[anandkumargb]

Recently sold my BMW 310 RR. I hardly used it for a year; rode less than 2k kms. It was a good bike, sans the clunky gear shifts but I soon developed an itch to upgrade. My work needs me to use car on all weekdays. I only get to ride on Sundays, that too for household chores

I have been a biker in my younger days, riding Suzuki Shogun, Yamaha RX 100, Yezdi Classic. I have done some TSD rallies, some wheelies in my hay days. So, Ride or not, a bike has to be parked in the garage; that's been a non-negotiable thumb rule with me.

After selling the BMW, the big question was which bike to buy now?

Budget was flexible; options were plenty. I basically wanted to go the pre-owned route for the value it offers and started spending hours on OLX. My shortlists were Scram 411, Interceptor, Z900, Triumphs, Honda 650 CBRs. Basically, I had no clarity on which bike I want. Sad part is that I get this clarity as soon as I buy a bike. Buyer's remorse always! Including this buy.

Scram because it offers good suspension and interceptor because it has 47 horses. Test drove both and both failed to impress me. Former was under-powered, later was too heavy.

Then test rode the Triumph Trident and tiger 660. I was mighty impressed with both the bikes. They were fast and light weight. I believe only Triumph bikes offer this rare combination. Every other bike, if it is fast, it has to be heavy. Anyway, I wasn't mentally ready to spend 10 lakhs for a bike just yet, maybe few years down the lane.

My requirements were, the bike needs to be powerful, light weight, good suspension.

Stumbled upon this AD on OLX of Ninja 650 2018 Nov model, Single owner, done 3700 kms. Did some homework and found the bike to be genuine; bargained a bit and closed the deal at a fair price. I bought myself 2018 ninja 650 KRT edition. It has run just 3700 kms in last 4 years. Pristine condition and all service records in place.

After riding it for few days, I felt I made a mistake buying this bike (Buyer's remorse). The reason being, I ride only in the city and the bike scraps it's belly on some road humps. Never thought that ground clearance would be an issue with Bikes. I always thought Civics, Ford Figo's had this issue. Guess, I didn't research enough about this bike. Versys 650 is what I needed in retrospect.

So much power and no proper roads in the city to ride. I am not kind of a guy who rides out of town just for the sake of riding (started now).

Even though it had run just 200 kms after previous service, a year had passed. So, got it serviced from Kawasaki, paid 6.5k and got peace of mind.

Recently went for a solo breakfast ride to Swati Delicacy on Hassan Road, 100 kms from Bangalore. This is the most frequented road by super bikes and super cars on weekends. I got to experience the bike and all its strengths and glory. The bike has plenty juice even at higher speeds. All this adventure wearing just a T shirt, jeans and helmet. Came back home and immediately bought Rynox Tornado jacket and gloves.

Here is my take on the bike:

Positives:

1) Power - 70 bhp, this bike is made for smooth tarmac highways. It will easily satisfy the need for speed.
2) Brakes - Front dual disc brakes are stunning. Small tap and the bike drops speed significantly.
3) Seat height - I am 5'7", both my feet touch the ground flat. Big reason to consider this bike.
4) Weight - Even though it weighs 195 kgs, I don't feel the weight at parking or riding.
5) Looks - It is a head turner and looks like a proper sports bike.
6) Service centre - It is near my house, and I hear that the Jayanagar Kawasaki is decent.
7) Ride and handling - Suspension is nice and soaks up undulations nicely. Handling is very nice. At triple digit speeds, I didn't feel nervous and felt like the bike was riding on railway tracks, so stable.
8) Super light clutch and smooth gear shifts.
9) Low end torque of the bike is amazing. No frequent gear shifts required.
10) Tires - I can't make out if the stock tires had a good grip or not. Since I did not feel jittery at high speeds, I am listing it under positives.

Negatives:

1) First one has to be the pathetic ground clearance. This will be the single reason for me to sell this bike in the future. Bike silencer hits humps even when riding solo.
2) Exhaust note is a big disappointment. It sounds like a Hero splendor. No exhaust upgrade on this twin parallel will give me sound like an inline 4. So, no point in upgrading.
3) City mileage is 20 kmpl and highway was 17 kmpl.
4) Rear brakes are poor
5) Haven't got a chance to ride at nights but I hear the headlights are poor.

I got an almost new bike at half the sticker price; me happy!

But If I could go back in time, I would buy myself a Kawasaki Versys or Triumph Tiger 660.

[pandabear]

Congratulations that’s an awesome impulse buy. Wish you a safe ride.

