[Xaos636]

Ninja was, and will always be a name very much alive in the heart of an automobile enthusiast, and it found a place in my heart too.

Quote from the launch of the bike : "Ninja is always seen and perceived as a high quality brand in the mind of the customer and it will always remain like that. So a cheap Ninja was never on our mind. Numbers are secondary, first priority is to make a good product"

Quoting Rohan Albal's(Powerdrift) lines in the Ninja 300 review: "We are glad that Kawasaki did not built a completely new value for money product, but instead decided to provide more value for the premium that the new Kawasaki Ninja 300 demands"



A long rewind back to 2013, when I was working for Bajaj/KTM/Kawasaki was when I got a chance to take a look at their new launch that year, the mighty Kawasaki Ninja 300. It was bold, it was beautiful and it was a big step from its predecessor, the Ninja 250R. I managed to get a few kilometers on the bike and this was when I found this was something that was tailor made for me. I had ridden a few super bikes before that, but I was not ready for them, financially. The thoughts matured and sold my 1 year old Yamaha YZF R15 version 2.0 to make funds for the Ninja 300.

Likes
- Extremely refined twin cylinder engine
- No cost cuttings, every component looks and feels like its built to last.
- The big upgrade to an Analogue-Digital instrument console. Big step from the old age looking console of the Ninja 250R.
- Brilliant heat management. KAMS(Kawasaki Air Management System) helped to deflect the hot air to the bottom of the bike, yes and it works!
- Usable pillion seat.
- The slipper clutch, aided well in quick downshifts and a very light clutch lever.
- Decent Headlights.
- Comfortable riding position.
- Superb wide rear view mirror, needs a bit of getting used to because of the design of the same.
- Huge 17L tank ensures at least 400 kilometers before a refuel.
- ECO mode which gave some unbelievable fuel economy.
- Well thought out and usable pillion grab rail which is integrated into the tail piece.

Dislikes
- Came with poor bias ply IRC tires.
- No ABS, even as an option.
- Front brakes lacked feel and feedback.
- No gear Position indicator.
- Hard pillion seat, gets a bit troublesome on long rides.
- Costly Spares.
- front tire throws everything at the radiator due to the very short front mudguard.
- Very small rear mudguard ensures the pillion as well as the rider behind you gets dirty in rain.

Bikes considered and why the Ninja ?

There weren't much bikes in the category at that time, apart from the then launched KTM Duke 390 and the already available CBR250R. I strongly believe all these 3 fall into totally different categories.

KTM 390 Duke.



Launched in 2013 June, I got the chance to ride the bike in Pune well in advance of the launch and I knew this wasn't my bread and butter. Me being used to the R15 v2 refinement, at the first ride itself I knew this wasn't my piece. It heats up like hell, and the quality of parts back then were not satisfactory to my liking, this was when comparing it with the Ninja 300 which was extremely well built. It matched the Ninja on performance though, but just performance wasn't my thing and hence decided not to go for the same.

Honda CBR 250R.



Launched in 2011, I considered this bike back in 2011 when I was buying the Yamaha R15 v2. I had test ridden both and went ahead with the Yamaha because I liked how it looks, and the committed position gave me a feel of sportiness and ditched the CBR 250R. I was in a state of mind like, 'if I dint consider it back then, I am not considering it again since its the same bike back then and fast forward now'. ABS was a trump card but still did not have enough reasons to get it over the Ninja 300. An absolute versatile machine though.

Booking experience, waiting period and delivery

The bike was booked at KTM showoom, Calicut, Kerala with a tentative waiting period of 20-30 days. Paid 1 Lakh towards booking. I knew the manager well in advance and the sales person was a childhood friend. There were already 2 more bookings for the 300 and one for the Ninja 650 at the same showroom and these bikes were ready to be dispatched from the Bajaj Chakan plant by the end of the same week. Manager being a good supportive person called up his seniors and made sure my bike is also added to the Ninja dispatches that was happening that particular week, which meant I get my bike in the next 7-14 days once the truck starts at the end of the week from Pune. The Ninja 300 comes with a standard warranty of 2 years/40,000 kms. There are no free services on offer, and there is no extended warranty.

