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12th September 2024, 13:33 | #1 |
BHPian Join Date: Feb 2020 Location: Bangalore
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| The Kawaii-saki - Life with my Kawasaki Ninja 300 PreludeI never really had that defining moment, the one that makes a person fall head over heels for everything automotive. For me, it wasn’t about choosing to love vehicles; it was more like I was born into it. Even in my earliest memories, I had a sizable Hot Wheels collection and spoke to my yellow plastic tricycle as if it were a friend rather than a piece of plastic. Growing up with a father who could only hold a conversation if it was about a vehicle meant that rejecting the allure of automobiles was never really an option. Learning to ride our Yamaha RX135 at the age of 10, just a few weeks after I had the trainer wheels removed from my bicycle opened up the next frontier of my life. How my father had the confidence to let his smaller than average 10 year old ride his prized possession without me ever asking? I will never know neither undertsand but that's how it worked in my family. Never really had the chance to not be a gear head. The first time my father let go of the handlebar and I was the one changing gears, I remember going "Yup, this is what I will be doing for the rest of my life". I never let my youthful exuberance allow me to do something moronic on the bike and end up in a ditch (touch wood) not because I was especially mature or calm headed but rather partially because the thought of "hurting" my bike due to my stupidity made me sick in the stomach AND my dad had done enough of that in his youth and listening to his stories was enough for me stay away from walking in his footsteps. Point being I had build up enough trust over the past decade for the following set of events to take place. Circa 2019, I had been riding the RX for about 10 years and I was in the first year of my undergrads (mechanical engineering, obviously) when my dad, as usual without me ever asking, goes "We should probably a new bike?" Sure? why not? I wouldn't mind riding a bike which does not do power wheelies in second gear and at least has disc brakes. The SearchMy riding experience of 10 years at that point was made up entirely of a single bike. A 2005 Yamaha RX135 (with very short stints on the Aprilia SR150 which my dad had gotten for himself) and what I had failed to understand is that A 2 stroke 135cc bike is a deeply frustrating bike to upgrade from. We initially presumed a sporty 150CC bike would be a nice upgrade so we test rode the quintessential 150CC bike, The Bajaj Pulsar 150 and well, that was underwhelming. I initially thought it was broken. Where was the pick up? where was the feeling of intensity? It sure is a very comfortable bike but it felt like I was riding a machine which was half as powerful as the noisy 2-stroke from the 90s. We realized very quickly that if we wanted to upgrade, we had to really move up the CC/HP class. By a lot. Let me list out the list of bikes considered in rapid fire below-
The Ownership ExperienceThe baby Kawi was brought home and in the twisted way life works, the lockdown struck a literal day later. Once the lockdown was over though, we rode and went everywhere. The Ninja now has done a little over 11k KM, not a lot but good enough with a highway/city ratio of 75/25 and here are my pros and cons- The pros:
The Mediocre:
The Ground Clearance GremlinI ended meeting my girlfriend who loved the bike but I always had to literally plan out the route and the location to filter out roads with massive road humps or bad potholes, which was not sustainable. That combined with Namma Bengaluru roads slowly devolving into a cratered Dakar rally wannabe hellscape meant something had to change and Bengaluru was not going to budge. After a simple search found out a TeamBHP-ian (Thanks Paavan Shetty) had the same issue on his Ninja and made suspension linkages which raised the bike and fixed the issue. Ordered his 174mm GC kit and now? The bike which could not handle basic road humps now has mild offroading abilities! Pillion + luggage and a cartoon like road bump? Some mild off-roading to reach the final view point? A piece of cake. The increased raised rear does mean it corners a bit better and the seating is a tad bit more committed. Handlebar raisers planned for my dad who dislikes the newer position. Rubber TalkThe stock tire is a MRF, do not remember which ones, do not care and if anyone plans on buying a Ninja 300, the first thing I would recommend is for them to drive to the nearest tire shop and get a pair of Metzies or Apollos (or something better). The difference between the stock