[Rocky_Balboa]

Nice pics Aditya, glad to hear about the pouch contents. The disc lock looks purposeful and Your love for the steed shows in the pics man.

Pity K&N gave only one sticker

[abhinav.s]

Great pics Aditya!! The combo of Red R-15 and Green Ninja look great in the pics. And some really good shots with a P&S cam.

Did you come back on Sat itself? If so not sure why there was so much of traffic entering Bangalore. Normally Sunday evenings are a nightmare.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

The storage pouch is for a basic medical kit, puncture repair kit, water bottle, camera, tissues, hand sanitizer, etc.

waist pouch or rear-seat tied carry stuff?

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by Rocky_Balboa

Nice pics Aditya, glad to hear about the pouch contents. The disc lock looks purposeful and Your love for the steed shows in the pics man. Pity K&N gave only one sticker

Thanks Kandan. Some peace of mind now that I have the disc alarm lock.

I got 2 stickers with the K&N but the other one is white. And I dont want too many stickers on the bike yet.

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Great pics Aditya!! Did you come back on Sat itself? If so not sure why there was so much of traffic entering Bangalore. Normally Sunday evenings are a nightmare.

Thanks Abhi. Yes we came back the same day. It was around 2pm I reckon when we were entering Bangalore and the traffic was chaotic, thanks to the Metro work. We didnt take the NICE road this time since its a very long detour on the way back home.

Originally Posted by Sheel

waist pouch or rear-seat tied carry stuff?

Its actually a small shoulder bag but I tie it down to the rear seat with bungee cords. I dont carry a backpack since it blocks the heat extraction vents on my jacket.

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by Sheel

waist pouch or rear-seat tied carry stuff?

Looks like rear-seat tied from the pics posted. Only worry if rear-seat tied is bouncing off the speed breakers which are one too many on the B'lore-Mysore SH

EDIT: Just noticed Aditya has posted few mins before me

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Looks like rear-seat tied from the pics posted. Only worry if rear-seat tied is bouncing off the speed breakers which are one too many on the B'lore-Mysore SH

It doesnt bounce off. There are bungee hooks provided under the rear tail for tying bungee cords. The bungee cords have hooks too. Works perfectly and sits tightly. I check before I ride and the bag is always strapped on tightly.... can be dangerous if otherwise, considering i mostly ride at 120+kmph. The ninja is a perfect bike for solo touring. Even a backpack can be tied down to the rear seat safely. One can use a bungee net (with hooks) in addition to the cords if required.

The R15 however has only one bungee hook under the rear seat.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

The R15 however has no bungee hooks under the rear seat.

It has hooks, though am unsure of the purpose.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by Sheel

It has hooks, though am unsure of the purpose.

It does but under the rear seat and only on one side. My friend was trying to tie his bag to the rear seat but it would slip since there is only a hook on one side. Eventually he rode with it on his back since it wasnt worth a risk.

Here is what he tried : One hook of the bungee cord fastened to the hook under the seat, the rope around the bag and the hook at the other end of the bunjee cord fastened to the right rear set. Not a tight fit as the bag used to slip and move. So doesnt work too well.

The ninja's hooks are under the rear tail on both sides... works like a charm.

P.S. edited previous post accordingly

[balenopower]

Very nice pics. Any difference in the intake noise or performance with the K&N?

[Sheel]

Dunno Aditya, but mine has two straps, I cross checked,
here is a pic for reference.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by balenopower

Very nice pics. Any difference in the intake noise or performance with the K&N?

Thanks BP. Yet to plonk in the filter. I thought i'd do it after the 2nd service, post 6000 kms. The odo now reads around 5k so its not very far.

Originally Posted by Sheel

Dunno Aditya, but mine has two straps, I cross checked, here is a pic for reference.

Wow thats was quick. There are 2 straps but only one hook on the left side. I guess these straps can be used as well. I think my friend used the helmet locking hook for one end of the cord. Will let him know on our next ride. Thanks a ton. This sure helps.