The crate arriving with the bike inside



Unboxing



The meter screams to the 13k redline with a jet like sound and gave me goosebumps, every single time!



First look.







And finally, one of the most beautiful things that ever happened in my life. The delivery. Me being not superstitious, the manager made sure I was part of his superstitious plans. I was at the showroom from morning ready to take delivery, but the manager made sure I took delivery after 4PM due to some timing differences in the other world and he made sure I went home drenched to the core, on the delivery day itself



Technical Specifications

Engine: Four-stroke, liquid-cooled, DOHC, parallel twin.
Displacement: 296cc
Bore x Stroke: 62.0 x 49.0mm
Compression ratio: 10.6:1
Frame/Chassis: Tube diamond, Steel
Fuel System: DFI with dual 32mm throttle bodies​
Ignition: TCBI with digital advance​
Transmission: Six-speed with positive neutral finder.
Final Drive: Chain
Clutch: Assist and Slipper function.
Horsepower: 39PS @ 10,860rpm
Torque: 27nm @ 8370
Ground Clearance: 140 mm
Fuel Tank Capacity : 17 Liters
Seat Height: 785 mm
Wheelbase: 1405 mm
Kerb/Wet Weight: 172 kg
Colors: Lime Green, Pearl Stardust White
Suspension: Front: 37 mm telescopic forks.
Rear: Bottom-Link Uni-Trak with gas-charged shock and 5-way adjustable preload.
Front Tyre: 110/70-R17 M/C 54H IRC Road Winner.
Rear Tyre: 140/70-R17 M/C 66H IRC Road Winner.

The price breakup

Ex Showroom : 3,60,000/-
Road Tax : 36,540/-
Insurance(one Year, Zero Dep.) : 9887/-
Discount(Employee discount) : 14427/-

Total On Road : 3,92,000/-

Accessories Purchased

- R&G Radiator Guard
- MRA windscreen
- Galfer steel braided brake line
- EBC sintered Double-H brake pad
- OEM Kawasaki tank pad

To talk about the ride, the bike was a perfect companion for me. It made me smile every time I took her out. It never broke down, never gave me any complaints or headaches throughout the 35k kilometers that we ran together. I have had really long rides on the machine and it performed extremely well. My Bangalore - Kerala home runs were always on the 300, be it rainy, sunny or foggy. I can safely say that the bike ran 90% on highways and 10% only is city's share. Average economy on highways ranged from around 32kmpl to 38kmpl. I still remember a friend calling my bike as a splendor for less fuel stops on long runs

The seating position is identical to the CBR650F, it is very comfortable and the suspension well set up to suit all needs. Front suspension is a bit stiff compared to immediate rivals(Read Yamaha R3). The rear is pre-load adjustable and the rear seat is comfortable for the pillion. I did some 300 km per day ride with my then girl friend(now wife) because that was the limit for a pillion with the rear seat being a bit hard.The stock rear brake set up was really good and the front could do with better feedback. The steel braided lines and sintered pads did their job well in tackling this.

Thanks to the rubber mounting of handlebars and engine, the vibrations were kept to a minimal. Absolutely fantastic job there from Kawasaki. If at all I got a vibration, it was around 12,000 rpm, which I think can be ignored. It can do a 120 kph all day long. Engine never feels stressed and once you start crossing 160 is when you start feeling the limits. I haven't tried the top end stuff yet, but I would imagine it could do around 190 kph, provided you have a long stretch of safe roads. The driveability on city roads are also really good. Very less gear shifts are required, and can pull at low speeds even in higher gears. Believe it or not, it can do a 35 kph in 6th gear and twist the throttle and it lunges forward without breaking a sweat. Sweet sweet gearing. The Kawasaki Air Management System(KAMS) also works really well to keep the rider away from all the hot air from the radiator fan. Well thought design and works very well for Indian conditions.

The bike also has a not too talked about, but very helpful feature called the Positive neutral finding Technology. What it does is, once you are not in motion and in first gear, it doesn't matter how hard you shift up, it will always fall in neutral. Very helpful at signals and bumper to bumper traffic were you don't want to shut down the engine, but need to give some rest for your left hand. The bike also shuts down once in gear and the side stand in down position. You can only start the bike in gear if the side stand is up!