tires and the pair of decent ones is just night and day and is perhaps the best upgrade you can make to the bike. I had to up-size the rear to 150 section Apollos because I could not source 140 sections from anywhere (not even sure if they make it) but if I could, I would keep the stock size. Up-sizing is very common on this bike and I do not think it's a worthwhile change. There is barely any change if any in grip levels but what you can certainly feel is the increased rotating mass which makes the bike a tad bit sluggish. If I can, I would be reverting to stock size once my current pair wears out provided I can find good tires. (Recommendations appreciated!). Upgrades/AdditionsApart from a pair of frame sliders, I do not really see myself making any changes to the dynamics of the bike. I believe the engineers who made the bike knew what they were doing and there is no point in meddling with the delicate balance they have set up (except for the GC, which I was compelled to change and front suspension). I would upgrade the front suspension to get a slightly firmer shock if I could but that's easier said than done as most of the after market options are a bit shady and lack the details I would need before making the purchase. The bike is bone stock except for the linkages and a PPF coating for now with the chance of getting handle bar raisers and better brake pads+lines in the future but I am on the fence about that as I would be taking the bike to the track (MMRT or Kari) and the raised handlebars might make it difficult to tuck in. Closing ThoughtsWould I recommend the Ninja to someone in the market for a twin? Yes! er- Maybe? For a lakh more, you get the RS457 which is a better bike in almost every aspect, apart from maybe reliability and even that's a maybe considering Aprilia do not make inherently unreliable bikes either. For a little lesser, you get the KTM 390 twins which might have more tech and is more powerful but you lose a cylinder. There are a multitude of options in the market now. When I bought the bike half a decade ago, It was either a Ninja, the R3 or the Benelli TNT300. Today? we have a 40 BHP bike starting at 1.8L INR, We have Triumphs, An entry level Aprilia supersport, a new generation of the R3 and some cannibalism in the form of the Ninja 400/500. PS: Despite trying to keep this write up as unbiased as I could, this section is going to have some personal bias so bear with me. There is no running away from the fact that you are inherently paying ~4.3L INR on-road here in Bangalore for a bike which is over a decade old but what this bike have is heart. Lots and lots of heart. In a world where new age unapologetic technology often overshadows seasoned demure and elegance, the Kawasaki Ninja 300 stands as a testament to the allure of simplicity and spirit. Though the baby Kawi may be ancient in today’s fleet, its age does not diminish its essence, rather, it continues to offer a blend of reliability and passion for those who seek an entry-level twin with a heart full of racing dreams, enduring charm and wanderlust. Sometimes, perhaps we should start looking beyond the spec sheet to get reminded that true greatness is not bound by time but by the heart of the ride. On a more realistic note though, LOCALIZE THE DAMN NINJA 400 KAWASAKI. A few parting shots! Cheers! Last edited by Nayra : 12th September 2024 at 13:50. Reason: Typo |
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The following 31 BHPians Thank Nayra for this useful post: | abatabyal, ach1lles, anivy, AtheK, bf1983, chiefpk, Cyborg, drrajasaravanan, FlankerFury, GTO, HTC, KarthikK, Kashief, Mr.Ogre, mugen_pinaki27, neil.jericho, Omkar, Paavan Shetty, pachchu77, pugram, PurpleTitanium, Rahulkool, raihan, Rev2Serenity, sanjayrozario, Shur'tugal, Skyline_GT, SS338, t3rm1n80r, V.Max, WalterWhite |
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12th September 2024, 17:01 | #2 |
BHPian Join Date: Jul 2023 Location: Chennai
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| Re: The Kawaii-saki - Life with my Kawasaki Ninja 300 Very Well compiled post. Congrats and wishing you a lots of miles on the Ninja. Cheers |
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The following BHPian Thanks Spikky-ZX Throt for this useful post: | Nayra |
12th September 2024, 21:39 | #3 |
BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Mumbai
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| Re: The Kawaii-saki - Life with my Kawasaki Ninja 300 Congrats on getting the baby Ninja. The Ninja 300 was my first love when I was lusting after sports bikes. My friend was getting his brothers Ninja 300 and that was the first time I rode it some 9 years ago ! I was already dreaming about 'borrowing' the Ninja from my friend but the bugger decided not to accept the bike as his brother refused to take money for the bike. That's something I have been unable to forgive my friend for all these years !! |
