[Sheel]

Came to know about your ride from HVK FB group. I am sure you have more pictures to share. Please post as & when you can.

Thanks

[sriku]

Sheel, can you believe I only got one pic the entire ride!
That too courtesy the friend I met at Hinjewadi, or even this one wouldn't have been taken. Completely slipped my mind about any pics.

Gear: DSG Maze jacket and Primal gloves (planetdsg.com)
Zeus custom sized armored riding pants (can't see them, but they're there) (http://zeusgear.in/)
Pre-moulded earplugs
SOL 68 sII helmet + tinted visor (spartanprogear.com)
Viaterra Claw saddlebags (come with rain cover) strapped by bungee cord
Viaterra Marine Hydration pack (Viaterra.in)

I'll try taking more pics on Monday (return ride post the track weekend at Coimbatore)

[Sheel]

Best wishes for your track-day. Who is organizing the track-day? I hope they have done something about the medical facilities.

Yes, please take pictures in your return trip.

Thanks

[sriku]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Best wishes for your track-day. Who is organizing the track-day? I hope they have done something about the medical facilities.

Yes, please take pictures in your return trip.

Thanks

Thanks Sheel.
This is a private trackday organized by the facebook Kawasaki Ninja Owners Group (KNOG). We have arranged for marshals, ambulance and medical personnel as usual, and especially important following the recent tragedy at MMSC. On of India's most prominent ex-racers is also on hand for one on one training, and we have a pit boss and some support on hand as well. Riding gear is mandatory for our track day, and bikes are checked and prepped for the track already. The organizers take things pretty seriously, and I am hoping for a lot more track time this time around.

I will carry a go-pro on the track and on my return leg too for the pics/videos.

[the VTEC guy]

Originally Posted by sriku

Rode to Bangalore on Saturday, 11th May from my house in Thane. ..
6:30 AM Hinjewadi overbridge on pune bypass. 20 minute break to meet a friend
7:30 AM BP pump after katraj tunnel. Stopped for 30 minutes for fuel and McDonalds breakfast
..

Sriku, I think I saw you exactly at same time before the Katraj tunnel. I was going to Kolhapur and was driving my black OHC VTEC. my car has t-BHP url not sure if you noticed it. I saw you in rear view mirror then alerted my fellow passengers there is a Ninja coming up gave some gyan about bikes stats while you zoomed pass.

[sriku]

Originally Posted by the VTEC guy

Sriku, I think I saw you exactly at same time before the Katraj tunnel. I was going to Kolhapur and was driving my black OHC VTEC. my car has t-BHP url not sure if you noticed it. I saw you in rear view mirror then alerted my fellow passengers there is a Ninja coming up gave some gyan about bikes stats while you zoomed pass.

Good stuff!
Sorry I don't recollect passing your car, or noticing the TBHP stickers. I was on a tight schedule to reach belgaum before noon, and was looking around cars rather than at them. Hope your drive was as much fun as mine

[Frank Zappa]

Originally Posted by sriku

My clip-ons are about 2 inches lower than the stock, and adjustable on both x and y axes. They are slightly more committed than the stock bars, though I do not think this affects comfortable touring too much. I imagine I'm leaning forward about about 2-3 degrees more than the stock bars. Will try to get a pic to illustrate this over the weekend.



Sriku

Hi Sriku,
Appreciate if you could you please share from where you have sourced the clip on handle bars ?
I am looking for one to install on my 2012 Ninja 650, saw one available on line at ninja650 shop.

Thanks.

[sriku]

Originally Posted by Frank Zappa

Hi Sriku,
Appreciate if you could you please share from where you have sourced the clip on handle bars ?
I am looking for one to install on my 2012 Ninja 650, saw one available on line at ninja650 shop.

Thanks.

Hey Frank, have PM'ed you the details.
Regarding the Ninja650shop clipons, a few owners have installed these on their 2011 650's and had to cut the visor so the levers would not hit the visor. I do not know if this is required for the 2012-13's with the ninja650shop bars. Mine are sourced from bikers.co.th in bangkok, have sent you further details. The bars cost me 10.5k incidentally.

Returned yesterday after a 2-day ride from Bangalore to Mumbai.

