The Kawasaki Ninja 650R has already been launched by Bajaj Auto. No sooner did the launch take place, then Bajaj Auto came to know that the bike is performing exceptionally well in the market. It has given a good fight to Hyosung GT650R, one of its fierce competitors. One of the reasons could be that the bike was already Rs. 40,000 cheaper than Hyosung GT650R.

The Kawasaki Ninja 650R got a warm welcome from almost every quarter of the country. Now, keeping the success in mind, Bajaj Auto is aiming at a new 2012 version of the bike. The bike will be a revamped one, though. However, the only downside will be the price tag. The bike makers are likely to raise the price tag by Rs. 20,000 – Rs. 40,000.

Let have a look at what the changes bike lover are expected to see in the next year’s version. Of course, the 2012 bike will not come without some modifications. The noticeable changes will be in the front end where there will be a new fuel tank. The tail end will also be a new one and there will be redesigned seats to give better comfort all the way.

The twin spar frame is designed to give more power output. It runs right from the steering down to the swingarm while encircling the motor with the twin beams. The new addition to the host of these features is the windscreen. These changes should be sufficient to attract the customers.

But as far as the engine capacity is concerned, the 2012 version of the Kawasaki Ninja 650R will come with the same old engine – the 650cc engine. It will be able to generate a high power of 74 Bhp and a top torque of 60.5 Nm. however; efforts from the company are on to increase the power output as well as the torque.

Taking into account the innumerable features the 2012 bike holds, it is but natural to have a price tag with Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 40,000 more than its previous one. The new bikes are being manufactured at the company’s Chakan plant near Pune.

Bajaj Auto has set its eyes on the KRR ZX 150 mini bike. The company has a lot of expectations from this bike. In the first place, Bajaj is fighting it hard to gain some momentum on their side. The launch of the Honda CBR250R had made life difficult for Bajaj Auto.

Moreover, the Bajaj-Kawasaki Ninja 250R could not give a fight to the Honda bike. The reason was but obvious. The Bajaj bike carried a heavier price tag and that hurt the customers a lot. On the other hand, the Honda CBR250R was going strong. So there was little that Bajaj could do in the real sense. That is why Bajaj is looking forward to launching the mini Ninja.

The mini Ninja can never be compared with either Bajaj Ninja 250R or the Honda CBR250R. The mini Ninja – the 150 bike is nothing in front of the giant 250cc bike. However, don’t yet write off the KRR ZX 150 mini Ninja, or do it at your own risk. The bike is manufactured with a 148cc engine and is a compatible bike in its own class. It comes with a single cylinder two stroke liquid cooled engine.

The monstrous bike can deliver a high power of 30 Ps at 10,500 rpm. The bike has an exceptional torque at 21.6 Nm at 9000 rpm. The bike comes with a SUPER KIPS valve system and a MIKUNI VM28 unit. With this, there is no question that the bike is a performance oriented machine.

The safety features are duly addressed. There are dual-calliper ventilated brakes incorporated for both the front and the rear wheels. As far as the suspension is concerned, there are the telescopic front shocks and rear monoshock suspensions. The bike will soon make its way in the Indian market. It will also be seen in the other Asian countries as well.

In these days of high technology, there is no way a particular piece of information will remain a secret for too long. The special edition of the 2012 Ninja 250R is just round the corner. But there are pictures available on the internet already. To top it all, the bike has also been seen in Thailand.

As a matter of fact, the bike will make its way out to the world from Thailand. No wonder, the bike has been first spotted at the place. As far as the bike is concerned, there was no change noticed in the overall design of the bike. The bike looks the same as its predecessor.

The bodywork has been retained. The underpinnings, why that, even the engine has been left untouched. When you have heard all this, there should be no surprise that the instrumentation of the bike remains the same. It is surprising how so many things have been retained and yet the bike is known as a ‘special edition’.

