[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by bluenicotine

Also planning to go for a M4 full system.

Originally Posted by balenopower

are you sure you want to go for the M4 over this

As per ninjette.org, the AreaP delivers the best power bump compared to anyone else.

Originally Posted by bluenicotine

Sure LeoVince is good but again they make the bike sound like a dirt bike.

I've heard the Leo Vince slip-ons on the ninja, the Corsa and the LV One and they sound very dirt bikeish at high revv's. I've also heard the M4 in person. But nothing comes close to the stock sound in terms of refinement and it sings so beautifully at high revv's. Ever listened to the baby ninja flying by? Sounds like a very muted I-4.

Just my opinion guys. To each his own

[bluenicotine]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Ever listened to the baby ninja flying by? Sounds like a very muted I-4.

. I was riding behind another Ninja 250 (downsouth) in a meet and he was changing gears at 10k RPM and I was surprised at what I heard, muted yes but significantly crazy!

[balenopower]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

As per ninjette.org, the AreaP delivers the best power bump compared to anyone else.

i already inquired for it and exchanged a couple of mails with the Area P guys, but it was turning out quite expensive.

About the LV sounding dirt bikish, thats strange we had a meet in Mumbai with diff aftermarket end cans, most ninja owners seemed to like the LV. I even have a frnd who has switched to LV after having an M4. But like you said to each his own

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by balenopower

About the LV sounding dirt bikish, thats strange we had a meet in Mumbai with diff aftermarket end cans, most ninja owners seemed to like the LV. I even have a frnd who has switched to LV after having an M4. But like you said to each his own

The LV does sound nice, esp. at low revv's. Post 9-10k rpm the sound tapers off. It's muted and refined and certainly not loud and brazen like the M4. I like the sound of the LV when one rolls off the gas and it hums and pops.

The M4 is much much louder and the rider will definitely need ear plugs while on long rides. After some time, loud exhausts do get irritating or boring or both.

[ebonho]

Guys, considering the stock exhaust system of the Ninja itself must be costing a bomb (like everything else on the bike) and the aftermarket pipes would be easily another 25-30K, are the performance gains that significant or is it all to do with the sound?

Do you need other compensatory changes as well? Power Commander, new maps, performance filters, etc. How much does all that cost?

At the end of the day, what is the top end of the Ninjette? 160-165?

How much more can you reasonably expect after spending as much as it would cost to buy a normal commuter bike?

Don't get me wrong. I am a Bulleteer. I LOVE loud exhausts. But those cost me 1-2 K tops. Filter and carb mods another 2K. And gains max 5-10 kmph.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Guys, considering the stock exhaust system of the Ninja itself must be costing a bomb (like everything else on the bike) and the aftermarket pipes would be easily another 25-30K, are the performance gains that significant or is it all to do with the sound?

The stock pipe on the ninja costs around 18k. This was a year back so prices must be higher now. To give you an idea, the side fairing (one side) which was 11,500 bucks is now 15k.

So coming back to the question, the stock exhaust weighs quite a bit, around 8 kilo's i've heard. Aftermarket ones weigh around 2 kilos or so. Also power bump with a slip-on is negligible, one bhp at the most, but coupled with weight reduction, the bike does get a wee bit faster.

Originally Posted by ebonho

Do you need other compensatory changes as well? Power Commander, new maps, performance filters, etc. How much does all that cost?

Power commander prices range upwards of the $200 mark. K&N filter costs around $70 in the USA. Here its sold for around 4.5k IIRC.

The ninja is a modifiers money pit

Originally Posted by ebonho

At the end of the day, what is the top end of the Ninjette? 160-165?

I've hit 170kmph. Its really quick till about 160kays and after that progress is a bit slow. All these are speedo indicated speeds. There is a video on youtube where a ninja clocked 190kmph. I've clocked 170 kmph only ONCE in my two years of ownership but have hit 165 kmph on almost every ride.

