[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Got a few calls and inquiries for my bike over the last few weeks and one really good offer during the extended weekend last week.

The said gentleman was supposed to come over on Sunday and pay in full and collect the bike.

Took a short ride to Kolar and back and had a sea of emotions flood my senses.

This bike has been the best i have ever had. Completely hassle free, truly a gem and enjoyed riding it to the hilt.

I was confused if i was doing the right thing by selling this off and getting a sports tourer. I would miss the sharp handling and super sharp brakes and the 650 would not be as enticing and "rider oriented" as the smaller sibling.

When I returned home my mind was clear and so were the thoughts.

Called the gent and told him I'm retaining the bike and passed on a friend's number who was also selling his 250.

The love story continues....!

Good decision Aditya! I was also in the same boat a couple of months back. To sell or not to sell my beloved ride! Even though it is not a 100% reliable machine like yours (er.. A Royal Enfield to be precise) which has stranded me amidst forests and other remote places a number of times, I just couldnt bear even the thought of someone else riding it off, forever. I was so close to selling 'him'. But everytime I see him shining under the morning sun or even under the street lights or hear his thump, I just couldnt cope up with the fact that I was putting him up for sale. So finally I decided against it! Even though we try to find a thousand reasons to sell our beloved rides off for a better one there will be a bond which is far more powerful than those 1000 reasons! Keep enjoying your ride!

[n_aditya]

Did a short ride to Kolar/Mulbagal last weekend and en-route caught up with a couple of new Ninja 300's.

It was nice to meet the new owners and the new bikes.

The bikes look awesome in the flesh. Initially i did not like the R15 type side profile but the quality and attention to detail is amazing as expected. The plastics body parts are well sculpted and the smooth flowing lines fit well into the panels without any gaps.

Some pics:

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Did a short ride to Kolar/Mulbagal last weekend and en-route caught up with a couple of new Ninja 300's.

It was nice to meet the new owners and the new bikes.

The bikes look awesome in the flesh. Initially i did not like the R15 type side profile but the quality and attention to detail is amazing as expected. The plastics body parts are well sculpted and the smooth flowing lines fit well into the panels without any gaps.

How much better is the 300 than the 250 on the road Aditya? Miles ahead or good contest?

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by ebonho

How much better is the 300 than the 250 on the road Aditya? Miles ahead or good contest?

Didn't ride them Doc. But they are very silent except for a "metallic" engine note compared to the 250R. The 250R is a screamer and sounds very close to an inline four at high revv's.

The top whack is marginally higher on the 300 compared to the 250, as per the owners. We didn't do any "tests" to check timings since we were riding on public roads.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

The top whack is marginally higher on the 300 compared to the 250, as per the owners. We didn't do any "tests" to check timings since we were riding on public roads.

Understandably so, but how are the roll ons when riding together? Is there a yo-yo elastic band effect or do the two keep pace well together?

The top ends from what I hear are more than just marginally higher bro. 165ish for the 250 vs close to 190 on the 300. That's a bigger diference than between the two Dukes to put things in perspective. And from just 50 cc extra is what's really amazing (where the bigger Duke is nearly twice the capacity of its smaller sibling).

[MavericK46]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Thank you for the kind words vloct. Your threads are truly inspiring for me.

However, the only jump i can make from the 250R is to a 650 or a full blown liter bike (legally sold in India). But sadly the liter bikes are insanely expensive due to the CBU import, fat taxes and hefty duties. An R1 costs approx. 15 lacs now AFAIK, which is simply unaffordable for me.

Aditya,

I'd dropped HMSI an email a couple of months ago to make enquiries on how much a 'Blade costs OTR Bangalore.
I was counting on a 15ish price tag. But in reality, it is 18.8l OTR Bangalore

I'm quite sure that it is the same with the R1 and the other two Jap equivalents. The 15l tag is surely ex-showroom. The mail with the details now sits safely in my inbox...