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The following BHPian Thanks bf1983 for this useful post: | Nayra |
13th September 2024, 09:57 | #4 | |
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| Re: The Kawaii-saki - Life with my Kawasaki Ninja 300 Quote:
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The following 2 BHPians Thank V.Max for this useful post: | Paavan Shetty, t3rm1n80r |
13th September 2024, 10:28 | #5 |
BHPian Join Date: Aug 2024 Location: Pune
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| Re: The Kawaii-saki - Life with my Kawasaki Ninja 300 Wow, nice addition to your garage! Completely agree to your point on not meddling with the stock options provided with the bike. The engineers at R&D department of OEMs are far more reliable than the after market folks (not saying they are always untrustworthy!). OEMs know the true dynamics and invest a lot in making the bikes market ready, plus you have ARAI to validate the product before it hits the market, which is not the case with after market updates. |
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13th September 2024, 15:24 | #6 | |
BHPian Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Bangalore
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| Re: The Kawaii-saki - Life with my Kawasaki Ninja 300 Quote:
Recently I launched similar linkages for the mighty Ninja 650 too. The results for that bike is like day and night difference in handling as the stock bike is too softly sprung, especially at the rear (comparatively the Ninja 300 is a bit balanced at the rear in the stock form which is why with the linkage changes it becomes noticeably stiffer). The linkages have transformed the bike's handling from understeer to what I call as agile steering (neutral in technical terms). In stock form the bike used to understeer heavily in long fast sweeping turns and used to feel heavy to steer in day to day traffic usage. All that is history with the linkages that I have designed to increase the GC to 150mm (from 130mm in stock form). Absolutely enjoyed the bike after the linkage modifications. No more it feels handful under hard acceleration in mid corner and in traffic situations. We need more and more technical upgrades (apart from the regular Exhaust upgrades) to be available in India; Designed and Developed in India for the end users to experience the elevated fun factor with the same! | |
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The following 2 BHPians Thank Paavan Shetty for this useful post: | anivy, pugram |
16th September 2024, 09:42 | #7 | |
Newbie Join Date: Aug 2024 Location: Bengaluru
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| Re: The Kawaii-saki - Life with my Kawasaki Ninja 300 Quote:
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3rd October 2024, 22:11 | #8 |
BHPian Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: YNR(HR), Delhi
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| Re: The Kawaii-saki - Life with my Kawasaki Ninja 300
Beautiful write up. Loved reading it. Makes me real happy to see people owning their lovely motorcycles and having a great time. Wishing you unlimited safe miles on this. What's your riding gear collection by the way? |
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4th October 2024, 09:34 | #9 |
BHPian Join Date: Sep 2021 Location: Sydney, Mumbai
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| Re: The Kawaii-saki - Life with my Kawasaki Ninja 300 Even though I have moved on from this class, and there are newer offerings in this category, for me Ninja 300 is still most relevant and the bike to buy in this category. I am in the process of buying a couple of them for my track days. Then engine, chassis and the gearbox are a delight and to this date there are not many options that are as refined and reliable as the Ninja 300. |
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The following BHPian Thanks Mr.Ogre for this useful post: | Nayra |
4th October 2024, 15:57 | #10 |
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| Re: The Kawaii-saki - Life with my Kawasaki Ninja 300
You've put me on the spot there- Helmet - LS2 THUNDER C Jacket - Rynox Tornado Pro IV Gloves - Rynox Urban X Pants - Rynox Air GT Boots - Falco Liberty 2.1 Ironically for someone with a blue Ninja, my gear is almost entirely Kawi neon green. |
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The following BHPian Thanks Nayra for this useful post: | chiefpk |