Intermot: 2017 Kawasaki Ninja 650 unveiled

Kawasaki has unveiled the 2017 Ninja 650 at the Intermot Motorcycle Show, which is currently underway at Cologne, Germany. The new model gets comprehensive updates, including a new platform and a design that is inspired from its bigger siblings, like the Ninja ZX-10R.

The 2017 Ninja 650 is built on a trellis-type steel chassis and gets an aluminium swing-arm. This new platform has helped Kawasaki engineers to shed 19 kgs of weight from the bike. The company claims that the weight reduction has also helped in making the bike 6.8% more fuel efficient.

Other design elements on the new bike include an all-digital instrument cluster, a conventionally placed monoshock at the rear, and a three-level manually adjustable windscreen. While the seat height remains identical to the older model, handlebars of the new Ninja 650 have been placed slightly lower. It will be available in three colour options - lime green and ebony, metallic black, pearl white and candy burnt orange.

Powering the 2017 Ninja 650 is a 649 cc parallel-twin engine, which is similar to what was offered on its predecessor. However, engineers have tweaked the engine to be Euro IV compliant. This has resulted in a power output drop of 2 BHP, which now stands at 69 BHP. The bike also gets a slipper clutch and ABS as standard.

Kawasaki is expected to launch the 2017 Ninja 650 in India in the second half of next year.