R owner. However equally frustrated will be the N250R owners, when they will compare the price difference between the two Ninjas. This is for laters though.
The N650Rs most impressive design element has to be the side mounted monoshock which lends it a radical look. Following this are the broad dual headlights (again compare it with the R15 and the FZ16 and many might come to a conclusion that its not that radical or ‘big’ for a bike which is four times the capacity, but again this is India and lots of people think on these lines, ‘un’fortunately many of them also are probable customers).
Your eyes then track to the rather broad and tall windshield, which doesn’t look out of place but doesn’t aid its look as well, really. However, go past this paltry issue and you realize that almost everything about this bike oozes practicality. The good windscreen, the BIG LCD backlit console which has every thing digital – from a tacho to a very handy clock (which has CLOCK written below it just in case some over smart number crunchers might think of the numbers as something else ?).
The rear end is pretty sleek and rather simple. But before your eyes reach there you will stop and stare at the side-mounted monoshock. It definitely looks different. But beyond that I was forced to think what purpose could it have served on a bike, which had a relatively simple styling. Some research and pondering minutes later it boiled down to a m being a clever packaging solution (placement of ultra stubby exhaust, battery etc) plus maybe a distinguishing design element which is also found on the bigger Versys from the Kawasaki stable.
Track further down and you have the under engine exhaust which probably not only lends it a tricked out look but also better CoG (Center of Gravity) in terms of mass centralization and low CoG. However, in my opinion that definitely didn’t help it a lot when compared to the N250R, despite the younger sibling having a standard exhaust. Goes a long way to say perfection is achieved by a lot of interdependent components rather than a single component fixed in for a specific purpose.
The bike ends with a rather simple and sleek rear. No dramas there. A standard LED cluster tail lamp with practical longish grab rails greet the trailer.
The tyres (rear 160 and front 120) on the N650R are good enough, but could have been thicker to make the bike look, once again by popular demand, bigger.
The best view of the bike is rear 3/4th, the biggest from front 3/4th, most radical is the right side profile, the least impressive is the direct rear.
Zoom out and see the bike’s profile in totality. Something will strike you. The bike looks small than it is supposed to be, and that it sometimes looks like a semi faired bike. One of the reasons is because the lower fairing is matte black which merges it with the similarly treated engine casing. I fail to understand why it didn’t have the standard green all over it.
Overall, I would have preferred if the styling of the bike would have one justice to the R appended to it. The N650R doesn’t look off the charts but it isn’t a bad looker either. That’s about it for the styling part, now lets move on to how it moves.
X = 72 Bhp. 650 CC rounded off. The most important figures are these. Or are they? Sit on the bike, flick up the side stand (no main stand) and it feels light (unlike the Bandit 1250 which needs to start moving for its weight to disappear). With 203 Kgs of curb weight the bike is no feather light, but its no slouch either. The peak figures of Bhp (72) and Torque (66Nm) are achieved at 8500 and 700 respectively , keeping the engine relatively relaxed (compared to the N250R). This means that it will be easy touring on this and easier in traffic. And sure enough it was. I rode the bike intermittently over 200 kays and it was a delight, however not exciting as a Ninja 250R, especially in the hills. Maybe I am used to revving the N250 high, soaking in the delightful inline twin sound. Plus the 650R handles nowhere as sweet as the N250 but this doesn’t mean it’s bad at all! I am just trying to justify the R tag after the 650 like in the 250R, which needs no justifications.
Turn the key and you are greeted with pre ride checks, lots of characters flashing and running up and across. Makes for a delightful high tech experience. It was one of the biggest consoles I had seen after the Ducati 1198’s. At night the orange backlight looks very chic.
Thumb the starter and the two cylinders come life without dramas. In fact its little too simple. The exhaust note is totally uninspiring. You can expect the N250R to sound like this, but definitely not a middle weight class bike. I am sure one of the first thing many will be looking to do is get that sound to match the go and the show. However at high revs, especially around 7000, it does sound decent, but again, it wont touch your hear. To me, the sound of the machine is one of the most important experiential factors to make for a great ride.