What’s new in the bike is the new color scheme for the entire body. The ‘entire body’ that we refer to in this bike is the fuel tank, the side panels and the helmet. Apart from this, the wheels, the exhaust pipe, the tyres, the alloy wheels etc. are in black. However, as far as the Indian market is concerned, the customers should not get too excited immediately upon knowing the changes in the color schemes.

Though the bike has been seen in newer colors, there is still a large amount of doubt if those very colors will be used for the Indian market as well. It is a wait and watch situation. If the unavailability of the colors is putting the potential customers off, then it is one thing the company has to seriously take into account.

The new color scheme exposes the blue detail above the Ninja logo on the front fairing. The use of modern graphics makes bike look a lot sportier.

The Kawasaki Ninja 250R happens to be one of the most attractive bikes in the sports bike category. It is just amazing how exciting the bike looks. The design of the bike is what exactly should be of a sports bike. The side panels give the bike an impressive look. It covers the space right from the front up to the foot rest of the rider.

It is a heavy bike with a displacement of 249cc. So obviously it has to perform like a sports bike, which it very honestly does. With such a strong engine, you can imagine how fast the bike can travel. It has an excellent pickup, which sends you flying at the instance of the accelerator. This monster bike comes with a fuel tank of 17 liters – an ideal one for a sports bike.

The Ninja 250R can attain a top speed of 176 kmph. The bike will not give a lot of millage, as you might have recognized it until now, as it is a sports bike. The bike can at the most give you around 32 kmpl in the city area and something in the region of 42 kmpl on the highways. None of these numbers are too bad considering the fact that the bike weighs as much as 172 KGs.

The engine of Ninja 250R is designed with four stroke, parallel twin, DOHC, liquid cooling. These following figures are really astounding in its own way. The bike can generate a maximum power of 32.5 Bhp at 11,000 rpm and can produce a top torque of 22 Nm at 8200 rpm. The bike comes with 2 cylinders, with each cylinder having 4 valves.

The length of the bike is 2085 mm, the height is 1115 mm and the width is 715 mm. Considering the bike, the ground clearance of 135 mm seems to be not too bad. The Ninja 250R has a wheelbase of 1400 mm. One of the prominent features of the bike is halogen lamp. It is a powerful enough lamp that should give you a clear vision during the darkness.

As one would have expected, the Ninja 250R comes with tubeless tires, which reduces the possibilities of getting the tires punctured. The tubeless tires come with black mag alloys. These alloy wheels play an important role in giving the bike a subliminal effect.

The Kawasaki Ninja 250R comes in two colors, ebony black and lime green, both of which are very attractive indeed. However, the bike looks out of the world in the black color. As, only a single color is used, it suits the bike much more than that of a color combination would have.

A bike like the Kawasaki Ninja 250R must have two things up to date. The first thing is the suspension and the second is the brakes. Both of these play an important role in keeping the rider safe and sound while riding.

Talking about suspension, the bike has 37 mm hydraulic telescopic fork suspension for the front wheel and Uni-Trak with aluminum linkage for the rear. The presence of two disc brakes makes the bike a lot safer. There is the 290 mm petal disc for the front wheel brake, while the 220 mm petal disc takes care of the rear brake.

Some of the other important features of the bike include the fuel gauge, the tacho meter and the speedometer all of which come in the analogue format. Apart from that, there is the low oil and fuel and battery indicator. There is also the provision of choked air filter and high oil temperature indicator.

For more detailed information, technical specifications and pictures, visit Kawasaki Ninja 250R – Performance In Blend With Style

Would you believe it, that the success of the Kawasaki Ninja 650R has made records in its own ways? It has been just about over a month that the bike has been launched. In the first month itself, the bike has shown unprecedented response. So, how much is the response?

Well, the response the bike got is just more than warm and it would not be exaggeration to say that, the bike is a hot favorite in the market today. The response is so great, that the company had to stop the bookings until Diwali this year.

The bike was given a very cozy welcome. The results are for all of us to see. There have been so many bookings of the bike that, the company was unsure, if they could complete the orders or not. The bookings kept increasing day by day. Finally, Bajaj Auto had no option but to close the bookings temporarily.