Handling has always been a major factor among all Ninjas. They handled well. Whatever the Ninja 250R did good, the 300 does it better. Even with a pillion, the 300 handles well. Only negative being the ground clearance. 140 mm is simply catastrophic in Indian conditions. With a pillion or with a rider above 90 kg, the bike bottoms out and how ! It doesn't bottom out on the header area, but the oil pan! Have seen innumerable replacements for oil pan of Ninja 300. I have even suggested them to change the design of the oil pan for the Indian variant but they weren't interested. The drain bolt is what gets hit first and cracks open leading to oil leak. One should be extremely careful when riding with a pillion.

I had ridden it for around 35k kilometers, changed chain sprocket kit at 23k kilometers with Rolon X ring chain, which I bought directly from Rolon saving some few thousands. Damper hub and wheel bearing were changed just to be on the safer side. Wheel bearings cost 600/- each and a whooping 5k for damper hub.

One noticeable bad thing which happened was the fogging of instrument console. A little research helped me in knowing that this is a common issue. I had difficulty in getting this approved through warranty and had to go directly to the then Head of KTM/Kawasaki for the south, Mr. Prakhar who helped me to get the meter changed under warranty. This was just before the warranty completion period of 2 years. Another shock of my life was when I saw the cost of the meter. It was Rs.39,000 and was made in India by Pricol. Got a reality check when I dialed up some friends and confirmed that some super bikes' meter costs less than half of this. What am I riding then ? The service guys made it clear that I would be replacing this myself if the warranty was over. Wait! What ? I will have to shell out 39k for replacing meter if not under warranty! A little more research showed that 99% of the part prices were in super bike category, some even in the super car category. Radiator costs 26k, Front disc was 24k, not to mention the chassis was a good 1.6 Lakhs. Heck, the silencer shield was 7k. This was when I became extremely careful in Bangalore traffic and never used to park it anywhere. But all the financial fiasco made sure I was going to depart from the bike, perhaps never again a Kawasaki unless they reduce the spare part prices.

I sold my beauty to a very close friend and he still rides it around with a smile on his face. Very recently, the replaced meter's back-light went kaput. I don't know what is wrong with Pricol, providing sub-standard product and Kawasaki's pricing makes it worse. My emails directly to Pricol were never answered. This was the turn of events and I used my sister's Yamaha Ray for commuting 50 km of Bangalore traffic which was not a very good experience.

NOTE: The spare part prices of Ninja 300 is not high anymore as it used to be, thanks to local manufacturing of certain parts. Engine though, still is imported from Thailand.
I have lost many of the pics of N300 thanks to the death of my hard disc. The lovely pics from Goa and Pune remains in my heart.


The radiator Guard.


At a KTM service centre. 1 mech and myself were the only ones who worked on the bike till it was in my possession.


Usual Bangalore-Kerala home runs.






The EBC brake pad and the Galfer brake line.


Twinning


Near Big Rock Dirt Park of our very own CS Santhosh.


The Kawasaki OEM tank pad for Ninja 300. Bought from a showroom in UK.





Some track day actions. These are at the Kari Motor Speedway, Coimbatore.













The Diablo Rosso II. Good in dry, but felt the Michelins were much better than these in rain.






The need for a bike still persisted very high inside after the sale of Ninja 300 and Yamaha Ray was too small for me. I got hold of a sparingly used Honda CBR250R C-ABS for the time being till my next move, in the very rare Pearl Heron Blue color. It was still shod with the below par stock Continental tires and I immediately changed them to Michelin Pilot Street Radials.



I rode the bike for just around 6 months and 11k kilometers and then sold it off when the multi-cylinder bug again bit me. The bike served me extremely well, it never heated up in even the peak traffic, had exceptional brakes with ABS, best in class pillion comfort and what not. The bad bits were it looked dated, lots of gear shifts needed(could get used to it) and poor low end grudge for my liking.

[Xaos636]

Opened up the financial book again and got myself a Midnight Black Yamaha YZF R3.