Twist the throttle and the bike surges forward, hard, but not pull-your-arms-out-of-your-sockets-hard. 72 HP is enough power to propel you ahead of anything on four wheels (for a while at least) and will keep in the rear view mirrors of most superbikes being ridden sanely. Thought the acceleration and the adrenaline rush is nowhere near that of a 1000CC bike (of course, it cannot be!). Neither it can match the stupendous rush lent by its fitter sibling – the Ninja ZX6R.
Twist the throttle and the bike surges forward, hard, but not pull-your-arms-out-of-your-sockets-hard. 72 HP is enough power to propel you ahead of anything on four wheels (for a while at least) and will keep in the rear view mirrors of most superbikes being ridden sanely. Thought the acceleration and the adrenaline rush is nowhere near that of a 1000CC bike (of course, it cannot be!). Neither it can match the stupendous rush lent by its fitter sibling – the Ninja ZX6R.
At night the light of the Ninja on low (single side) is biased towards the right, however once you switch in the high beam things get much brighter (and uncomfortable for the people coming from the opposite side).
Thumbs up on the bike from me for the following:
• No side flanked exhaust and sleek rear means great space for putting soft panniers
• Metal tank means you can put a tank bag too! (like I did along with my camera)
• Green! Green! GREEN!
• Looks good
• PRICE! PRICE! PRICE! PRICE! Total VFM!
• The Kawasaki and Ninja badge under Bajaj’s aegis
• Hints of supersports styling
• Flickablity
Thumbs down:
• Not BIG enough
• Not GREEN enough, why is the lower fairing black!
• The exhaust note
• Just hints at supersports styling, looks confused
• Not ultra flickable like the N250, depite the R tag
Overall the bike is great value for money, and simply great for long distance touring as well as off roading! And at 4.57 Lacs ex, this will make lots of dream come true and green!
BUT, the big question, what happens to the Ninja 250R?
Kawasaki India has clearly stated that the price of the N250R will remain unchanged for some time to come. However the price difference is not too narrow to warrant ay possibilities of cannibalization , however, like I said, comparisons will be inevitable. Below is a chart comparing the two green machines from the Kawasaki stable available as of June 2011 in India:
For More Pictures of the Launch of Ninja 650 R watch the video...
You will have to cough up 4.57 Lakh ex-showroom Delhi (which will be less than 5 Lakh INR!@ on road!). This is an extremely competitive pricing.(In nepal I am guessing around 17 lakhs minimun) I figure this bike will reach nepal within 1 month, but is there a market for it ???
The N650Rs most impressive design element has to be the side mounted monoshock which lends it a radical look. Following this are the broad dual headlights (again compare it with the R15 and the FZ16 and many might come to a conclusion that its not that radical or ‘big’ for a bike which is four times the capacity, but again this is India and lots of people think on these lines, ‘un’fortunately many of them also are probable customers).
Your eyes then track to the rather broad and tall windshield, which doesn’t look out of place but doesn’t aid its look as well, really. However, go past this paltry issue and you realize that almost everything about this bike oozes practicality. The good windscreen, the BIG LCD backlit console which has every thing digital – from a tacho to a very handy clock (which has CLOCK written below it just in case some over smart number crunchers might think of the numbers as something else ?).
Track further down and you have the under engine exhaust which probably not only lends it a tricked out look but also better CoG (Center of Gravity) in terms of mass centralization and low CoG. However, in my opinion that definitely didn’t help it a lot when compared to the N250R, despite the younger sibling having a standard exhaust. Goes a long way to say perfection is achieved by a lot of interdependent components rather than a single component fixed in for a specific purpose.
The bike ends with a rather simple and sleek rear. No dramas there. A standard LED cluster tail lamp with practical longish grab rails greet the trailer.
