Hi all,
I bought home Akira( 2023 Kawasaki Ninja 300 Lime Green) on 30 July 23. How I zeroed on Ninja 300 is briefed
here (Test Ride : Why I chose the Kawasaki Ninja 300 over the Honda CB300R) Booking Experience:
I visited the showroom to see the 2023 Lime Green variant in the flesh on 10-Jun-2023. Looked amazing in new graphics. Now the lime green color painted parts are more compared to the older models which get the lime green color on the tank and some areas on the front only. BS4 and BS6 Ninjas used to get a lot of black color painted parts and I didn't like it. Now the black painted parts are less and the lime green dominates overall. Ninjas should be green..! The wait was well worth it as I didn't liked the BS6 graphics. Same day booked the bike with 50K. Overall experience was positive.
Booking receipt in a neat envelope:
![Akira is home | My 2023 Kawasaki Ninja 300-booking-envelop.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/motorbikes/2488664d1691743195t-akira-home-my-2023-kawasaki-ninja-300-booking-envelop.jpg)
Pre-Delivery Experience + Accessories/Riding gear hunt:
I wanted to equip the Ninja with frame sliders and radiator guard from day 1. As per Kawasaki Cochin, they have a locally manufactured frame slider which cost 8K. The brand name was MotorSports if I remember correctly. As I was skeptical about the quality and the mounting points, I decided to go for something reliable and premium. When asked the sales guy told me about Puig Framesliders. But they don't have stock, If ordered they can ship within 5 days. The cost quoted was 15-16K. I kept this in mind. Next Saturday went to MotorQueen Kaloor (Cochin) to purchase riding gear. I bought Rev'it Airwave 3 Textile Mesh Jacket, Scala Trekker Full gauntlet gloves, SMK helmet with matching color to my Akira, a Bike cover, and Raincoat for my Jacket from there. When I checked about frame sliders, they told me Puig frame sliders can be arranged. The cost is 14K. I ordered the same. He also told me he can directly deliver it to the showroom. I said ok and paid the full amount. Called the Kawasaki sales guy to inform him about the Frame sliders and also asked him to install the radiator guard(which was readily available at Kawasaki). Bought a Bobo Mobile holder with a charger from Amazon. Then visited the showroom to give the Bobo holder for installation and also to see the bike allocated for me. Checked the bike thoroughly. All ok, except for the uneven panel gap below the headlight cluster. Immediately got this to the sales guys' attention. He told me this is a common problem in all Ninjas after localization. For those who don't know, from BS4 onwards, body panels, wiring kit, headlight cluster etc are manufactured here in India. The engine and chassis are imported from Thailand and assembled here. Hence the body panels quality took a hit. Bit thin compared to the BS3 versions. The sales guy showed me emails sent to Kawasaki with images of 1st lot Ninja 300 that have serious panel gaps. I checked the other 300s parked in the showroom. All of them had the same issue. The sales guys told me they will refit it again. But after some riding the gap will again be evident due to vibrations. So this is something to do with the quality standards of Indian manufacturing. Will talk about this in detail later. Rest visually everything was fine with the Ninja allocated for me.
Delivery Experience:
Contacted sales executive to set the delivery date to 30 July @ 2 PM. On the delivery date, we couldn't reach the showroom on time. We were 1 hour late. Just before arriving at the showroom, the sales guy called me on my mobile to inform me there was a delay in the delivery and asked me to reach the showroom after some time. But we have almost reached the showroom and didn't want to go back. So I decided to get into the showroom and wait there for some time. The bike was in the service area for accessories installation. Puig frame sliders, Radiator guard, and Bobo mobile holder. Sometime later the sales guy came back and told me Bobo mobile holder installation will take some more time as it has to be connected to the battery and wire routing needs to be done. He asked me If I can postpone this. I told him ok, this can be installed later. And then he returned the Bobo holder. After some more waiting, I and my family went outside to have some drinks. Came back to see the bike made ready for delivery inside the showroom covered in a dark candy green colored cover. Did a curtain raiser. It was a fantastic moment as my decade-old dream of owning a Ninja is finally getting fulfilled. I was very excited..
Ready for delivery
3, 2, 1, Go... Uncovered the beauty... Everyone meet
Akira...
Better half joined for 'big key' handover
Changed the tyre to Appolo Alpha H1 on day one itself. Got 3.5k for the MRF from the same shop. Balancing is also done.
At Tyre Guys(Edappally) for tyre change to Applolo Alpha H1
Before tyre change
After tyre change
Puig frame sliders
Radiator guard which is bought and installed from Kawasaki Cochin itself. Also, notice the bronze-colored shiny exhaust pipes. Since BS6 the header pipes get a revised positioning.
All documents are neatly put inside a file folder.
Spare key and a Small Case which holds Warranty Book and User Manual.
Spare key up close
Warranty book
User manual
All specs and dimensions are neatly documented in the user manual
Pictorial representation in the user manual
Break in instructions clearly written in user manual
Kawasaki bag is given to me as a compliment
I bought Kawasaki Ceramic chain lube and cleaner
This is the panel gap I was talking about. RHS seems to be fine but LHS has this small gap. So the fit and finish levels are definitely one step below the BS3 CKD Ninja.
![Akira is home | My 2023 Kawasaki Ninja 300-panel-gap.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/motorbikes/2488600d1691736919t-akira-home-my-2023-kawasaki-ninja-300-panel-gap.jpg)
I am using Indian Oil XP95 from day 1. So far the experience is really good.
After the tyre change took her for a spin towards Angamaly only to get caught in heavy traffic. Akira heated up quickly in dead-moving traffic. The heat felt near the thigh area. This excessive heating should be because Akira is in her break-in period. Got some very small empty stretches here and there. Summarizing my initial impressions below:
Highs:- Altogether a premium experience. Nothing except smooth parallel twin sound while riding.
- Gear shifts are precise and smooth, except 1st to 2nd always had a thud sound.
- Cluth is moderately light. Rev match is super easy and the engine sound while downshifting is addictive. It has a super refined turbine kind of sound.
- Slow speeds in high gears? Why not? No problem. I never heard a knocking sound ever.
- Low beam has good spread and throw. The high beam is a bit high. Need to get it adjusted in 1st service.
- Brakes felt very good. I never had a panic-braking situation. And haven't had to do high-speed braking. So high-speed braking manners are yet to see.
- Sorted suspension ensures very good stability at the twisties. Decent comfort on slightly bumpy highways. Straight-line stability is also good.
- Very useful integrated bungee cord hooks. 2 hooks integrated with cast aluminum pillion footrest unit on both sides. 2 hooks under the tail section. Very very useful for tying luggage.
In the middle:- Mirrors are just about adequate. Adjusting the view is a bit tricky. Can be nicely folded while parked.
- Neither rider nor pillion foot peg has rubber mounting. I am feeling a bit of discomfort as compared to my Lex(Fazer 25) which has rubber mounting for the rider foot peg
Lows:- Tight U-turns are a bit tricky. When I take tight U-turns, the handlebar comes too close to the fuel tank and my wrists are touching the fuel tank. This makes a bit of discomfort as twisting the accelerator is difficult. To overcome this, when I take U-turns I place my palms towards the very end of the handlebars so that the jamming is minimal.
- Rider foot peg is set high and seat height is low. This means you will be sitting low and your legs are placed a bit high than normal.
- Slightly committed riding stance and low GC makes tackling bad roads difficult.
- Panels gaps near the headlight cluster
Other Observations :- GC is low at 140mm. Since I am very conscious and careful at speed bumps and potholes, never scrapped the underbelly yet. Note, all the time I was riding solo.
- Slight vibration felt at 4K to 4.5K RPM. Goes away at 5K RPM. All other RPMs are silky smooth. Note that I never took her post 8K RPM yet with brief bursts till 10K RPM
- Riding position is a bit sporty. If you sit near the tank then you have a fairly upright riding position. If you push back and move toward the end of the seat, then you have a fairly committed stance.
- Seat height is low at 785mm. I have planted foot on both sides. My height is 169cm.
- Radiator fan shutdowns when the engine kill switch is turned off. No matter if the engine is hot or not. I thought the fan will stay on until I kill the ignition if the engine is hot.
- On cold start, idle RPM goes up to 2K. After a couple of minutes, RPM starts to fall down and settles at 1.2K rpm. It is preferable not to ride nor wring the throttle until idle RPM settles at 1.2K.
My Riding Gear: SMK Typhoon Helmet with matching color as Akira. Pinlock comes pre-installed.
Rev'it Airwave 3 Mesh Jacket. Comes with CE Level 1 Shoulder and Elbow protector. CE Level 2 back protector separately purchased for 4K. The airflow is very good. Keeps me ventilated on the move.
Scala Trekker Full Gauntlet Gloves. Comes with a wiper on the left-hand index finger.
My garage. From left to right.
Honda CB Twister(2012),
Kawasaki Ninja 300(2023),
Yamaha Fazer 25(2017)
Just before a night ride
![Akira is home | My 2023 Kawasaki Ninja 300-night-side-view.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/motorbikes/2488597d1691736919t-akira-home-my-2023-kawasaki-ninja-300-night-side-view.jpg)
The very next day after the delivery, I took her to Munnar Gap Road which I will detail in another post..