I have always been a Yamaha fan from the R15 days. If R3 was available at the time when I bought the Ninja 300, I would have definitely gone with the R3. But thanks to Yamaha, I got to experience a Ninja. I will pen down the review comparing the R3 with the Ninja 300.

At the time of writing this review, the bike is now around 3 years and 24,500 km old.

Likes
- Very linear power delivery
- Excellent braking(Non-ABS), superb feel, feedback and bite.
- Well refined engine.
- Loaded instrument console. Big change coming from Ninja 300 and CBR 250R.
- Decent build quality
- Reverse slant dual headlights looks and works brilliant
- Suspension is Perfect for city and long tours alike. Track masters will need stiffer suspension.
- Easy on the pocket service costs
- Cheaper spares

Dislikes
- Poorly designed radiator shrouds throws the heat right at the rider's legs.
- Pillion seat is high as well as small. No grab rails whatsoever.
- Low fuel economy in the city, smaller tank makes it worse.
- Substandard Service centers.
- Hard clutch lever(Compared to Ninja 300), but can get used to it. Very much noticeable if riding the Ninja 300 and R3 back to back.
- Comes with MRF tires as stock. It did not feel surefooted, at least for me.

Bikes considered

Since this was a multi cylinder need, I did weigh up my options on the Yamaha YZF R3 and the Ninja 650.

Kawasaki Ninja 650.



Ticked all the right boxes, similar Fuel economy as the R3 inside the city, a sports tourer, extremely comfortable for the pillion as well, great pricing for a 650 but the service costs and after sales nightmare caught me thinking on this. The talk of Bajaj/Kawasaki split were also in the running and getting the bike to Kawasaki Bangalore service is something I never liked. They were never straight forward nor convincing in any of my dealings with them in my Ninja 300 days. The exorbitant spares and service costs were also a big concern. So the 650 was out of the list quickly.

Booking Experience and Delivery.

Booked the bike at Orion Motors, Koramangala in late 2015 and told them to get the midnight black color. Remember this will be a daily use bike and I did not want any kind of attention that I got for my 300. They did deliver the bike as promised, in black after the rest of the money was transferred to them online. The delivery was nothing great to talk about. Just entered the showroom, the sales person went in search of service book which took a lot of time. Bike comes with a standard warranty of 2 years/30,000 km with no options to extend the warranty.

Later a person from service came and showed me the meter and its functioning(most of which were wrong/he was ill informed) and he started the bike in neutral. What he did just made me angry. He started revving the bike till redline, a couple of times and I had to intervene and switch off the bike. I asked him what was he doing and told him its not good to do such redlining on a brand new bike which has only 1 km on the odometer. He said he knows stuff and that practice is when the bike is in gear and moving and you can rev the bike till redline when it is in neutral.
There was no point of arguing there and we left quickly without even taking a pic. I was sure I was never going back there, ever!

NOTE: Fast forward 2018, Orion Yamaha has shut down and replaced by Orion Suzuki.

The price breakup

Ex Showroom : 3,29,000/-
Road Tax : 33,000/-
Insurance(one Year, Zero Dep.) : 8900/-

Total On Road : 3,70,900/-

Technical Specifications

Engine Type: Liquid Cooled 4 Stroke DOHC Inline twin Cylinder.

Displacement: 321cc

Power - 42PS at 10,750 rpm

Torque - 29.6NM at 9,000 rpm

Frame/Chassis: Tube diamond, Steel

Throttle Body: 32 mm

Compression Ratio: 11.2:1

Transmission: 6 Speed gearbox with Chain Drive.

Seat Height: 780 mm

Ground Clearance: 160 mm

Brakes: Front 298 mm with twin piston caliper. Rear 220 mm with single piston caliper.

Wheels and Tyres:
Front - 110/70-17M/C 54H (Tubeless)
Rear - 140/70-17M/C 66H (Tubeless)

Fuel Tank: 14 Litres

Weight: 169 kg

Suspension: Front: 41 mm Kayaba Telescopic forks.
Rear: Kayaba shock with 7 way preload adjustable.