[sammyboy]

Dude, 5K already? I couldnt complete that figure even if I started clocking miles in my dreams .
Been reading xbhp as well and it seems like the itch to get a SBK really becomes a huge, post Ninja ownership.Look at the amount of ppl already selling to upgrade.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by sammyboy

Dude, 5K already? I couldnt complete that figure even if I started clocking miles in my dreams.

Yeah bro. 5k done and the bike will be exactly 3 months old on Saturday (7th Aug). It took a month for my body to get used to the posture. I used to have pain in my back, wrists, arms, ankles initially, within a 100 km ride. Now i can comfortably do around 400 kms at a stretch. We regularly clock around 300kms or so on our rides every week.

Originally Posted by sammyboy

Been reading xbhp as well and it seems like the itch to get a SBK really becomes a huge, post Ninja ownership.Look at the amount of ppl already selling to upgrade.

Yeah there are quite a few used ninja's with very few kms on the odo on sale. Abroad, the ninja is a starting point before one hops on to a bigger bike. This is the best bike to learn and develop skills before advancing to an SBK. Initially riding at 140kmph is like bliss, after sometime, you want more. (how much is too much? ) But i feel this bike has enough power for our roads. IMHO, anything over a 600 on our roads with so many obstacles like dogs, people etc is outright dangerous and risky.

Anyone can accelerate madly in a straight line but braking (safely in a short distance) a heavy bike like this or even an SBK calls for superior skills. I locked my front wheel once when an idiot suddenly rode in the wrong lane. I had just shifted into 2nd and accelerated, was doing 80kmph, pressed the front brake with only 2 fingers (very important that you dont grab the lever as you can crash in a blink) and even then i locked the front wheel. Luckily i saw a gap and accelerated out of that situation. The other rider was shitting his pants when he saw me and i clearly remember him bracing for impact. All this happened in seconds. So whats needed is very good skills and techniques which one develops day by day. Braking is one of the most important skills. Its not easy to bring a sportsbike to stop on a dime, no matter how good the brakes are... the roads are not always bone dry and rough for max traction. Too much pressure and the bike can stoppie throwing the rider off.

Edit - When I went for an oil change at 3700 kms (unscheduled) i saw a green ninja with 1800 kms on the odo. Badly crashed, front totally smashed, fork bent, handle bent, end can slightly crushed. Rider was a student who crashed near hebbal, cracked his lid, broke his leg and fractured his skull and was critically injured for over a month. Heard that he had passed out and an autowallah admitted him to the hospital. It'll take him 6 months to walk again and longer to ride. I took some pics of the bike from my fone, will post them later. For once, I am glad I bought such a bike late in my life. All those raging hormones in my younger days would have killed me if I had a bike like this at that time. I used to be rash and with a "cant happen to me" attitude and missed major incidents by whiskers lots of times. Had more adrenalin then than brains like most youngsters (no offence to anyone). LOL.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Wow thats was quick. There are 2 straps but only one hook on the left side. I guess these straps can be used as well. I think my friend used the helmet locking hook for one end of the cord. Will let him know on our next ride. Thanks a ton. This sure helps.

I didn't know tibby didn't knew about it. Sure do let him know.

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Yeah bro. 5k done and the bike will be exactly 3 months old on Saturday (7th Aug). It took a month for my body to get used to the posture. I used to have pain in my back, wrists, arms, ankles initially, within a 100 km ride. Now i can comfortably do around 400 kms at a stretch. We regularly clock around 300kms or so on our rides every week.

I am ashamed about the miles I have been clocking, wish I had riding mates in my part of the world.

For once, I am glad I bought such a bike late in my life. All those raging hormones in my younger days would have killed me if I had a bike like this at that time. I used to be rash and with a "cant happen to me" attitude and missed major incidents by whiskers lots of times. Had more adrenalin then than brains like most youngsters (no offence to anyone). LOL.

So so true Aditya, I recall the way i used to ride the mad two-strokers and my P-180. Crashed almost every 2/3 months in an avg with just a helmet in the name of riding gears. Today I know when to whack it open and when I should back-off.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Crashed almost every 2/3 months in an avg with just a helmet in the name of riding gears.

LOL. At least you wore a lid. I used to ride lidless often.