[Amey Kulkarni]

Originally Posted by Amey Kulkarni

Hi Guys,

I would like to share my experience of owning a Ninja 300 MY 16 (ZX-10R Anniversary Edition) and how this happened.

I got the delivery from KTM Kawasaki Talegaon on 11th June' 2016 and the un-boxing was a special thing that struck me and felt something big was coming my way.

I have done about 2,000Kms by now; owned a KTM Duke 390 and run 16,000Kms previously to Ninja 300.

I was fairly happy with the Duke; however being a tall person (185Cms), it was difficult to cruise on highways because of the wind blast and fatigue creeping in very early.

I had done Goa from Pune which is about 500Kms but wasn't comfortable after 400Kms and started tiring down because of the upright stance, hard seat and wind blast.

Moving on, it was difficult to come to a decision over a KTM RC 390 or Kawasaki Ninja 300 since I was not convinced on the faired bikes in the 600cc segment available in India (Triumph Daytona out of my budget as of now).

RC 390 MY 16 has great features to offer which are an add-on to the earlier RC 390 at almost negligible price increase-

- Front disk diameter increased to 320mm
- Slipper Clutch
- Extended mirrors for better visibility

Because of this big elephant in the room, i was required to review my need, my personality and better drive-ability (cruising comfortably) on Indian highways.

I had ridden the RC 390 before of a friends to see if it was comfortable and is the committed position OK for me to ride longer whenever I wanted to?

I wasn't comfortable. The compact tuck-in position took a toll on my legs, hard seat and too much committed position to ride hundreds of Kms.

Then came the big leap of Kawasaki Ninja 300; which almost cost me double the cost then RC 390 and had to let-go off the bizarre acceleration the KTMs have.

I won't go into the deep dive of numbers, as it those aren't convincing to buy the Ninja over the RC.

Features which I observed and felt necessary for most of the riders over RC 390 -

Special Edition MY 16
Twin Cylinder for a 296cc engine
Awesome refinement of the engine with better sounding exhaust
Miles ahead in terms of built quality, plastics and paint job
almost zero vibes even at even high speeds
bigger comfortable rider and pillion seat
Linear torque
6th gear drive-able even at low speeds
No jerks in-between corners even at high gears low speed unlike KTMs
A head-turner, better looks
Felt more grounded on the highways
Very stable at high speeds
Zero fatigue even after riding 400Kms (longest ridden uptill now)
A non-ABS bike but a 290mm petal disk work better than the KTMs coming down from high speeds.
Last but not the least, Ninja 300 is far better performer at higher RPMs which feels like a complete bike even though it costs more.

I had the budget and after a long debate and scrutiny on the need Vs feature list with fellow TBHPian friends, it had to come down to Ninja 300.

Cheers,
Amey

Hey Guys,

I am done with 6,000Kms on the Kawasaki Ninja 300 in 4 odd months and here's a quick update.

I can go on and on boasting good things about this bike but I would take this opportunity to enlighten the weaker ones I came across during my rides in the wet (Monsoons) and dry.

I completed all the initial run-in that is 1,600 Kms suggested by the OEM Kawasaki in the monsoons.

1. The tyres are the biggest flaw in the entire bike. IRC tyres give away all the grip in the wets which is dangerous for the rider at all times and for the people running on IRCs; would suggest to change them to better shoes for the bike.

I have changed the rear tyre to Michelin Pilot street Radial and upgraded the tyre to 150/60 R17 for better wide grip and is handling the bike very well. The front would also be a Michelin which I as of now have not changed to and using the same stock IRCs which are doing well in the dry.

2. Brakes is the second major flaw I found in the bike. The bike does not have ABS and is therefore very spongy. The bite that is required is lacking. One has to be careful not to depend on last minute braking as the rear brake does lock.

3. I was also surprised to see that both the brake pads (Front and Rear) have wore out and needs replacement and cost INR 4K (approx) for the pair.

Overall, a great experience with the Kwacker on the highway and on the long wide corners.

[Amey Kulkarni]

Guys,

I am looking out for a free flow exhaust for my Ninja 300 along-with a remap.

I would appreciate if you could suggest the exhaust by performance numbers you came across in your personal experiences and not by generic google reviews.

I have an MGP Growler or an IXIL Hyperlow in mind but am open to better exhausts in the similar price range.

Any suggestions?

Cheers,
Amey

[Madhav Nayak]

Originally Posted by Amey Kulkarni

Guys,

I am looking out for a free flow exhaust for my Ninja 300 along-with a remap.

I would appreciate if you could suggest the exhaust by performance numbers you came across in your personal experiences and not by generic google reviews.

I have an MGP Growler or an IXIL Hyperlow in mind but am open to better exhausts in the similar price range.