[GTO]

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

Going to our homepage tomorrow

[akshayhonda]

Congratulations on the Goblin

[Oppanna]

Heartiest congratulations on the purchase. Glad that you realized the importance of riding gears and picked it up immediately after the Swati Delicay breakfast ride.

I am sure you will follow ATGATT principle religiously.

Looking forward to hear ride stories and happy and safe riding.

[AKSO]

I recently upgraded this year from a Ninja 300 which I rode for 95000 kms and after much deliberation moved straight to the Ninja 1000. I was also in a dilemma as to whether I should go for the 650 but when I began to see myself riding a little long term, I decided to go for the litre class. No buyer's remorse here.

[WalterWhite]

First of all, congrats on the purchase. You got the kind of bike that is in the dreams of many like me but have yet to full fill.

Originally Posted by anandkumargb

Negatives:

1) First one has to be the pathetic ground clearance. This will be the single reason for me to sell this bike in the future. Bike silencer hits humps even when riding solo.
2) Exhaust note is a big disappointment. It sounds like a Hero splendor. No exhaust upgrade on this twin parallel will give me sound like an inline 4. So, no point in upgrading.
3) City mileage is 20 kmpl and highway was 17 kmpl.
4) Rear brakes are poor
5) Haven't got a chance to ride at nights but I hear the headlights are poor.

No offense here, but I'm afraid I have to disagree with 1 and 3.

1. You take any other premium sports bike ground clearance is less. Even Ninaj 300 which is an entry-level sports motorcycle has only 140mm of GC. Otherwise, you have to go for the adventure segment for that extra GC. Personally I would not take it as a negative when going for a sports motorcycle.

3. 20kmpl in the city for a 650 is very very good. There are bikes such as Yamaha R3 which gives mileage in the city way less than this. If you always go for top speed on the highway then 17kmpl is also decent. If you cruise 100 -120 then your mileage on the highway should improve.

Originally Posted by anandkumargb

After riding it for few days, I felt I made a mistake buying this bike (Buyer's remorse). The reason being, I ride only in the city and the bike scraps it's belly on some road humps. Never thought that ground clearance would be an issue with Bikes. I always thought Civics, Ford Figo's had this issue. Guess, I didn't research enough about this bike. Versys 650 is what I needed in retrospect.

You are correct. Your research was not complete. But there are a lot of people out there who manage less GC on the road. Slowing down would really help. You can also try to cross taller speed bumps diagonally which will prevent the underbelly scrapping to some extent.

Originally Posted by anandkumargb

But If I could go back in time, I would buy myself a Kawasaki Versys or Triumph Tiger 660.

For your next purchase please do your research properly. Even you can ask here, a lot of guys here are always happy to help.

Wish you happy munching miles on your Ninja.

[aqualeo2040]

Originally Posted by anandkumargb

I bought myself 2018 ninja 650 KRT edition. It has run just 3700 kms in last 4 years. Pristine condition and all service records in place.

Welcome to the Ninja Club.
I was in the same dilemma some time back and had to choose between a 40k done CBR650F and a 2k done Ninja 650. I'm glad with my choice as I found the upgrade from my Ninjette very seamless.
However, I do miss the 14k redline of the 250.

Originally Posted by anandkumargb

Negatives:
1) First one has to be the pathetic ground clearance. This will be the single reason for me to sell this bike in the future. Bike silencer hits humps even when riding solo

Give it some time, you'll figure out a way to tackle the humps. Either sideways or picking up some speed

Originally Posted by anandkumargb

2) Exhaust note is a big disappointment. It sounds like a Hero splendor. No exhaust upgrade on this twin parallel will give me sound like an inline 4. So, no point in upgrading.

You can get the Akra full system. Comes for around 1.2L. However, its probably me getting old saying this, I dont find the allure of the exhaust note any longer. I used to have a first gen RE T-Bird with shortbottle Indore exhaust and had to literally switch my bike off when rolling into my lane.

Originally Posted by anandkumargb

3) City mileage is 20 kmpl and highway was 17 kmpl.

Try riding gently and get surprised by the "ECO" indicator on the console.
Again, if mileage was your concern, you'd probably have bought the Passion Plus Plus Plus.
Also, stick below 6k RPM mark for the best experience. I like to revv the nuts off, having come from the high revving Ninjette, but I learnt quickly that it's not much help.
My friend picked the CBR650F up and the inline 4 pull post 8k RPM is scary/fun.

Originally Posted by anandkumargb

4) Rear brakes are poor

Get them bedded in. They might feel little soft given the fantastic setup up front.Trust me, they do the job.

Originally Posted by anandkumargb

5) Haven't got a chance to ride at nights but I hear the headlights are poor.

THey are not Ducatis. You can upgrade to LEDs and check the difference.