The tyres (rear 160 and front 120) on the N650R are good enough, but could have been thicker to make the bike look, once again by popular demand, bigger.
The best view of the bike is rear 3/4th, the biggest from front 3/4th, most radical is the right side profile, the least impressive is the direct rear.
Zoom out and see the bike’s profile in totality. Something will strike you. The bike looks small than it is supposed to be, and that it sometimes looks like a semi faired bike. One of the reasons is because the lower fairing is matte black which merges it with the similarly treated engine casing. I fail to understand why it didn’t have the standard green all over it.
X = 72 Bhp. 650 CC rounded off. The most important figures are these. Or are they? Sit on the bike, flick up the side stand (no main stand) and it feels light (unlike the Bandit 1250 which needs to start moving for its weight to disappear). With 203 Kgs of curb weight the bike is no feather light, but its no slouch either. The peak figures of Bhp (72) and Torque (66Nm) are achieved at 8500 and 700 respectively , keeping the engine relatively relaxed (compared to the N250R). This means that it will be easy touring on this and easier in traffic. And sure enough it was. I rode the bike intermittently over 200 kays and it was a delight, however not exciting as a Ninja 250R, especially in the hills. Maybe I am used to revving the N250 high, soaking in the delightful inline twin sound. Plus the 650R handles nowhere as sweet as the N250 but this doesn’t mean it’s bad at all! I am just trying to justify the R tag after the 650 like in the 250R, which needs no justifications.
Turn the key and you are greeted with pre ride checks, lots of characters flashing and running up and across. Makes for a delightful high tech experience. It was one of the biggest consoles I had seen after the Ducati 1198’s. At night the orange backlight looks very chic.
Twist the throttle and the bike surges forward, hard, but not pull-your-arms-out-of-your-sockets-hard. 72 HP is enough power to propel you ahead of anything on four wheels (for a while at least) and will keep in the rear view mirrors of most superbikes being ridden sanely. Thought the acceleration and the adrenaline rush is nowhere near that of a 1000CC bike (of course, it cannot be!). Neither it can match the stupendous rush lent by its fitter sibling – the Ninja ZX6R.
Twist the throttle and the bike surges forward, hard, but not pull-your-arms-out-of-your-sockets-hard. 72 HP is enough power to propel you ahead of anything on four wheels (for a while at least) and will keep in the rear view mirrors of most superbikes being ridden sanely. Thought the acceleration and the adrenaline rush is nowhere near that of a 1000CC bike (of course, it cannot be!). Neither it can match the stupendous rush lent by its fitter sibling – the Ninja ZX6R.
At night the light of the Ninja on low (single side) is biased towards the right, however once you switch in the high beam things get much brighter (and uncomfortable for the people coming from the opposite side).
Thumbs up on the bike from me for the following:
• No side flanked exhaust and sleek rear means great space for putting soft panniers
• Metal tank means you can put a tank bag too! (like I did along with my camera)
• Green! Green! GREEN!
• Looks good
• PRICE! PRICE! PRICE! PRICE! Total VFM!
• The Kawasaki and Ninja badge under Bajaj’s aegis
• Hints of supersports styling
• Flickablity
Thumbs down:
• Not BIG enough
• Not GREEN enough, why is the lower fairing black!
• The exhaust note
• Just hints at supersports styling, looks confused
• Not ultra flickable like the N250, depite the R tag
Overall the bike is great value for money, and simply great for long distance touring as well as off roading! And at 4.57 Lacs ex, this will make lots of dream come true and green!
BUT, the big question, what happens to the Ninja 250R?
Kawasaki India has clearly stated that the price of the N250R will remain unchanged for some time to come. However the price difference is not too narrow to warrant ay possibilities of cannibalization , however, like I said, comparisons will be inevitable. Below is a chart comparing the two green machines from the Kawasaki stable available as of June 2011 in India:
For More Pictures of the Launch of Ninja 650 R watch the video...
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