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Test rode Kawasaki Ninja 300 & Honda CB300R: Here's how they compare

23rd June 2023, 08:03 by Deepankar Sadekar

I am a huge fan of the analog tachometer. The only thing I miss on the Ninja 300 console is a gear position indicator! Even my Yamaha Fazer 25 doesn't have it.

BHPian WalterWhite recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

With my Lex (Yamaha Fazer 25) turning 5.5 years and 52K KMs on the ODO. The ownership review is here. I started the hunt for my next motorcycle. Lex is mostly used for daily office commutes and occasional touring. Now I am planning to take the touring a bit more seriously. So my next motorcycle should be touring-friendly. I love sports touring rather than outright tourers. My budget is around 5 lakhs.

Following are my requirements:

Should be able to comfortably cruise at 120KMPH and have enough juice left for quick overtakes.
Refinement.
Reliability.
Touring friendly.

I shortlisted Ninja 300, CB300R, and R3.Yamaha R3: I am a huge fan of BS4 R3. I never got a chance to test-ride it. But it is just stunning. The headlight design felt like an angry dragon's eyes looking at you. That creamy parallel twin engine always tempted me. Sadly it was discontinued and the old design is never going to make a comeback. Yamaha has updated the R3 internationally. It gets revised styling which I am not a big fan of. But I was eagerly waiting for the Indian launch. To my surprise, Yamaha showcased the updated R3 along with its naked sibling MT-03 a couple of months back at a dealer event. I was really excited but at the same time I realized, do I really need to get this motorcycle kind of thinking. Even If I had dreamed of owning one for 3 years. I don't know if it's just me. I always dream of owning things in my mind. But then, in most cases, changes the decision and finalizes on another one. Because when I am going to get it then only I give it a lot of thought and compare it with other alternatives. And finding other alternatives suits me well. Similar case with R3. When I really thought about its shortcomings, one struck me well. After Sales and Service. Being a Fazer 25 owner I know how frustrating it is to get treatment similar to scooters and commuters from the ASC. Spending 1.5 Lac and getting this kind of treatment is somewhat bearable. But spending almost 5 Lac and getting the same kind of treatment is just a big NO. Because Yamaha doesn't have premium showrooms and service centers for their Big Bikes like Honda do. At least you get a premium feel. Upgrading the existing showrooms to Blue Square is not just enough Yamaha! Still, you sell all of your two-wheelers under the same roof. What guarantee this will give the big bike owners that their bikes are duly taken care of? I am really scared here, R3 is a really wonderful motorcycle. Buying it is one thing. But maintaining it is another big thing. I don't want my motorcycle to suffer. Sadly, even before the launch and even before the test ride. I had to sacrifice R3.

Honda CB 300R : I didn't really care about this bike because of the high price, modest power, and compact dimensions. But it started to grow on me after watching a lot of reviews on Youtube. Especially the review from Strell. So thought about it as a replacement for my Lex. So that I can take it for daily commutes + touring. Kind of do it all motorcycle. At least I thought that way. The only gripe was the tiny fuel tank which doesn't help while touring. But decided to give it a shot. Called Big Wing Top Line Cochin and asked if they can arrange a longer test ride. Got the green signal and the next Saturday visited the showroom and took the bike for a spin. It was the BS6 model, the OBD2 model yet to reach dealerships.

The front view is absolutely gorgeous in person. 41mm Golden USD Forks and dark red color is a very good combo. Looks beefy and premium. That always-on LED headlamp also adds a lot of character to the bike even though it is not purposeful.

Sculpted fuel tank, naked frame, upswept exhaust, etc only add a lot of character to the bike. I can stare at the bike from this angle for countless hours:

From this angle, the only thing I like is the re-designed exhaust muffler. Oh yes, the LED indicators as well, and nothing else. They need to seriously work on the tail light design. It is quite boring for this aggressive beast of a motorcycle:

The Ride : First thing I noticed was how easy this motorcycle is. Coming from Fazer 25, CB300R felt very light and not intimidating. The next thing is the exhaust note, it is very loud and bassy quite a bit of a whistling sound also came along. In idle, if you are deaf you don't even get to know the engine is running. It is that smooth. Low-end to mid-range pull is excellent. This bike pulls right from 2K RPM to 7K RPM cleanly. The engine just glides along. No vibration. No stress. Nothing except the loud exhaust note you can here. At 7K RPM, you would expect the same pull to the red line. But that is not the case here. Sadly, from 7.5K RPM onwards I could feel vibes at the footpegs and handlebar. At 7K RPM, it can do 110KMPH in 6th gear. Which is stress-free. 110 to 120KMPH just a bit of stress felt on the engine. After 120 KMPH engine feels stressed, unfortunately. I am not sure if this is an issue with the test bike I rode. Owners, please comment on your experience. The brakes felt ok. Handling and straight-line stability at higher speeds are decent. The only thing is that the rear mono shock is too soft. I don't know, maybe it's on the softest setting. But it is very weird. There is a lot of action on the rear. It robs away the confidence of the rider.