Finally : While we may enjoy the speed, please ride responsibly.
Get proper gears i.e. Boots, pants. ATGATT (no jeans/t-shirt )

[Paavan Shetty]

First one has to be the pathetic ground clearance. This will be the single reason for me to sell this bike in the future. Bike silencer hits humps even when riding solo.

I own Ninja 300 2022 model year and from day one, faced the issue of low ground clearance due to my frequent pillion duties. Myself being an automobile engineer, was able to design and develop a shortened linkage for the linked type monoshock the bike has, which helped me gain ground clearance in the crucial area. The solution was so effective (the only downside being the relatively stiffer setup that one has to deal with especially while riding solo), that it lead me to start my own small side venture and thus help other fellow ninja 300 owners solve their ground clearance issues.

Had to do innumerous iterations of the linkage to get the desired linkage eye to eye length right, due to inavailabity of CAD model reference of the bike.


The bike with the modified linkages.


The visible effects of the linkage changes on the bike. Above one shows the difference between stock setup and one having 162mm of GC!

The general techniques of riding slowly or crosswards over the speedbumps, doesn't always work as the speedbumps here in India have way too much variation due to nonstandard designs and the fact that not always you will be in a situation to think so the same (for example you are in speed and didn't notice an unmarked speedbump).

I did receive 1-2 enquiries from Ninja 650 owners for solving their bike GC issues the same way, as that bike too has linked type monoshock which can be twicked to improve the GC. But unfortunately because of unavailability of the bike in my hands for testing and validation process, I have not been able to take it any further.

There are a lot of solutions (either modified linkage or modified bellcrank designs) out of India for lowering the ride height for linked type monoshock equipped bikes, but not so much for increasing ride height, which is what I'm trying to at my end. If you are interested, we can connect and see if the issue can be solved on your bike too, just the way I did for mine.

Hope above information helps you.

[subincb]

You can improve the ground clearance and exhaust note big time by replacing exhaust. I bought a header for my er6n, added a small extension at art of motorcycles and used an arrow off-road racing exhaust which I had from wr450f and inserted a db killer on the end of midpipe. There is noticeably difference in ground clearance. Before had to cross all humps in an angle, now very rarely I do that.

[Kashief]

Congratulations and wish you more mile munching! Yes this bike has very low GC and on the very first ride back to home after delivery I scrapped its belly. Luckily the place I live don’t have huge speed breakers like in Bangalore.
After learning the lesson I ensure to ride the bike in 1st gear with very low speed and ride in-cross over the huge speed breakers. Also I always ride solo.
Your model is BS4 if I’m not wrong. BS6 exhaust note is further muted which will not wake up the neighbors unnecessarily. This bike is meant for highway rides. In city other than less mileage, it will go up to 105 degrees in b2b traffic. Hot air is diffused in a away where you don’t get heat burns like other popular 650’s. I find it’s sweet spot is 4-6k rpm in top gear. And it’s capable to redline up to 12k. In a mix of city and highway I get mileage between 23-27kms based on the riding condition. From one of my trip,

[bf1983]

Congrats on your acquisition !

I have the naked version of this same bike and the ground clearance was the one MASSIVE pain point I faced for the first few months. I solved my GC change with a 35k MIIV exhaust.

However I believe cops are very strict in KA so I wouldn't recommend you try that solution. Honestly I like the exhaust sound but I have to push the bike out of my society in the mornings as I am scared ill wake a lot of people up. My wife has made some rather disparaging comments on how my bike sounds after the exhaust change :(

I would suggest you try stiffening the rear shock. Since you don't weigh as much as me you should get some decent results at the expense of having a stiffer suspension but that will aid in handling.

Your mileage is pretty poor on the highways so I would wager you are riding it at extremely high speeds. When I ride it around 100 kph cruising I get around 28-30 kpl which should be even higher for you since you have better aerodynamics thanks to the fairings.

[harmanjeet14]

Welcome to the world of sports touring.

As a fellow Ninja 650 user, I haven’t faced much ground clearance issues, unless I ride two up.

Check your rear monoshock pre load level. Jack it upto hardest level and your 90% of the clearance issue will be resolved.

The clearance on the motorcycle is low because of the exhaust. As rightly pointed out by most members, get an Akra and it should resolve both the negatives.

Offcourse don’t expect it to ever sound like a 4 cylinder.

Consider upgrading from the stock tires at the earliest. They don’t bring out the best this bike has to offer.

Ninja 650 may not be the most exciting, but it comes with Japanese reliability and efficiency. So enjoy that.

I easily get 22kmpl in city and 26kmpl on highway. Unless you a redlining all the way on highway, the mileage you mentioned seems low.