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Understandably so, but how are the roll ons when riding together? Is there a yo-yo elastic band effect or do the two keep pace well together?

We weren't pushing the bikes so can't really comment. The 300 will be quicker since it dishes out more torque and power compared to the 250.

Originally Posted by ebonho

The top ends from what I hear are more than just marginally higher bro. 165ish for the 250 vs close to 190 on the 300.

I've personally hit the 175kmph mark (speedo indicated) on my bike. 165kmph is quick after which progress is gradual. I've seen a video on youtube where a 250R clocked 190kmph.

There might not be a lot of difference in the top whack but it will be quite different on how these speeds are attained on these 2 bikes.

Originally Posted by MavericK46

I'd dropped HMSI an email a couple of months ago to make enquiries on how much a 'Blade costs OTR Bangalore. I was counting on a 15ish price tag. But in reality, it is 18.8l OTR Bangalore

I'm quite sure that it is the same with the R1 and the other two Jap equivalents. The 15l tag is surely ex-showroom. The mail with the details now sits safely in my inbox...

Yeah, off late the liter bikes are insanely expensive and add to the KA road tax it's salt on open wounds.

[n_aditya]

Left my bike over at Auto Service for the 30,000 kms / III service.

Man, this particular service was obscenely expensive.

Take a look:



Do note that this amount did not include the below items which were bought by me separately and taken to the service center:

1. Motul 7100 20W50 - 700 bucks a liter. The ninja takes in 1.6L when the oil filter is changed
2. NGK Spark Plugs - don't remember how much i bought it for, but it cost me way lower than how much the service center sells it for. AFAIK, the ASC sells each spark plug for around 400 bucks
3. Rolon X Ring chain and sprocket kit - bought for 8k and is superior to the OE chain which is an O ring chain. ASC's sell the chain and sprocket kit for 16k plus taxes
4. Front Tire - Pirelli Sport Demon (110/70/17) - bought for 3.5k

However i would like to mention that 30,000 kms on a factory fitted IRC tire and stock OE Chain and sprockets is very good quality and lifespan.

I humbly state that i have taken a lot of care and have never abused the bike, hence these parts have lasted this long.

My buddies who own ninja's were surprised to learn that I was still on the stock chain and sprocket kit while quite a few of them had to replace their chains at the 20,000 kms mark.

Overall, the service cost amounted to 7k as per the bill, 1.4k for the oil, say 500 bucks for both the spark plugs, 8k for the chain kit and 3.5k for the front tire.

Total cost of III Service - Rs. 20,500/-

The second service @ 12,000 kms cost me 6.2k excluding the cost of oil.

In this III service, i specifically asked for the below mentioned jobs which pushed the costs (labor and consumables) up:

1. Front fork oil change (motul fork oil)

2. Radiator flush with distill water and filling of fresh coolant

If you look at the bill, cost of spares is obscenely high.

For ex:

Foam air filter - Rs. 395.63/-
Coolant Rs. 278/-

Apparently, cost of spares for the 650 is much lower.

But after all this money spent, she feels as good as new if not better. Absolutely butter smooth, no harshness at all, no vibes, very very quick when you twist the throttle.

Quality does come at a price and it does not feel one bit like a 3 yr old bike which has done 30,000 kms.

[invincible7]

Wow that is insanely expensive for a 250 motor, the air filter for swift cost 200 bucks.

Which air filter is this OEM, you can change it to some better after market ones which can be reused after a wash.

What is the other repairs on the bike as mentioned in the bill.
What is rep chain and o/h cylinder head - I believe you changed to new chain and sproket set so didnt understand this costs aswell.

The good thing is you are enjoying the bike to the core and it matters, is it possible to service the bike out of the service center by some competent garage, just trying to understand how complex is it to maintain it out of the service centers.

[balenopower]

Originally Posted by ebonho

How much better is the 300 than the 250 on the road Aditya? Miles ahead or good contest?