That said, the bike is rock steady on these speeds. It's best to cruise at 140kmph since FE doesn't suffer much either.

[balenopower]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Guys, considering the stock exhaust system of the Ninja itself must be costing a bomb (like everything else on the bike) and the aftermarket pipes would be easily another 25-30K, are the performance gains that significant or is it all to do with the sound?

Do you need other compensatory changes as well? Power Commander, new maps, performance filters, etc. How much does all that cost?

At the end of the day, what is the top end of the Ninjette? 160-165?

How much more can you reasonably expect after spending as much as it would cost to buy a normal commuter bike?

Don't get me wrong. I am a Bulleteer. I LOVE loud exhausts. But those cost me 1-2 K tops. Filter and carb mods another 2K. And gains max 5-10 kmph.

just 15 min back i just dropped my boss's bone stock ninja for service. The difference felt was appreciable. The stock bike feels like it has absolutely nothing at the lower revs. My bike with an end can and an air filter feels way more peppier. recently we did a roll-on and a acceleration test between 3 ninjas. One with a vortex sprocket for better acceleration, one stock and one with an Akra slip on and a k&n. The sprocket-ed bike took the stock bike in roll-ons with ease. but neither the stock or the sprocket-ed bike could match the bike with the end can or the filter. Gains are quite significant as we noticed.

As for the power commander one only needs it if you install a full system and not just an end can. Where just a CF end can costs about 30k a full system is usually way out of budget, atleast for the most of us. But ignore a k&n and one can source filters for quite cheap, atleast i did.

My top end has shown no increase with the mods. it was 165 before and it still does the same. but then the way it gets to 165 is a different story altogether.

Like Adi said, its a modifiers money pit and im pretty much bankrupt but a happy one at that

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

The stock pipe on the ninja costs around 18k.

All the more reason not to change it man. Personal experience tells me that once something comes off the bike, no matter how much you promise yourself that its only temporary, very rarely does that part find its way back on to the bike. Because then you will feel miserable about your 30K after market pipe gathering dust.

So coming back to the question, the stock exhaust weighs quite a bit, around 8 kilo's i've heard. Aftermarket ones weigh around 2 kilos or so. Also power bump with a slip-on is negligible, one bhp at the most, but coupled with weight reduction, the bike does get a wee bit faster.

These modern bikes are so bristling with tech and millions of dollars in research, that its nearly impossible for a regular Joe rider to improve on factory settings on a regular Joe budget. And as the budgets stretch, its a classic case lof law of diminishing returns as you go up the performance curve. From what you tell me, you guys are already close to the topof that curve.

In bikes like the Bullet with their stuffy exhausts and super leaned out carbs, its much easier to get bang for buck - for quite awhile. Not to mention that a Bullet sniffs at 10-20 kilos here or there. The mudguard/stays assembly alone would weigh that much. And it would be way cheaper to lose a few kilos in weight yourself while you're at it.

Power commander prices range upwards of the $200 mark. K&N filter costs around $70 in the USA. Here its sold for around 4.5k IIRC.

These sound reasonable. But at the end of the day, to go the whole hog and maximise your costly pipe, you land up spending close to half a lac. For what sounds more like subjective gains on the butt dyno.

The ninja is a modifiers money pit

If I ever spent over 3 lacs on a bike, I would ride it bone stock for at least a couple of years if not more to suck as much value as possible out of all I have paid for.

I've hit 170kmph. Its really quick till about 160kays and after that progress is a bit slow. All these are speedo indicated speeds. There is a video on Youtube where a ninja clocked 190kmph. I've clocked 170 kmph only ONCE in my two years of ownership but have hit 165 kmph on almost every ride.

Really impressive speeds. Its no doubt a gem of a machine. I would still pick up a used one if it came at a good price.

That said, the bike is rock steady on these speeds. It's best to cruise at 140kmph since FE doesn't suffer much either.

