After
this, I finally get my own thread to report my personal experiences with the best selling bike from the Kawasaki stable.
I read somewhere that the Kawasaki Ninja 250R outsells the Ninja 650R. Can't remember the source of the article though.
Be ready for a long post as I will do my best to narrate what made me decide on this bike and how it performs. Periodically i will update this thread with updates; call it a running report of sorts. Hope to keep the readers engrossed.
Anyway it all began right here on Team BHP. The above link got me all excited that indeed the Ninja was coming to our shores and available officially.
This was in Oct 2009. My team won a coveted award and the client hosted the awards ceremony at the Le Meridian in Pune (I was working in Pune then). The Pro Biking Center was a few blocks away and post the ceremony I went to see the Kwacker. There it was, mounted on a pedestal and shining in all its green glory. But wait a minute. I was disappointed.... those tires are so skinny. Boy was I such a dud. Expecting an R1 size rear tire on the 250.
![Stupid](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/Sign stupid.gif)
I had seen the pics of the launch right here but then in the flesh is something else. When the OTR price was announced I was even more disappointed. 3+ lacs for a bike? Jeez. I can buy a car with that kind of money. Maybe 2 Nano's would fit perfectly in the budget.
My thoughts at that time was "spending so much money on a 250cc bike is madness. Either you have pots of money and you're crazy or you have a rich dad". I had no pots of money and my dad wanted me to buy a car instead. I remarked "A car wouldn't do a 100k's in less than 8 sec's".
So off I was hunting for used sports bikes. Saw a couple of them in the 400cc and 600cc brackets. Even came across an R1 for 4odd lacs. But something was missing. The joy of a new bike? Yes. Add to that i couldnt find a bike which had completely clean papers. Whats the big deal, one would ask. To me it is. I wouldnt want to hide the bike everytime the DRI hits the streets. I wanted a legal bike within a budget of 4 lacs, which i could ride anytime
I wanted without any DRI or RTO or anyone questioning the integrity of my machine.
So i was clueless and finally forgot all about it in sometime. Even managed to see one green ninja near my office being ridden by an IT pro. That bug was biting me harder.
Finally i moved back to bangalore after a gap of approx. 4.5 yrs. Although i love everything about the city, the traffic and congestion was bad. I did not enjoy driving my esteem anymore. Yes, open roads and its fun redlining the car and listening to the sweet music from the SS end can... But in the city, its better to bike to work. And thats what i did. Biked to work. Used the 800 once a week (its almost like a bike as it can squeeze into any tight spot LOL) and the esteem the next week just to ensure the car runs a minimum distance. So where did the Ninja make its comeback into my head? Remember I said I biked to work? Until now, i had never taken a keen interest in the Motorcycle section unless it listed a thread of a superbike or something close. I only wanted to buy a SBK for the hair raising sound that it bellowed from those inline four's. But all that changed with Baleno powers Ninja thread. Promptly joined XBHP and gobbled up all the info i could about the ninja. But i was still confused. 250cc and teen lakh? Kya karoon? (250cc and 3 lacs? what do i do?)
Here comes a fellow member to the rescue. Our very own Manson. I had asked manson some tips on one of our meets in Pune but never knew that i would take the plunge this fast.
Called Manson plenty of times, asked him loads of questions, wanted someone with personal experience to give me an unbiased opinion. This was my FIRST sportsbike purchase and I didnt want to regret it. Cos it meant sacrificing something for it.
So there i was. Read up Rtech's article on living with a superbike. Coupled with that Manson was extremely helpful and was instrumental in my decision to go for the bike. Simultaneously i read the ownership reports on XBHP and balenopower's posts which further cemented my decision that this bike is worth investing in.
That day was 18th March. Took the wife and son to the PBK outlet to book the Ninja. 40k booking amount paid and the wait started. The wait wasnt painful but the last couple of days were harrowing. In the meantime I managed to ride pillion on a friend's ninja and i was smitten. 90 days was the waiting time. I used to get bouts of ninja fever and ripped my bike on the way to work and back, fantasies playing in my head and thinking how it would be to ride a sportsbike. On one of my visits to chennai I took the R15 for a spin. And boy that thing really blew my mind. A 150cc with such levels of acceleration that put most other 150's to shame. When i was back to the Yamaha showroom post the test ride, i had a smirk on my face. The dealer was confused. He knew i liked it but wasnt interested in sharing any number or details. Back to where i was... 90 day waiting meant that I keep the ninja off my mind as much as possible... it was easy sometimes.