There are only a selected few dealers that is trained to work on the R3 in Bangalore. Its even more less in Kerala. The first service was done from Bangalore Wheels, Rajajinagar. Yes, went so far because I have heard good review about them from some owners. I did not want to screw things up at Orion. Went there at 8 in the morning and there were already some 20 bikes and scooters in queue. Waited, waited and finally at 10, a service adviser walks up. I went for the service directly after the night shift and the plan was to get the vehicle serviced, get back home by noon, sleep and go to office the same night. I had called the then service manager Mr. Sampath the day before and he had promised me the service would take only an hour as its a mere oil changing exercise and nothing else. I waited, I saw 3 full English movies at their customer lounge, slept some 2 hours there itself and after numerable questions asked, the bike was ready by 4:30PM only.

Whats more frustrating was that there was a guy who came in the R3 by 12 noon, got oil and oil filter changed right in front of my eyes, paid bill, got the bike back and left. It was like 20 minutes. He probably had contacts at the right end. The service manager had no answer to my question why he went so early and why I was kept waiting. Finally done, dusted and exhausted, the low bill of 1200/- failed to bring a smile on my face and I stepped into the peak traffic riding from Rajajinagar to Whitefield.

The next few services were well thought out. Dropped the bike there and came back in the evening to get her. Thanks to Bangalore Wheels, couple of the left side fairing clips are broken and missing, and one on the right was broken and hanging. I came to know about this very recently after once I disassembled myself only to see missing clips on the left and broken one on the right. Did fiber welding and it is holding itself now. Too small of an issue for a full fairing replacement. Once the warranty was over, she never went to a Yamaha service center. She now gets all the works done at Highlander, HSR by a trusted mechanic. The mechanic himself arranges the spares from a Yamaha dealer directly, thereby saving my headaches.

Accessories Purchased

Spiegler brake lines for both front and rear brakes

The Cockpit

The riders triangle is a bit different compared to Ninja 300, with the rider on the R3 sit a bit more upright than on a Ninja 300. Handlebars are placed a bit up and the seat is 5mm lower, both aiding in the touring friendly characteristic of the bike. The instrument console is brilliant with a large analogue dial for tachometer, with rest everything digital. The console displays information like

1. Digital speedometer
2. Clock
3. Fuel Level Indicator
4. Gear position Indicator
5. Coolant Temperature Indicator
6. Multi function display (more on this later)
7. Shift timing indicator light
8. 2 Trip meters
9. A third trip meter for oil change
10. Reserve fuel trip meter
11. Neutral Indicator
12. High beam indicator
13. Odometer
14. Instantaneous Fuel Consumption Display
15. Average Fuel Consumption Display
16. Adjustable Shift timing indicator Light(Can be adjusted from 7000 rpm to 13500 rpm)
17. Turn indicators
18. Engine malfunction indicator
19. Engine Oil pressure indicator
20. Brightness can be adjusted

Engine

The engine makes a good 41.4BHP and just a shade under 30NM torque from the 321cc twin cylinder and boy does it scream. It has very linear power delivery and you are in triple digits before you know it. Being a twin, it keeps its power till the red line, and the torque is well available from as low as 3000rpm. Even below it you aren't feeling let down by any means, just that there is a noticeable pull above it as well as above 7500rpm. Take a pillion with you an it just does what it does best. There is no performance drop of any kind noticed with a pillion. One thing I noticed are the vibrations. There are mild vibrations around 5000rpm and then high up the rev-range. You can feel a buzz on the handlebar and on the footrest. Rubber footrests could have helped here a bit, but nothing alarming. Its just getting used to as the vibes are very mild and hardly noticeable.

The bike heats up just like a Ninja 300 in traffic but the rider feels the heat more on an R3 because the heat is deflected right onto the calf area of the rider, and further into the knees in the long traffic runs. But I am not complaining at all. It is still very manageable and the temperature meter hardly goes to 4 bars and if at all it does, it quickly gets back to 3 bars with its exceptional cooling system.