So on rides out to the hills, on the straights while getting there and back, cruising at 140, and an aggressive session in the twisties in between, how much do you guys realistically get in terms of tankful to tankful kmpl?

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by balenopower

just 15 min back i just dropped my boss's bone stock ninja for service. The difference felt was appreciable. The stock bike feels like it has absolutely nothing at the lower revs.

I saw Pune/Mumbai in your location and the "boss's bone stock Ninja" just set me wondering.

Are you a banker by any chance?

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Really impressive speeds. Its no doubt a gem of a machine. I would still pick up a used one if it came at a good price.

Check out the classifieds section.

Used ninja's, 2010 models can be procured for around 2 lacs or so.

Originally Posted by ebonho

So on rides out to the hills, on the straights while getting there and back, cruising at 140, and an aggressive session in the twisties in between, how much do you guys realistically get in terms of tankful to tankful kmpl?

The worst i have got is 24kmpl and best is 29.6 kmpl. And these are all long distance riding, in the hills and with some 140kph cruising and top whacks thrown in.

The trick is to not downshift while overtaking. If you're already in top gear (6th) just wring the throttle and the bike will build revvs and pull hard although linearly. During my trip to Kodaikanal in Jan this year, I ensured that I did not downshift unnecessarily while overtaking. Although i did upshift at 12,500 rpm, i rolled on from 100 to 165 kph several times without unnecessary downshifts and the bike delivered an impressive 29.6kmpl.

Tankful to tankful - i know the low fuel warning lamp will light up after 320 kms or so. This is when there are four liters remaining in the tank. Total tank capacity is 17 liters. 320 kms /13 liters = 24.6 kmpl. This is the min. FE that can be expected without any mod's to the bike.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Tankful to tankful - i know the low fuel warning lamp will light up after 320 kms or so. This is when there are four liters remaining in the tank. Total tank capacity is 17 liters. 320 kms /13 liters = 24.6 kmpl. This is the min. FE that can be expected without any mod's to the bike.

So between 25 to 30. Very respectable for such performance. That translates to a best of over 70 mpg.

You say the bike does around 320 kms and has another 4 liters remaining. How much of that could you use in a pinch to extend your tank range even further while touring?

As it is, at 30 kmpl, you could stretch the 320 to close to 400 kms.

Which means this bike, minus the costly plastics, could theoretically do Manali to Leh without refueling.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by ebonho

You say the bike does around 320 kms and has another 4 liters remaining. How much of that could you use in a pinch to extend your tank range even further while touring?

I generally stop and refuel when the low fuel lamp comes on and stays lit. Max i do around 50 kms so i know there are 2 more liters before the tank is dry (and the fuel pump is screwed)

The low fuel lamp comes on and goes off quite a few times due to change in gradient levels - fuel sloshing around and also when fuel is nearing the 4 liter mark. It's time to refuel when it stays lit continuously.

[ebonho]

Very respectable tank range. The Duke is seriously disadvantaged here.

[bluenicotine]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

I generally stop and refuel when the low fuel lamp comes on and stays lit. Max i do around 50 kms so i know there are 2 more liters before the tank is dry (and the fuel pump is screwed)

The low fuel lamp comes on and goes off quite a few times due to change in gradient levels - fuel sloshing around and also when fuel is nearing the 4 liter mark. It's time to refuel when it stays lit continuously.

Originally Posted by ebonho

Very respectable tank range. The Duke is seriously disadvantaged here.

But again the Duke is designed as a street racer and for commuting. Touring on it will have its disadvantages. Couple of guys I know who own a Duke have claimed an average of 35 kmpl and given the 11L tank, it can do a 350 theoretically with 1L to spare.

[balenopower]

Originally Posted by ebonho

I saw Pune/Mumbai in your location and the "boss's bone stock Ninja" just set me wondering.

Are you a banker by any chance?

haha..not anywhere close to a banker mate