One day I read on XBHP that a member was getting his Ninja delivered. I was shocked. He had booked the bike on 6th March and already delivered? Black ninja's were delivered slightly earlier than green but this was a green baby. So called the manager Mr. Jankiram and bugged him to divulge the delivery date of my Ninja. The guy is an absolute professional. Very courteous and friendly and doesnt mind numerous calls asking "when is my ninja gonna be delivered?"
So finally i get the call and pay the balance amount. I asked for a delivery on Thursday (May 6th) but unfortunately it was not an auspicious day. But i had better plans. Asked the boss for a leave and it was granted. I planned to ride for 3 days and clock as much miles as i could.
Damn Thursday night was so treacherous. Couldnt sleep a wink. Alarm was on for the usual 6am but i had dropped off at around 3am and awoke a full hour before the alarm went off.
Quickly got ready and headed to the showroom. Planned to reach by 9am so I left home at 7.30ish. I couldnt believe this was the day. This was my day. This would be finally my bike. The stress and excitement was building up so got off the auto and walked a bit taking in the fresh morning air. Vasudev Adiga's ( a south indian resto near the Indranagar BDA Complex) poori's restored a bit of normalcy in my respiration. But the excitement was so intense that I was nauseous, shaky, hands trembling as i approached the dealer's showroom (Khivraj motors, not probiking).
I enter the showroom and the young girl at the reception trotted up to me asking what i was there for. I was lost and everything was a haze. Asked her where Mr. Gopi was and she pointed to the 2nd floor. Mr. Gopi takes care of the deliveries especially the ninja's.
Reach the 2nd floor and there are 2 green ninja's covered. But Mr. Gopi is out. One of the employees enquire the reason for my visit and when i state that, they seat me in Mr. Gopi's cabin. I ask for the Ninja manual so I can read it till Mr. Gopi arrives.
In a few mins Gopi is back and after the paperwork, I start the Ninja and move the bike. A quick wash and wipe and Mr. Prasanna does the PDI and explains the important aspects of the bike - daily safety checks (oil level, coolant level, brake fluid level, etc.). Wishes me a lot of riding pleasure and I am out.
The Ninja's sold here are the UK Spec, sporting Daytime Running Lights (DRL) and Fuel Injection (FI). Apparently the bike has as many as 17 sensors. On the way I tank up at the bunk next to Leela's and the first question is from the attendant. "How much for the bike?" I tell him the price and he is shocked. "You could have bought a car for this much money" said he, to which my standard reply shot back "A car in this price bracket wouldnt go as fast as this".
Numerous remarks on my way back - oooh's and aaaah's and see see ninja, light light
![Big Grin](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.png)
. Sometimes people almost run you down to ask for the price or to tell you that the headlight is ON.
So I head to the temple near my home for a pooja and the ride is slated for the evening. Had some things to do which took priority.
So how is the ninja to ride on our roads? Let me say this. Till I actually rode the bike i felt the ninja was overpriced by at least 50k... minimum. But one ride and it changed everything.
The bike is super smooth. Butter smooth is an understatement. Gearbox, engine, suspension, everything well engineered. Even the instrument console is positioned in a perfect angle so all you have to do is move your eyes so slightly to see the tach or the speedo. Loved the ride so much that I clocked over 130kms on Day 1.
Day 2 : Saturday, May 8th.
I met Rudra and we headed again to Devanahalli for some pics with the Ninja. I was stunned at the attention to detail watching him work his magic.
I strongly believe that pics of this quality deserve a place on the company brochure. That's what makes a person decide for or agaisnt a product... at least that's what tickles his senses first. I loved the pic and the dedication with which Rudra was working. Perfection is what comes to him naturally, while to most of us, we have to strive for it. The kind of attention bestowed on my Ninja by Rudra would have made any international model to the likes of Naomi Campbell jealous. (Another long lost friend who was driving by thought we were from an auto mag, came and joined in to see what the fuss was about... i was totally out of touch with him and we met in this chance encounter after 11 years).
So there it is. My pride and glory. Lovin every minute with her and hating every second away from her. Just 3 days and I have clocked approx. 400 kms. Funny thing, while I sat astride my Fiero today, I automatically reached for the footpegs way back. Felt very funny to ride the fiero. It feels like a toy now. Although the Ninja is 172 kilos, it is very easy to navigate in traffic. It does heat up a bit but thats not a big issue.
Hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it and riding the ninja.
Special thanks to Manson, Balenopower, Iceman (Amit), Rudra, Riju, TomRider, Rocky Balboa (Kandan), Siddarth, Spitfire, Sammyboy, Godfather, TheMag, Jaggu, and anyone else I may have missed. Thanks a million guys.