I have used the bike for numerous long runs through highways and I am happy to report that that is where the bikes shines with all its light. I can take a pillion too. The suspension being soft perfectly handles the undulations on the road. Rider will notice a lot of suspension action if around 100 kph and with a pillion. Pillion also wont break the back due to the softly sprung rear suspension which takes all the undulations really well. This I felt(highway capability) was much better handled by the R3 than the Ninja 300. The windshield does a decent job of handling the wind, but a double bubble screen could help further in reducing the wind blast. The machine climbs speed extremely well and will break the 150 kph barrier without breaking a sweat. Similar to the Ninja 300, I expect the top speed to be around the 190 kph mark, which is astonishing for a bike in this class.

Ride & Handling

As I said before, the handling is spot on and the bike can do 100-150 kph all day long. The bikes set up and 50-50 weight distribution is tailor made for touring and doing city duties. You will need rear sets, stiffer springs up front and a new shock at the rear if you want to take this to do serious track days. The suspension is too soft to handle track racing, but it can still do a decent job with the stock setup on an open track day, but still the low footrest will start biting the road as your lean angle increases. The whole set up is really good for daily rides, as I do 50 km a day very comfortably on the Yamaha R3. The seating posture is better than a Ninja 300 for daily usage as the handlebars are a bit higher and the riders seat 5 mm lower than the 300 which makes you fell extremely comfortable on the saddle.
One better thing on the R3 is ground clearance. 160mm is sufficient to tackle our tall speed breakers and deep potholes.

Brakes and Tires

The front is equipped with a 298 mm disc with a twin piston caliper and the rear is equipped with a 220 mm disc with a single piston caliper. The calipers are from Akebono and not sure why they decided to ditch Nissin. Even the R15 v3 ditched Nissin in favor of Bybre. R3 comes with rubber hoses and doesn't have ABS either(ABS model was launched at 2018 auto expo). There were a lot of reviews saying the ABS model have spongy brakes, but that's not the case with Non-ABS model. It has tremendous feel and feedback, but lacked the bite. I changed to Spiegler steel braided brake lines and this issue was sorted for the good.

The tires which came stock were MRF's(2018 model gets Metzeler). These were kind of decent tires for daily use, but anything more and it tends to lose itself. I changed them to Metzeler M5, with the rear up-sized to 150/60/17 from 140/70/17. These are exceptional tires and does the job extremely well. Good at wet and dry, superb cornering grip as well compared to stock MRF's. I still feel the Michelin Pilot Street radials were better than Metzeler in the wet conditions, but that could go on a healthy debate as some fellow R3 owners doesn't agree to that.

Fuel efficiency

Fuel efficiency I get is around 18-20 kpl inside Bangalore City and on the highways I get around 24-30 kpl depending on how I twist the throttle. Compared to Ninja, these numbers are less. The tank range is also quite less compared to 400 km plus on the Ninja.

Recall

The R3 certainly did have a bit of ups and downs with separate recalls, but better do it than never. I am happy that Yamaha decided to recall even 3 year old bikes to correct certain procedures. The process all went so smooth and got good backing and gifts from Yamaha as a token of appreciation.

The first recall was due to defective fuel tank bracket and power switch. The second recall which was very recent was to change the torsion spring and one radiator hose which as per them could develop a leak. All these were done free of cost.
The recent recall regarding the torsion spring, even though Yamaha India says it did not have any cases of torsion spring failures in India, I know a handful of people who had replaced the same before the recall. The issue happens when the gears refuse to shift or the gears get stuck in any of the lower gears and unable to shift further. Anyway, better late than never. Thank you Yamaha !

The Instrument console







Park light





The headlights



Headlights in Dim Mode



Headlights in Bright Mode



LED tail light when the key is on



LED tail light when the brakes are pressed



Left side switches. Normal as any other bike. Comprises of indicators, horn, dim/bright switch and flash switch.



Right side switches. Just has the Kill switch and Self start button.



Foot-peg and heel guard design. Foot-peg is aluminum and looks really good, just like the other bikes in R series. The right side heel guard heats up in bumper to bumper traffic on the R3 and its noticeable if you wear anything other than shoes. R25 uses a heel guard with holes drilled in it. That would help for better heat dissipation. Not sure why this part is different on R25 and R3.

The R3 foot-peg design. Notice the big aluminium heel guard without holes.