[anandkumargb]

Originally Posted by pandabear

Congratulations that’s an awesome impulse buy. Wish you a safe ride.

Thanks! Buddy

Originally Posted by akshayhonda

Congratulations on the Goblin

Thank you! Buddy

Originally Posted by Oppanna

Heartiest congratulations on the purchase. Glad that you realized the importance of riding gears and picked it up immediately after the Swati Delicay breakfast ride.

I am sure you will follow ATGATT principle religiously.

Thank you!

Hope to follow the ATGATT rule!

Originally Posted by AKSO

I recently upgraded this year from a Ninja 300 which I rode for 95000 kms and after much deliberation moved straight to the Ninja 1000.

95000 kms ! wow ! Thats a lot of miles on the road!

Congratulations on the Ninja 1000. I feel the luggage carrying options are limited on the Ninja's. Your thoughts?

Originally Posted by WalterWhite

You are correct. Your research was not complete. But there are a lot of people out there who manage less GC on the road. Slowing down would really help. You can also try to cross taller speed bumps diagonally which will prevent the underbelly scrapping to some extent.

You are right, looking back, I feel I should have picked up an adventure bike like the Tiger sport 660 or Versys 650. I like stand and ride and not slow down for ups and downs. Thats the way I have rode all my life. Next bike will surely be an adventure bike.

Originally Posted by aqualeo2040

Welcome to the Ninja Club.

Give it some time, you'll figure out a way to tackle the humps. Either sideways or picking up some speed

Thanks, aqualeo2040. Like you said, I have now figured out how to deal/live with the low GC issue. I don't scrape the belly much now a days.

Originally Posted by Paavan Shetty

Hope above information helps you.

Thanks! Buddy. It's amazing stuff that you have done there. Let me ride for a few more miles and see how it goes. Appreciate your help!

Originally Posted by subincb

You can improve the ground clearance and exhaust note big time by replacing exhaust.

Thanks! Buddy
Let me put some more miles on the bike and see if I really need to do something about the GC.

Originally Posted by Kashief

Congratulations and wish you more mile munching! Yes this bike has very low GC and on the very first ride back to home after delivery I scrapped its belly. Luckily the place I live don’t have huge speed breakers like in Bangalore.
After learning the lesson I ensure to ride the bike in 1st gear with very low speed and ride in-cross over the huge speed breakers. Also I always ride solo.
Your model is BS4 if I’m not wrong. BS6 exhaust note is further muted which will not wake up the neighbors unnecessarily. This bike is meant for highway rides. In city other than less mileage, it will go up to 105 degrees in b2b traffic. Hot air is diffused in a away where you don’t get heat burns like other popular 650’s. I find it’s sweet spot is 4-6k rpm in top gear. And it’s capable to redline up to 12k. In a mix of city and highway I get mileage between 23-27kms based on the riding condition. From one of my trip,

You are absolutely right. This bike is meant only for the highways. It is a pain in the city limits with the heat issue. Thanks!

Originally Posted by bf1983

I would suggest you try stiffening the rear shock. Since you don't weigh as much as me you should get some decent results at the expense of having a stiffer suspension but that will aid in handling.

Thanks! Buddy
I have been thinking about stiffening the rear shock too. I will check with the service advisor about rear shock setting in my next service.

Originally Posted by harmanjeet14

Check your rear monoshock pre load level. Jack it upto hardest level and your 90% of the clearance issue will be resolved.

Consider upgrading from the stock tires at the earliest. They don’t bring out the best this bike has to offer.

Thanks for your advice! I will try to stiffen the rear shocks.
I am unable to make out of my stock tires are good or bad. Never been in a situation where the tires gave up on me. Also, the bike has done just 4k kms and lot of life is left in the tires. Do you still recommend me to change? If yes, which brand do you suggest?

Thanks! again

[AKSO]

Originally Posted by anandkumargb

95000 kms ! wow ! Thats a lot of miles on the road!

Congratulations on the Ninja 1000. I feel the luggage carrying options are limited on the Ninja's. Your thoughts?

On my nine-day ride to the South in Jan this year, I used the 60 Litre Viaterra Claw Bag and my small 12 Litre Rynox Tank Bag. This setup was more than enough and in fact had to take some unnecessary stuff to fill up the Claw Bag so that the bungee cord would sit tight.

For two to three day rides I use the larger 30 Litre Rynox Optimus Tank Bag only which also provides sufficient storage space. This has always been my preferred luggage setup. When the tank bag is full and expanded, it provides a nice pillow to rest one's chin on the boring straights.

For the truly discerning Kawasaki tourer, the 56 Litre hard luggage panniers are another option.