Long distance touring on the 650:
Pro's:
1. Extremely comfortable ergonomics, no rider fatigue unless weather is brutal.
2. Superb usable power to keep up a good average speed.
3. Able to negotiate twisties and long straightways with ease
4. Tail bags, saddles or tank, can carry loads of luggage.
5. Dunlop roadsmart II are superb tyres for touring.

Con's:
1. Fuel tank size makes overall range on one tank about 240kms. Which translates to 4-5 fuel stops over a day's ride. Can be managed.
2. Stock headlamps, brakes are worthless for safe touring.

I could manage the 1000kms from Mumbai to Bangalore in about 14 hours including breaks. The last 2.5 hours were the worst with pouring rain and frequent halts under flyovers to avoid crosswinds and really bad rain. I think I can do this same stretch in 12 hours without strain, and with adequate stops for fuel, bio breaks, breakfast and lunch.

The return leg of my trip was broken into two days as I started only by 1:45 pm from Bangalore. Could reach Hubli by 7 pm, post which incredible rain made me halt for over an hour. Reached Belgaum only by 9:15, however was very happy with the wet weather handling of the Ninja. Despite slick roads (concrete) and poor visibility, the bike did not lose traction once. I guess smooth riding, engine braking and keeping the weight balanced on the bike paid dividends, though I give all the credit to the lessons learned on the track. Without which I'd still be intimidated by the bike.

Day 2 started lazily, with me leaving Belgaum at 11:30 AM. Reached Panvel by 5 PM and home in Thane by 6 PM. Faced a lot of traffic from Pune onwards, and took a lot of breaks to get relief from the heat. The return leg of every ride ends up frustrating you once you are about 100 kms from home, and this was no different.

The entire onward journey was incident free, and I was very glad for it. However the return was not very incident free! Truckers were well behaved, however certain sedans and hatchbacks were really gunning it in traffic between Pune and Mumbai. I guess everybody wanted to get home early. No close calls for me, but saw many close calls happen to the cars ahead of me, consequently I had to hang back and let them sort things out between themselves. If I cannot safely overtake and put some distance between these vehicles, I hang back or even stop to let them get over themselves!

[sriku]

Some trackday pics from the Kari motor speedway, Coimbatore.

[jkdas]

A thread we all look up for 650 reference and thought will add this too here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLlV1M8lDh4

Can you also do a similar video for us

[sriku]

Originally Posted by jkdas

A thread we all look up for 650 reference and thought will add this too here
Can you also do a similar video for us

I'll break out the gopro and do something similar soon

Though, the audio is never going to be as good as live.

[plimsollmark]

Hi Sriku,

Congrats on your bike and really nice to see you doing full paisa vasool ! I had a very brief affair with the Ninja 650 in 2011, took delivery in Sept and sold it in May 2012. Long story. Must say you and your brother are hard core bikers with his Busa plus Ninja 650 and here you are.

Happy riding and hope to catch you on the highway sometime!

Cheers.

[jkdas]

Another blog I found
2006 Kawasaki Ninja 650r Review: 40,000 Miles Later

[pawan_pullarwar]

I recently bought Ninja 650 and she is one month 1400 KM old.

Whenever I press rear break they make krrrr noise. Is it normal or only my bike has it? Also rear breaks are very week, I tried to lock the rear tyre but it does'nt although I had applied quite high pressure on the break lever.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by pawan_pullarwar

Whenever I press rear break they make krrrr noise. Is it normal or only my bike has it? Also rear breaks are very week, I tried to lock the rear tyre but it does'nt although I had applied quite high pressure on the break lever.

Please go to the service center and get the brakes checked. This kind of noise from the brakes are not normal but a faint "ssshhh" sound is fine and this is due to the friction between the pads and the rotor, when brakes are applied.

The brakes on the 650 are not all that sharp and the ones at the rear are terrible. On most big bikes, the front brakes are significantly sharper than the ones at the rear.

Is this a brand new bike or a used one that you bought? I'm not sure if a brake bleed is required but if the bite is not present you might want to bleed both the front and rear brakes.

Also, please consider upgrading the brakes to EBC or Galfer pads. You might also want to install steel braided lines and maybe even an aftermarket rotor to significantly improve the brake's bite and sharpness.