I did get a chance to put a 300 through its paces. Outright performance wise the difference is very marginal, but what the 300 has, is way better initials and a much stronger midrange compared to our top end frenzied 250's. but its the dynamics where the 300 really bests the 250. Feels amazingly nimble and really belies its heavy kerbweight.

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Left my bike over at Auto Service for the 30,000 kms / III service.

Man, this particular service was obscenely expensive.

Thats actually not too bad considering the number of parts changed for a bike which has done 30k km.

Note from Support - Kindly avoid quoting an entire lengthy post as it inconveniences our mobile and small screen users. Thanks!

[JayKis]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Left my bike over at Auto Service for the 30,000 kms / III service.

Man, this particular service was obscenely expensive.

My 30K service was like that too. THink every 12k service varies from 4K -6K considering that you need to change your air filter, oil filter, brake pads (mine changes every 6K thou, but only the front)

Thats some kilometres that you have done on a single pair of tyres 30K!!. Am on my fourth set but i have done a wee bit more at around 50K! Me too changed the chain at 30K but then by that time it was badly out of shape!

You are right! The quality is phenomenal and the only trouble i am having is front brake lacking bite (time to replace the rotor?) and some tingling sound coming from the chassis when runnning over bumps!

BTW Arrgee..where did you source that pirelli sport demon 110/70/17 from?

Note from Support - Kindly avoid quoting an entire lengthy post as it inconveniences our mobile and small screen users. Thanks!

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by invincible7

Which air filter is this OEM, you can change it to some better after market ones which can be reused after a wash.

This is a plain foam type air filter. No brand name on it except that it is packaged and sold by Kawasaki.

I know the cost is highly inflated. I need to find a similar filter which has the same density and filtration capability in the market and this will be significantly cheaper. Just have to search and find it.

I had a K&N for a while but you need an entire day to allow the filter to dry after it is cleaned. This one is cleaned and oiled in a matter of mins.

Originally Posted by invincible7

What is the other repairs on the bike as mentioned in the bill.

Ninja SBK service @ Rs. 1050/- is the service charge.

Other repairs is the labor charge for all the usual and regular jobs like oil and oil filter change, brake bleed and fluid change, brake pad replacement, etc. I had new pads at the rear from the last service @ 12k kms, so i just swapped this with the ones at the front. I never use the rear brakes so the ones at the front which would have lasted another 1000-2000 kms was moved to the rear.

Labor charges has been increased from 500 bucks an hour to some 600 odd bucks per hour.

Originally Posted by invincible7

What is rep chain and o/h cylinder head - I believe you changed to new chain and sprocket set so didn't understand this costs as well.

This is the labor charges towards replacing the chain and both sprockets. The other one is for tappet / valve adjustments which was done by removing the engine head cover.

Originally Posted by invincible7

... is it possible to service the bike out of the service center by some competent garage, just trying to understand how complex is it to maintain it out of the service centers.

I'm sure it's not all that difficult for an independent mechanic to service the bike for half the cost but i have had terribly bad experiences with such mechanics.

My earlier bike, a Fiero had barely run 45,000 kms and the mechanic i used to take it to for over 8 years had forgotten to put oil in the engine after it was drained, forgot to put in the air filter, and some more such blasphemy. With trust built over a period of time, i did not open the engine oil reservoir or the air filter box to check, which i used to do earlier.

The engine seized. :'(

I did not fight and asked him to fix it. Even after this, he replaced the crankshaft with a local make, not the original spec, which led to many other issues. I had to spend 5k for all this and moved to another mechanic through some referrals and feedback.

Next mechanic i went to asked me to change several parts which i did and it brought the bike back to its glory, after spending another 5k, but i guess these mechanics become greedy after a while.

The last and third mechanic which i went to, thanks to mahesh aka ku69rd, fixed all the issues i had with the bike which cost me another 3-4k. Then i sold it off.