The R25 foot-peg design. The heel guard with holes on the Yamaha R25 sold in Indonesia.



Rear Seat Removed



Both seats removed



With both seats in position



Rear Spiegler brake line. Notice the elephant barely visible on the Metzeler.



Front Spiegler brake line. Notice the color of the lines match with the color of the bike. Red and black theme.







Tank Pad and mirrors. Mirrors are just about decent. It shows a part of your elbows too.





Tire pressure decal on the swing arm



Yamaha decal on the front fender





The 3D emblem on the tank

[Xaos636]

The R3 has been a consistent performer all these years. I use Motul 7100 10W40 FS oil for the bike and i do change the oil filter along with it every single time. I keep a strict interval of 4000-5000km per oil change. The required quantity is 2.1L as per the manual. Chain sprocket was once changed at 20k kms, which costs around 6.5k. The rest of the bike is still stock and running on original factory parts

The key chains



A foggy morning near Electronic City



When it went for the very recent recall.



The old radiator hose which was changed under recall.









The replaced Torsion spring is below



T shirt given as part of the recall. Yamaha also borne the cost of a full oil change and clutch cover gasket change under this recall.


My Lids. They have a company of Alpinestars T-GP Plus Air, TBG Sport Gloves and Dainese TR Course Out Air Boots.










At a night ride to Salem, TN.



Some random pictures




















Ending with the same pic as the start

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Motorcycle Section. Thanks for sharing!

[ashwinprakas]

I believe we've ridden together circa 2012.



Small world huh?

Congratulations on the R3!

Ride Safe,
A.P.

[Xaos636]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

I believe we've ridden together circa 2012.

Attachment 1872953

Small world huh?

Congratulations on the R3!

Ride Safe,
A.P.

Spot on man. It took me long to get here. Absolutely happy to see you here.
Ride safe

[saishivaj]

Lovely review. R3 was one of the most desirable bikes when launched.

I too trust Highlander, HSR for my bikes, specially the CBR250R. Karthik from highlander is a wonderful mechanic.

[gauravanekar]

I might have seen your bike in Highlander in dec 2018, One black R3 was getting Spiegler brake lines. As I watched it took almost 2 hours to bleed the brake fluid. Back breaking work that is.

[aabhimanyu04]

Hey buddy, what a detailed review! Loved the pics of your track day.
I feel Ninja 300 is more confidence inspiring (>R3) around corners.
I also ride a 2017 R3 mostly in Bangalore ORR ( long ride to my office). Having done 17K on the ODO, I can say your review is almost what I would have written, here are few more observations on the bike

1. I am on Pilot street from day one (got them exchanged with the MRFs) and I feel the wet grip is strictly average (comparing with the Metz on my D390), I have heard good feedback on the Rosso 2, maybe I need to try them once

2. Super hard Pillion seat is a strict no for pillion on long or short rides ( no grab rails make things worse), with the new regulations this might be added to the newer lot of bikes

3. Be careful with the battery usage ( switch off from key for engine off, do not use the kill switch as it keeps the headlight on), mine conked in the first 6 months and I had to run around for warranty claim.

4. Rear view mirrors are only to 'view' your arms, maybe I am exaggerating, well ok, 40% of the rear view at max, there is a mirror extender for our bikes available in the market, I am yet to try that.

By the way, let us know how much of a difference the brake liners made.

[Xaos636]

Originally Posted by saishivaj

Lovely review. R3 was one of the most desirable bikes when launched.
I too trust Highlander, HSR for my bikes, specially the CBR250R. Karthik from highlander is a wonderful mechanic.

Thank you. Agree, Karthik is a great mechanic. He does a brilliant job in all the bikes that he works upon.

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

I might have seen your bike in Highlander in dec 2018, One black R3 was getting Spiegler brake lines. As I watched it took almost 2 hours to bleed the brake fluid. Back breaking work that is.

Yes, that would be my bike. And yeah, sometimes it takes a lot of time to bleed the brakes and make it perfect. The mechanic knows my attention to detail and he usually makes sure I don't come back with the same issue.