You will get an idea of how great the demand for the bike is from the fact that, Diwali is still more than 100 days away and Bajaj has already stopped the bookings. In between the period of these days, Bajaj Auto hopes to complete the entire quota of the demand so that they can start accepting further bookings.

The price tag of 4.57 lakhs did not seem to bother the average Indian customers and this is pretty much evident from the giant number of bookings. This is also a sign of improving economy that the Indian consumers too can go for a bike that costs more than Rs. 4.5 lakhs.

The bike is imported from Thailand in a CKD form. It is then assembled at the Chakan plant near Pune. There are certainly rivals from other companies who would now are likely to take steps to give a tough fight to the Kawasaki Ninja 650R.

The wait for Kawasaki Ninja 650R is finally over. The Japanese auto player finally launched the much awaited Ninja model in India. The bike was launched on Wednesday. There have been great expectations of this bike and it would be worth seeing how it performs in India. Customers will have to make their pockets lighter by Rs. 4.57 lakhs. This is the ex-showroom (Delhi) price of the bike.

However, this sports bike can cost up to Rs. 43,000 more as the on-road price. The bike will be seen in the Indian market in association with Bajaj Auto Ltd. (BAL). This will be the fourth bike to be brought in the market by BAL. The other three bikes are Avenger 220, Ninja 250 R and Pulsar 220.

These three bikes are already doing well in the Indian market. Therefore, both Bajaj and Kawasaki are keeping their fingers crossed on the reports of the Ninja 650R. The company has set a target sales figure of 240 units for the opening year. After studying the performance of the 650R, both the companies have already set their sights on the 400cc and 1000cc bikes.

If the 650R fairs relatively well, the auto majors could rope in more models in the near future. The bike will certainly prove to be one of the major attractions for avid sports bike lovers. The brand can potentially set up Kawasaki as one of the leading sports bike manufacturers in India.

It now remains to be seen how the bike is received in the market.

The recent tsunami in the technologically advanced Japan has taken its toll on the auto production in there. Apart from Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha have temporarily stopped production after the destructive tsunami that hit the country. This is done with a view to resurrecting from the humongous widespread damage caused.

As far as Kawasaki is concerned, still there is no official word from them. However, considering the current scenario there, it is very much likely that Kawasaki will also bring down the shutters on their factories and stop the production for a while.

India might also feel the heat of the Japanese tsunami and quake. India was expecting high end CBU motorcycles in about this period. However, taking into account the natural calamity back in Japan, it is highly impossible that the shipping of these two-wheelers might take place any time soon. The export from Japan is likely to be delayed by at least another couple of months.

The spare parts section could also see a holdup as factories have been closed down. The component supplying has also been very badly affected and there does not seem to be any solution in sight instantly. Safety of human life is certainly of more importance than the auto sector right now.

Though the Kawasaki Ninja 650R is available in a newer version, this bike itself is a force reckon with. Actually, the success of the Kawasaki Ninja 650R, prompted the company to go for its advanced version. However, for now, let’s have a look at this heavy-duty bike.

Now why we call it a heavy-duty bike is because of the fact that the bike has an engine of 650cc with a displacement of 649cc. Riding this bike is a flying experience. The acceleration is so extraordinary, that you get pushed back off your seat and the bike runs ahead when you are ready to accelerate.

The Kawasaki Ninja 650R has a powerful four stroke, liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-valve per cylinder, parallel twin engine. The bike gives a maximum power of 63.7 bhp at 8,700 rpm and produces a top torque of 65.68 Nm at 7,000 rpm. The performance of the engine is stable consequently it gives you  good riding experience.

This vehicle has a 6 speed manual transmission. A three way catalyzer in the muffler ensures lower emissions. This means the bike is eco-friendly. So, you will not be doing any harm to the atmosphere. The company has come up with a unique idea to ward of undue vibrations. There are rubber coats placed at various important parts of the bike. These coats are at the engine, pillion footrests and handlebars.