Mahesh has been suggesting me to buy the RD350 for a long time now. I had this bike in mind even before the Ninja and love it for the orgasmic exhaust note but will NEVER buy it as i have lost all faith with these standalone mechanics.

It is expensive to maintain the Ninja at the service center but i get my peace of mind as they are competent and their reputation cannot be put on the line by oversight or greed. Plus, in case of any issue, there is a good complaint escalation mechanism with Bajaj.

Originally Posted by balenopower

Thats actually not too bad considering the number of parts changed for a bike which has done 30k km.

The labor costs are pretty steep along with some part costs like air filter and coolant. 278 bucks for coolant? I can probably get a jerrycan of coolant for this price. LOL !!!

I wonder why we are charged the Ninja SBK service charge (Rs. 1050). This doesn't make sense to me.

Originally Posted by JayKis

My 30K service was like that too. Think every 12k service varies from 4K -6K considering that you need to change your air filter, oil filter, brake pads (mine changes every 6K thou, but only the front)

Yeah, Rahul (bluevolt) had warned me long back about the 30k service.

The II Service cost was around 6500 bucks all inclusive, IIRC.

Originally Posted by JayKis

Thats some kilometres that you have done on a single pair of tyres 30K!!. Am on my fourth set but i have done a wee bit more at around 50K! Me too changed the chain at 30K but then by that time it was badly out of shape!

I changed the rear tire from OE IRC to Pirelli SD at 18000 kms since i was taking the bike to the track at Kari. It would have lasted till 20,000 kms but changed it as the center part of the tire had squared off. I did not change the front tire then.

The Pirelli at the rear is still going strong except that the center has squared off a bit.

Originally Posted by JayKis

BTW Arrgee..where did you source that pirelli sport demon 110/70/17 from?

Pirelli SD tires are available at a few places in Blore, such as Lets Gear Up and Madhus Enterprises. Contact our fellow member NikhilB. His shop, Madhus, has a few pieces in stock.

[invincible7]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

This is a plain foam type air filter. No brand name on it except that it is packaged and sold by Kawasaki.

I know the cost is highly inflated. I need to find a similar filter which has the same density and filtration capability in the market and this will be significantly cheaper. Just have to search and find it.

I had a K&N for a while but you need an entire day to allow the filter to dry after it is cleaned. This one is cleaned and oiled in a matter of mins.

I would suggest get the UNI filters its good and I think its available in foam types sheets, you will need to get the exact size cut as per the requirement or you can use K&N and keep one day to keep the filter dry say workdays.

Originally Posted by n_aditya

I'm sure it's not all that difficult for an independent mechanic to service the bike for half the cost but i have had terribly bad experiences with such mechanics.

Mahesh has been suggesting me to buy the RD350 for a long time now. I had this bike in mind even before the Ninja and love it for the orgasmic exhaust note but will NEVER buy it as i have lost all faith with these standalone mechanics.

I can relate very well to this pain, had been through such instances where the bike was not worked 100% to satisfaction and the overall experience left me thinking about the overall job done on the bike. But what I do now is I indulge with the guy working the bike and see for myself what all is getting done closely and pin point if anything is getting missed.

The RD350, the legend well that is one bike I am still chasing however you have said it very rightly that one needs very competent mechanic to work on this machine, more so when the parts are exclusive and expensive.

[Motard_Blr]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

....

The last and third mechanic which i went to, thanks to mahesh aka ku69rd, fixed all the issues i had with the bike which cost me another 3-4k. Then i sold it off.
...

Hi Aditya,

off-topic but I wanted to know which mechanic you went to. I am looking for good, independant mechanics in South Bangalore to get my FZ16 serviced. I can't trust the ASC and I don't have the time or the tools to do all the work myself.

Thanks.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

Hi Aditya, off-topic but I wanted to know which mechanic you went to.

Hi, I went to Auto Service which is an authorized Bajaj / Kawasaki / KTM service center.

You might want to check the Yamaha FZ-16 ownership threads to understand which service center is recommended by the respective owners.

All the best.