Any suggestions?

Cheers,
Amey

Hi Amey,

I do not have any real experience to provide here. I'm just an enthusiast who's very inquisitive about anything related to bikes, so I tend to read a lot - mostly on google - about the various things that govern the performance of a bike.

AFAIK, both the FFE you have mentioned come only in a slip-on variant for the Ninja 300. This leads me to a question upon looking at your choices - may I know why you are attempting this modification on your bike? Sure, a slip-on FFE drops a few kilos from your bike, maybe a tiny bump in performance, which - I can say from experience - is nearly impossible to feel unless you are competing. There is the factor of road presence, which frankly you already have, just by riding a Ninja 300.

In all the research I've done on the internet(from years), only one company seems to go through the pain of running their exhausts on a dyno and posting the results on their website - TBR. If I were to start looking, I'd look at TBR.

I'd tell you about my experience with a LV exhaust on the old 250, but LV shut down so there's no point. Apart from that, I've only heard a GPR on a Ninja 300, no Idea how it kicks the performance. Hope this is some help at least!

[Amey Kulkarni]

Originally Posted by Madhav Nayak

Hi Amey,

AFAIK, both the FFE you have mentioned come only in a slip-on variant for the Ninja 300. This leads me to a question upon looking at your choices - may I know why you are attempting this modification on your bike? Sure, a slip-on FFE drops a few kilos from your bike, maybe a tiny bump in performance, which - I can say from experience - is nearly impossible to feel unless you are competing. There is the factor of road presence, which frankly you already have, just by riding a Ninja 300.

In all the research I've done on the internet(from years), only one company seems to go through the pain of running their exhausts on a dyno and posting the results on their website - TBR. If I were to start looking, I'd look at TBR.

Thanks for the insights . You picked up very good points on the FFE that I am looking at like as a package - weight reduction, good deep thump etc.

I understand that fraction of hps are lost after installing an FFE due to the non-tuned FFE to adapt to engine properties; however, I am looking at an FFE which after re-mapping would increase hps on the bike.

TBR has posted great tests on their website but is limited, just curious to hear from the experienced clan and understand the variety/performance of FFEs available in the market.

[Madhav Nayak]

Originally Posted by Amey Kulkarni

Thanks for the insights . You picked up very good points on the FFE that I am looking at like as a package - weight reduction, good deep thump etc.

I understand that fraction of hps are lost after installing an FFE due to the non-tuned FFE to adapt to engine properties; however, I am looking at an FFE which after re-mapping would increase hps on the bike.

TBR has posted great tests on their website but is limited, just curious to hear from the experienced clan and understand the variety/performance of FFEs available in the market.

I don't know if you already know him, but there's a user on the forum by the name of @PratikPatel, who IMO is a guru on modifying the Ninja300. He is reason for about 90% of my knowledge on modifying a Ninja300. He has even posted a list of his modifications on his Ninja 300 in the Modified Indian Bikes thread. He is currently running a GPR full exhaust system on his bike and used to have a LV full system before that. He has also added an EFI tuner to his bike, so you'd really benefit from his knowledge.

[Amey Kulkarni]

Originally Posted by Madhav Nayak

I don't know if you already know him, but there's a user on the forum by the name of @PratikPatel, who IMO is a guru on modifying the Ninja300. He is reason for about 90% of my knowledge on modifying a Ninja300. He has even posted a list of his modifications on his Ninja 300 in the Modified Indian Bikes thread. He is currently running a GPR full exhaust system on his bike and used to have a LV full system before that. He has also added an EFI tuner to his bike, so you'd really benefit from his knowledge.

Thanks for sharing the link. I just went through the thread and found the exact thing what I am looking for. Pratik has got his N300 modified from Motozone, Pune.

Accordingly, I will get in touch with them.

Thanks a ton.

[Madhav Nayak]

Originally Posted by Amey Kulkarni

Thanks for sharing the link. I just went through the thread and found the exact thing what I am looking for. Pratik has got his N300 modified from Motozone, Pune.

Accordingly, I will get in touch with them.

Thanks a ton.

Anytime! Now, I hope you will update all your mods in detail here! Will be glued to the thread till then! Happy modding!

[Amey Kulkarni]

Perfect weather for a perfect ride !

Front tyre - IRC (Stock)
Rear Tyre - Michelin Pilot street radial

Location - Lavasa city

Protective Gear - MT Axis Eagle Helmet, DSG Leather racing suit, AlpineStars SMX6 full length boots, DS Moto full gauntlet gloves.

The best part about the Kwacker is that she holds herself beautifully in between corners. She gives you tremendous confidence even if you are not running on the best shoes available in the market.

Trust your bike, it will give you more than you expect from her.

Cheers,
Amey