Kawasaki Ninja 650R first ride

The long wait is finally over. Though the big bikes arrived in the country long time back, the affordable options were still absent. So, what Kawasaki and Bajaj do? They brought in the Ninja 650R – a pure sports tourer machine with a tag of Rs 4.57 lakh (Ex-Delhi).Now that is what we call as the smartest move one could have made in a market like ours. Here’re the first ride impressions of the Kawasaki Ninja 650R that has blown us off with its potential and price!

To start with, the bike looks stunning in green and black combo. It’s typically Kawasaki. The offset monoshock and underslung exhaust are unique design features that will distinguish this bike from anything else on the road. Single seat looks old school but serves the purpose when riding with a pillion – comfort at its best!

The Ninja is powered with a 649cc motor that pumps out 72 PS of peak power and 66 Nm of peak torque. These figures translate to superb 0-100km/h acceleration run – just 4.56 seconds. The maximum speed we could read on the speedometer before running out of road was 198km/h (true 191.8km.h), which sounds more than sufficient for the Indian highways. The bike can cruise easily at 120km/h with the engine spinning comfortably at just 5500 rpm. Adding more to the highway and touring abilities is the full fairing and wide windscreen at the front. With no windblast troubling you whatsoever, this bike is a serious touring machine.

Put the bike around corners and the handling of the Ninja will continue to impress you. Though the softer suspension doesn’t give a solid feel when leaned over, it doesn’t make the bike nervous in any case. The monoshock is seven-step adjustable for preload giving you an option for a slightly stiffer ride too. Also, with the monoshock connected directly to the swingarm without any linkages, there is hardly any flex.
If that is the story on highways and twisties, the Ninja 650R scores maximum points when it comes to city rideability and practicality. Strong bottom and mid range make sure that the bike can be ridden around crowded streets effortlessly in higher gears without any hint of knocking. Thus, not only is this sports tourer a fantastic bike on highways and outskirts of a city but on the urban scenario too. It’s a perfect package with best of all the worlds and then at a price that is super competitive.

Our say? The Ninja 650R is the perfect machine priced so appropriately that there is hardly anything that can challenge this bike. The competition definitely needs to pull up their socks if they have to survive in a market where Kawasaki is rolling in the good times!