[WalterWhite]

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:

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.

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

The very next day after the delivery, I took her to Munnar Gap Road which I will detail in another post..

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Motorcycle section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage tomorrow

[saikishor]

Hearty congratulations on your purchase!
I hate Kawasaki for flogging the same model for years(like Bajaj and VW) but seems like the pros of the bike keep it relevant even today. And I must say that Lime Green color looks really attractive, so much so that I want to trade my KTM for a Kawasaki

The Apollo's are a great set of tyres. Been using them on my bike since the past 4k kms and they always performed well.

And yes please get rid of the ugly pillion grab rail and the BBQ grill aka saree guard, since you don't seem to ride with a pillion anyway.

Congratulations once again. Do keep posting on this thread regularly.

Regards,
Saikishor

[audioholic]

Congratulation on the Baby Ninja. Ninjas should be in Green and second preference being black. Nothing else suits.

Regarding the panel gap at front, one trick to try is to just not align that edge, but remove the entire side fairing and fit it keeping this gap aligned. First only mount all screws and bolts and don't tighten them. After setting the front edge right and tightening the bolt under the headlight, tighten the rest of the bolts. This should fix the issue. Even in my CKD Ninja this issue arised after I replaced the side cowling. The ASC did not fit it right and later I ended up fixing this gap in the way I explained and no issues since then. But one thing is for sure, the CKD panels are way thicker and sturdier compared to the localised panels. But there is a massive cost reduction which makes it easier to replace these panels.

Also I see the exhaust downpipe is modified in your bike. Earlier the two pipes were routed straight downwards into the underbelly. But now I see a very wierd curvature towards the RHS and then downwards. This heats up like crazy and hence I should be feeling the heat. If you can share more pictures of the exhaust arrangement it would be great.

[HooghlyBoy]

Congrats for your Ninja 300 !!!
Ninja 300 seems to the Pulsar 150 of the 300cc segment, a very dependable and proven workhorse which hasn't seen any major upgrade all these years.
Yamaha R15 & Apache 160 have now become more popular with enthusiasts as compared to Pulsar 150 as it's the same old stuff all these years.
Most of the MNCs in India are run by egomaniacs who don't care a penny for the sentiments of the buyer in Indian market. No wonder, other than Yamaha others are not able to give something different every couple of years.

[Kashief]

Congratulations and wish you happy mile munching.

Originally Posted by WalterWhite

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.

This is very true and one of the reasons I opt out of Ninja 300 during my purchase decision.
We are 4th biggest automobile manufacturing country in the world and very sad that Kawasaki unable to localise the parts with quality. Remember that Ninja 300 is the vehicle brings younger generation to your showrooms and it’s a competitive price segment where major manufacturers are focusing.

[100Kmphormore]

Congrats on the bike! Looks very eye catching, will require a PPF. Please definitely suit up fully, including pants and boots. Level 2 armours can be upgraded.

[WalterWhite]

Originally Posted by saikishor

And yes please get rid of the ugly pillion grab rail and the BBQ grill aka saree guard, since you don't seem to ride with a pillion anyway.

Congratulations once again. Do keep posting on this thread regularly.

Thanks for your kind words, saikishor. I will get rid of the saree guard. I didn't get any free time to do it, hence the delay. Whenever I get a chance I take her out . But the grab rail is serving me a purpose. It is preventing the bungee cords (at least) from touching the tail light section. So I might keep it going forward. If I get a solution to tie the bungee cords without rubbing the panels then I will definitely remove it.

Yes I will keep this thread alive.

Originally Posted by HooghlyBoy

No wonder, other than Yamaha others are not able to give something different every couple of years.

Thanks HooghlyBoy for the kind words. Apart from R15 and MT15 Yamaha doesn't have any other premium offering here. So its more or less the same case for Yamaha as well. I would take this opportunity to appreciate Kawasaki for treating Indian customers like any other major country they do. Blame the government for high taxes(CGST, SGST ,RTO Tax etc etc) which results in high pricing.

Originally Posted by audioholic

Regarding the panel gap at front, ...

Thank you for the kind words, audioholic. I will try to do this. But I am no expert in such activities. I am afraid of accidentally breaking any of the panels in the process. But I will definitely keep this in mind and will try to do this at a later point.

Originally Posted by audioholic

If you can share more pictures of the exhaust arrangement it would be great.

Definitely. I will send the pics. Yes from BS6 onwards it gets a revised arrangement. IMO, the revised arrangement looks better than the original BS3 arrangement.

Originally Posted by Kashief

This is very true and one of the reasons I opt out of Ninja 300 during my purchase decision..

Thanks for your kind words, Kashief. Yes, the quality is affected after the localization. Kawasaki should raise their QA process for the locally manufactured parts. The relief is that engine and chassis are imported from Thailand.

Originally Posted by 100Kmphormore

Congrats on the bike! Looks very eye catching, will require a PPF. Please definitely suit up fully, including pants and boots. Level 2 armours can be upgraded.

Thanks 100Kmphormore for your kind words. I am planning to do the PPF on the fuel tank and Ceramic coating on the rest of the body. PPF seems to be very expensive. Tank alone is 9K! Yes, riding pants are in my bucket list. I will also upgrade the armor in the future.

[vijay_jambu]

Originally Posted by WalterWhite

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.

Many congratulations for the green goblin!
I used to own its older sibling 250R, it used to heat up just like how you experienced. However it used to cool down very quickly in a short stretch of empty traffic.
All said it’ll make you smile ear to ear when you open the throttle which makes up for all its flaws.

Ride safe!

-VJ

[Rshreyansh]

Absolutely beautiful bike. Still remember having a scale model of the Ninja in my childhood days. Congratulations for a great bike.
In my search for a motorcycle in 2020, Ninja 300 was on the top of my list but due to the steep price and not being readily available due to BS6 transition, I went with the second number on my list, team Orange.
Ride safe.

[PratikPatel]

There is a significant increase in the length of the headers which has compelled Kawasaki to create the S bend to make the entire system fit within the original mounting space. The bike retains the dual catalytic honeycomb elements in the mid section pipe/collector along with the O2 sensor placed just before the cat elements. The increase in header lengths will certainly have change the power curve a bit and the bike will run a bit hotter than its previous versions of the bike.

Fun fact; the US version does not have a O2 sensor, has only one honeycomb catalytic element, and while it has a muffler that looks the same externally, it has different baffle veins that gives it much beefier and throaty exhaust note.

Originally Posted by audioholic

Also I see the exhaust downpipe is modified in your bike. Earlier the two pipes were routed straight downwards into the underbelly. But now I see a very wierd curvature towards the RHS and then downwards. This heats up like crazy and hence I should be feeling the heat. If you can share more pictures of the exhaust arrangement it would be great.

[WalterWhite]

Originally Posted by vijay_jambu

Many congratulations for the green goblin!
I used to own its older sibling 250R, it used to heat up just like how you experienced. However it used to cool down very quickly in a short stretch of empty traffic.
All said it’ll make you smile ear to ear when you open the throttle which makes up for all its flaws.

Ride safe!

-VJ

Thanks vijay_jambu for your kind words.

Originally Posted by Rshreyansh

Absolutely beautiful bike. Still remember having a scale model of the Ninja in my childhood days. Congratulations for a great bike.
In my search for a motorcycle in 2020, Ninja 300 was on the top of my list but due to the steep price and not being readily available due to BS6 transition, I went with the second number on my list, team Orange.
Ride safe.

Thanks Rshreyansh for your kind words.

[WalterWhite]

Sharing few more detailed PICs of Akira:

These two fascinating eyes always tempted me..!


What a beauty..


Ninja


Team Green






Switch gear is very basic but the quality is very good.




Bobo Mobile holder with Quick Charge 3.0. Holder installation was done by me. Wire routing and connecting to the battery are done at Kawasaki ASC. Since this doesn't need any splicing of the wires the warranty is unaffected.




The Puig frame slider rubber cap tends to go off when you touch it. You can see the rubber legs put inwards through the holes. But the legs are otherwise free. Need some DIY here to permanently sticking them




Both rider and pillion seats get this nice texture. So you have a nice grip on the seat. And when you do hard braking the tendency to slip forward is minimal.








The front sprocket cover is not fully covered. Should be easy to remove as well. Should come in handy while the chain cleaning and lubing routine.


For those who don't know. Ninja 300 gets an Idle adjuster. You can tweak the idle RPM with this. I am not very sure about which direction it needs to be twisted to raise or lower the RPM. But should be easy to try it and find it when needed. You can find it on the left side of the bike, above the sprocket cover.


Bottom link-type rear shock absorber. My Fazer rear shock is directly connected to the swingarm. But here it is not.


Removed the famous BBQ Grill AKA Saree guard




Coolant reservoir is inside the right side panels

[WalterWhite]

Originally Posted by audioholic

If you can share more pictures of the exhaust arrangement it would be great.

Sorry for the delay audioholic. I was down with fever for past 3 days. Today I managed to pull the bike from the parking lot and take some pics. Sharing the pics below:

[sriniadk]

Originally Posted by WalterWhite

[*]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
.

Congratulations WalterWhite on your new bike . Ninja 300 in this shade is a stellar to look upon . I have a slight doubt about the vibration levels of the bike when driven at 90-100 in 6th gear. Are there any constant vibrations if so in which part of the bike , like handle or foot pegs ? My friend is looking to buy a motorcycle in the same segment , i had recommended him Apache RR310 (which I have personally driven all along the coastal areas of India). The only negative of RR310 is the vibrations which creep in the handlebar even when cruising at 90-100(But since i wear riding gloves it is bearable). Your suggestions would be very valuable .