This two-wheeler comes in colors like ebony, lime green and metallic island blue. The body colors are vividly visible at the front and the fuel tank.

A couple of other features are worth mentioning as well. The fuel injection system for the bike is a digital one, with two 38mm Keihin throttle bodies. The Kawasaki Ninja 650R has O-ring chain. Such a chain is self lubricating. The bike incorporates digital CDI ignition system.

The Kawasaki Ninja 650R is nothing but flying experience. 649cc engine can give you nothing else other than pure riding. The real joy can be experienced on highways. The six-speed manual transmission is the icing on the cake. The fuel tank can hold around 15.5 liters of petrol out of which 3 liters is for reserve.

For such a powerful bike, safety is equally important. This is handled on three fronts – brakes, tyre size and suspension. As far as the brakes are concerned, side petal disc brakes are used. The bike can come to a halt whatever may your speed be. The front brake is the dual 300 mm petal disc with twin 27 mm piston front brake calipers.  For the rear brake however, there is the single 220 mm rear petal disc.

For the suspension, the Kawasaki Ninja 650R has 41 mm telescopic front fork and preload-adjustable laydown rear fork with adjustable spring suspension. As far as the tyres are concerned, the front size is 120/70-17, while the rear 160/60-17.

The length of the bike is 2106 mm, while the width is 756 mm, with a height of 1270 mm. The heavy bike has a curb weight of 200 kg.

Technical Specifications Of Kawasaki Ninja 650R

Engine and transmission
Displacement:    649.00 ccm (39.60 cubic inches)
Engine type:    Twin, four-stroke
Compression:    11.3:1
Bore x stroke:    83.0 x 60.0 mm (3.3 x 2.4 inches)
Valves per cylinder:    4
Fuel system:    Injection
Fuel control:    DOHC
Ignition:    Digital CDI
Cooling system:    Liquid
Gearbox:    6-speed
Transmission type,
final drive:    Chain
Chassis, suspension, brakes and wheels
Frame type:    Semi-double cradle, high-tensile steel
Rake (fork angle):    25.0°
Trail:    107 mm (4.2 inches)
Front suspension:    41mm hydraulic telescopic fork / 4.7 in.
Rear suspension:    Single offset laydown shock
                    with adjustable spring preload / 4.9 in.
Front tyre dimensions:    120/70-17
Rear tyre dimensions:    160/60-17
Front brakes:    Double disc
Front brakes diameter:    300 mm (11.8 inches)
Rear brakes:    Single disc
Rear brakes diameter:    220 mm (8.7 inches)
Physical measures and capacities
Weight incl. oil, gas, etc:    204.0 kg (449.8 pounds)
Seat height:    790 mm (31.1 inches)
                If adjustable, lowest setting.
Overall height:    1,199 mm (47.2 inches)
Overall length:    2,101 mm (82.7 inches)
Overall width:    759 mm (29.9 inches)
Wheelbase:    1,410 mm (55.5 inches)
Fuel capacity:    15.51 litres (4.10 gallons)
Starter:    Electric
Color options:    Candy Lime Green, Ebony
                  Metallic Island Blue

It is all right that the Kawasaki Ninja 250R is a stylish bike, has modern looks and probably is the best in the sports motorcycles. However, it is a bit too costly. The price tag just does not suit an average Indian biker. If you compare the other sports motorcycles like Bajaj Pulsar 220, Karizma ZMR and Yamaha R15, you will realize that the price of these bikes is two and a half times lesser than the Kawasaki Ninja 250R.

However, the reason for the bike to be so costly is that, it offers 32.5 bhp at 11000 rpm. On the other hand Karizma ZMR, Pulsar 220 and Yamaha R15 offer only about 21 bhp at 8500 rpm (c.a. for all). The fuel tank seems to protrude upwards a little bit more than the usual bikes. It is designed to provide a saddled back seating position. Moreover, there is a big gap between the pillion seat and the rear tyre. Well, you cannot argue. After all, it is a sports bike.