I was looking for a motorcycle that can comfortably cruise at 120KMPH with good stability and enough oomph on reserve. Sadly, it is not the case with the CB300R, it can comfortably cruise 100 to 110KMPH. A little better than my Fazer 25 which can do 90 - 100KMPH. But that's it. Pull after 120KMPH is also not that great. So sadly I had to knock it off the list.

Few clicks of Goldwing which I took while visiting the showroom.

This beast was showcased at the Cochin showroom:

It's massive. You need a wide pair of eyes to fully see it. Just kidding:

Ninja 300: This piece of art is a decade old. But still looks contemporary. What magic Kawasaki has used to create this machine? IMHO Ninja 300 looks way more beautiful than the Ninja 400. It has that older ZX10R styling cues. The design is never modified since it was launched here which is a decade back. For me, it is a good thing. I don't fancy LED headlights or a TFT console. In fact, I am a huge fan of the analog tachometer. The only thing I miss on the Ninja 300 console is a gear position indicator! Even my Fazer 25 doesn't have it. I called Kawasaki Cochin for a test ride. They said they can arrange it. So visited the showroom. The showroom was partly empty. A ZX10R, a couple of Ninja 300, and W175 were parked inside. Got a warm welcome from the sales executive Koshy. He was glad to explain things. Treated me very well. Something I missed in Honda Big Wing Cochin.

This is the Candy Lime Green color variant that was in stock when I visited the showroom. This was BS6 one:

The Candy Lime Green is darker compared to the Lime Green color. I didn't like the color and graphics. They had only stock in this color:

The mighty 10R. This was the last piece available in BS6 form. Later got to know that this one moved to Kozhikode for delivery:

Look from the rear is massive. This was the best pic I could take. There was a lot of sunlight filtering through. I couldn't get a clear pic from the front as well, because it was kept too close to the front glass panels. I tried a couple of clicks from outside. But there was a lot of reflections and the front look was barely visible:

The Ride: I requested a long test ride. But they kept saying the max they could give is 10 km. That too in the busy Kochi - Salem Highway connecting Kalamassery and Aluva. I asked them what is the point in that. Because the potential of the motorcycle at least partially if not fully cannot be understood. But they said it is under temp registration, so If the MVD finds it exceeding the 10 Km range, then they will be fined. I understood the situation and agreed for a short spin. They took the test ride unit from the service center and parked it in front of the showroom. It was a black Ninja with slight green touches here and there. That was the first time I am seeing one in that color. It was more gorgeous in person than in PICs.

This is me on the Ninja:

Doesn't feel committed on board as you might feel from the pics:

My Lex parked aside the Black Beauty:

The ride was pretty good. Once on board, you will feel it is a very premium motorcycle. From pics, you might not feel it. But it is premium right from the meter console. Fit and finish and the paint job is very good. Something which lacked in the Honda CB300R. Another thing I noticed, unlike R3, you sit 'on' the motorcycle not 'in' the motorcycle. Rider POV is very premium. Night rides are going to be super cool with the backlit meter console. Moving to the Engine, no need to say anything here. This is a super refined engine in possibly every RPM. I was able to master the Rev match very quickly. Something I couldn't do properly on CB300R, possibly because of my inexperience. Gears shifts are crisp. The low-end pull was better on the CB300R. Ninja pulls cleanly from lower RPM unlike a lot of YouTubers who comment that the low end is bad on the Ninja. But again this is from my limited experience. But still felt it is better than my Fazer 25. I couldn't take Ninja 300 post 7K RPM hence cannot really comment on the top-end performance. But from reviews, this is where it shines. So cruising at 120Kmph should be a cakewalk for Ninja.

Handling and stability were good. But one thing to note is when you take tight u-turns, the handlebar comes too close to the tank and your palms are jammed in between. Keeping your palm towards the end of the handlebar would help. The brakes felt average at best. I don't know if this is because the test unit brake pads are nearing their lifetime. The seat height is very low at 780mm. I have planted foot on both sides. My height is 169cm.

Completed the test ride. Overall liked the motorcycle. I wanted to proceed further. Reached the showroom and had a chat with Koshy. From the talks, I felt he is a genuine motorcycle enthusiast. There was no lime green color available. I have to wait till the OBD2 variant arrives. Koshy promised me he will notify me of the updates.

A week later Kawasaki launched the OBD2 model with 3 color options. Lime Green, Candy Lime Green, and Metallic Moon Dust Grey. Instantly liked the flagship Lime Green color. For me, it was the most attractive. A couple of days later got a call from Koshy as he promised. There is Lime Green variant available at the showroom. If interested, I can pay a visit. Visited the showroom on the weekend.

This is the Lime Green color in the flesh. Looks gorgeous: