Kawasaki Ninja 650R: First Ride

Composed and planted, this middleweight Kawasaki speaks its mind with conviction constantly reminding the rider of its street-friendly gene pool and road-worthiness. The 41mm front forks with 120mm of travel are working overtime constantly dealing with ditches and road undulations but never have they shown any signs of weakness or instability. The wide handlebars make for a fine riding experience with the cushy saddle and the foot pegs placed perfectly in alignment to make for a fantastic ergonomic riding position, allowing the rider to cover limitless miles without pronounced fatigue or body ache while being in full control of the motorcycle. The large-ish front windscreen is more than adequate to deal with the windblasts and for a rather stubby chap like me – it’s also helping to keep the bugs from reaching the visor. 

These minor yet significant details together make for an enjoyable riding experience astride the Ninja. A trait commonly found in all street-worthy Kawasakis. Precisely the reason why the quarter-litre

baby Kwacker has enjoyed the title of best 250cc sports motorcycle for over two decades. And the bigger 650cc Ninja only builds further onto the Ninja legacy, with its mighty powerful 649cc parallel twin cylinder liquid-cooled DOHC motor. Producing 72PS of power at 8,500rpm and potent 66Nm of twisting force at 7,000rpm, all the power and torque of the Ninja is evenly spread out across the rev-range and is matched by equally well-setup gear ratios that provide instant thrust notwithstanding what gear and speed you are in.

Simply twist the throttle and as the 66Nm of torque makes its presence felt in an absolute brazen manner, the 650R lurches ahead with ferocious velocity. So much so that you would take the corner in one higher gear and still wouldn’t come to know!

The moment one swing’s a leg over the 650R, the comfort and plushy feel from the radically designed offset rear monoshock suspension is instantly evident and sends the rider in a very comfy spot or if I may say, a lazy mode. But the laziness does not last too long as once the throttle is caressed a little enthusiastically, the crisp response from the motor with its spot on fuel injection system and the smooth power delivery with 72 horses galloping to the rear wheel will even wake up the dead from the grave. Touching the 100km/h mark in less than 6 seconds and a top speed reaching upwards of staggering 200km/h, there is little left to doubt the 650R’s performance credentials.

But speed isn’t the real strong point of the Kawasaki Ninja 650R. Its true potential comes to fore in real world environments like ease of use in city traffic conditions despite its sizeable bulk of 204kg and large 1,410mm wheelbase or for stress-free highway hauling without having to shift gears to make swift overtakes. It’s a wonderfully packaged machine that excels on most counts barring just one small glitch – the headlight beam could be more powerful, especially for the Indian roads. 

As we see it, the Kawasaki Ninja 650R will add that many more miles in your motorcycling resume thanks to the practicality it offers with oodles of fun packed-in at thesame time. It can be your daily ride to work or then be the perfect companion for the week long motorcycle ride you planned with your buddies. Whatever be the application, the Ninja 650R will not disappoint, especially once the phenomenal price-tag of Rs. 4.57 (Ex-showroom, Delhi) is factored in.

The biggest draw for the Kawasaki Ninja 650R is not that it is the only motorcycle bringing method to madness in the current Indian market that is buzzing with big fancy superbikes with little practicality for India but the fact that it is doing all of this while being within reach of plenty of eager Indian motorcycling enthusiasts.