A first look might give you an impression that the pillion seat would crook down if anyone happens to sit on it. However, it is strong enough to carry a pillion rider. The side panels and the area near the legroom are totally covered with plastic and steel material. This gives the bike a very muscular look.

The seat, the rear number plate and the alloy wheels have been kept black in color. However, Kawasaki Ninja 250R comes in various stylish colors for you to choose from. Ebony Black, Lime Green, mesmerizing red and blue are the color shades which are on offer.

The bike is powered by a 249cc liquid cooled DOHC engine. It offers a maximum power of 32 bhp at 11000 rpm and maximum torque of 22 Nm at 8200 rpm. The 6 speed transmission literally lifts you off in the air when you start off; after all it is the power of the 249cc engine. However, the heavyweight bike gives you a smooth ride.

The Kawasaki Ninja 250R has front tubeless tyre of 17 inch 110/70, while the rear tubeless tyre is 17 inch 130/70. The Uni-Track rear suspension, which is patented by Kawasaki, helps in giving a smooth ride on bumpy roads.

The 249cc engine propels the bike picks from 0 – 100 km / hr in just 5.75 seconds. It can reach a top speed of 176 km / hr. The 172 Kg bike offers fuel efficiency of 42.5 kmpl. The brakes are powered by the front hydraulic disc and the two piston calipers. The rear brake is a 220-mm petal disc.

Price Of Kawasaki Ninja 250R In India

However, the huge price tag in India is the only biggest disadvantage the bike carries with itself.  The bike is priced at Rs. 2,70,000/- all over the country.

*the mentioned price is ex-showroom price!

Technical Specifications Of Kawasaki Ninja 250R

 * 250cc, Twin Cylinder, Fuel Injected, 4 Valve per Cylinder Engine
 * Maximum Power – 33PS @ 11000rpm
 * Maximum Torque – 22Nm @ 8200rpm
 * 6 Speed Gearbox
 * Braking – 290mm Petal Disc (Front), 220 mm Single Piston Petal Disc (Rear)
 * Uni-Track rear suspension
 * 17 Litres Fuel Capacity
 * Front Tyre – 17 inch 110/70 Tubeless
 * Rear Tyre – 17 inch 130/70 Tubeless
 * Weight – 172 Kgs

Prior to the statement that Bajaj will bring up Kawasaki Ninja 650R in India, IKM revealed that the Ninja 250R is going under refurbishment and year 2011 will witness a all new Ninja 250R. In the event EICMA going on in Milan, Kawasaki stall introduced the 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 250R to the spectators. The bike has not gone several changes, in fact what i notice is just the color in display was  ultra white. May be it is still just the model and the real 2011 Ninja 250R will feature more differences.

The company also revealed the technical specifications of 2011 Ninja 250R which are as follows:

* Engine: Four-stroke, liquid-cooled, DOHC, parallel twin
* Displacement: 249cc
* Bore x stroke: 62.0 x 41.2mm
* Compression ratio: 11.6:1
* Cooling: Liquid
* Carburetion: Keihin CVK30 x 2
* Ignition: TCBI with digital advance
* Transmission: Six-speed
* Final drive: O-ring chain
* Frame: Semi-double cradle, high-tensile steel
* Wheelbase: 55.1 in.
* Rake / trail: 26 degrees / 3.2 in.
* Front suspension: 37mm hydraulic telescopic fork / 4.7 in.
* Rear suspension: Bottom-link Uni-Trak with 5-way adjustable preload / 5.1 in.
* Front tire: 110/70-17
* Rear tire: 130/70-17
* Front brake: Single 290mm hydraulic petal disc with two-piston caliper
* Rear brake: Single 220mm petal disc with two-piston caliper
* Overall length: 82.1 in.
* Overall width: 28.1 in.
* Overall height: 43.7 in.
* Seat height: 30.5 in.
* Curb weight: 374.9 lbs.
* Fuel capacity: 4.8 gal.
* Color choices: Ebony, Lime Green / Ebony (SE),
                 Pearl White / Ebony (SE)