Originally Posted by aabhimanyu04

Hey buddy, what a detailed review! Loved the pics of your track day.
I feel Ninja 300 is more confidence inspiring (>R3) around corners.
I also ride a 2017 R3 mostly in Bangalore ORR ( long ride to my office). Having done 17K on the ODO, I can say your review is almost what I would have written, here are few more observations on the bike

1. I am on Pilot street from day one (got them exchanged with the MRFs) and I feel the wet grip is strictly average (comparing with the Metz on my D390), I have heard good feedback on the Rosso 2, maybe I need to try them once

2. Super hard Pillion seat is a strict no for pillion on long or short rides ( no grab rails make things worse), with the new regulations this might be added to the newer lot of bikes

3. Be careful with the battery usage ( switch off from key for engine off, do not use the kill switch as it keeps the headlight on), mine conked in the first 6 months and I had to run around for warranty claim.

4. Rear view mirrors are only to 'view' your arms, maybe I am exaggerating, well ok, 40% of the rear view at max, there is a mirror extender for our bikes available in the market, I am yet to try that.

By the way, let us know how much of a difference the brake liners made.

Thank you. Yes, the Ninja 300 is better on the track, provided both are in stock condition.

1. I am guessing that your Duke 390 came with W rated Metzeler M5 tires which are miles better than Michelin's in any given condition. The Metzeler M5 which is H rated might be a bit less grippier than the W rated ones, and I am using an H rated one. Again, these are negligible differences if any unless you are putting it to test the metal.

2. Agree. The Yamaha MT-03 gets grab rails from the company and I don't think the R3 is going to get that anytime soon. Even if it gets, it wont be a difficult job for Yamaha since they just have to copy paste from MT25/MT-03. Even the new 2019 model has the same tail section.





3. Yes I am aware of that since Ninja days. Ninja 300 has the same setup. I hardly use the kill switch.

4. Agree. I have ridden an R3 with extenders fitted for the mirror. It works well, but the mirrors had become too long for my liking. Currently I have found a position where I can see the vehicles behind with almost 90% visibility, but again, you might have to bend the elbow a little.

The steel braided brake liners are a must if you ask me. I have had steel lines for my R15, Ninja 300 and now the R3. They have better braking response, better bite and feedback, longer life compared to rubber hoses and doesn't expand like the rubber hoses under hard braking. I believe the company itself recommends to change the rubber hoses every 2 years.

[Xaos636]

Had two minds after the removal of decals and it got me thinking again. After going through Indian version of R3 parts catalog, I came to know that I cannot get the decals separately and I have to replace the whole fairing to get the decals since the fairing comes with decals pre-installed. I made a quick research and found that everywhere except India, the decals are available separately. Made some quick calls and got them hand carried to India by a friend coming from the USA after ordering it through Yamaha Parts House website.

Indian parts catalog showing no part number for decals.



Yamaha Parts House site(USA) showing decals as separate parts.



This is how it came. Packed well and made in Indonesia just like most of the other parts





Pics after sticking

[aabhimanyu04]

Originally Posted by Xaos636

Had two minds after the removal of decals and it got me thinking again.

I must say the bike looks better with the decals, you will not regret this move at all. I hope you got the rear seat decals too.

[Xaos636]

Originally Posted by aabhimanyu04

I must say the bike looks better with the decals, you will not regret this move at all. I hope you got the rear seat decals too.

Well I had the rear seat decals too and I tore them away just yesterday . Somehow not a fan of that 320 sticker. Would have looked better with just the red lines.

[razrman]

Brilliant in-depth review of the beautiful machine. I got my R3 last year and couldn't agree more to all the things mentioned. The best thing I love is the linear power delivery in any gear. I think it looks stunning in black, although I had to settle for the blue since black was not available.

[neil.jericho]

What a lovely thread! Hope you keep updating it and sharing your experiences with us. I think you are the only person I know of in India who has owned the Kawasaki Ninja 300, the Honda CBR250R and the Yamaha R3. A few years ago, I was pursuing the option of buying a Ninja 300 or a R3 but it wasnt to be. The decal-ed black R3 was just the way I would have had mine if I had actually decided to buy the Yamaha.