[plimsollmark]

Originally Posted by King Condor

Nice pictures. Is the Lavasa road still as good as it used to be?

Roads are brilliant mate ! Apart from the village areas where you need to beware of the speedbreakers !

[aresq]

Thanks for the Review,was looking for replacement for my Rd, will now buy one. Wonder about any different colours scheme's though!

[Sutripta]

^^^
Am I hearing right? Your RX will feel orphaned!
And who is going to keep my TBTS running?

Regards
Sutripta

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by aresq

Wonder about any different colours scheme's though!

As things stand today, you only have the trademark lime green Ninja color. And it appears sweet in that

Admit, black would appear classy too.

[ku69rd]

Guess the new 2012 Ninja should be rolled out shortly, need to wait and watch if the revised model comes into India.
Update Courtesy: FB group

Kawasaki Ninja® Street

[narula123]

The new 2012 Ninja 650 (Kawasaki has decided to drop the 'R' from the name ) has completely revised bodywork (looks better IMO except from the front). The changes are as follows:

1. Adjustable windscreen
2. New exhaust design which is claimed to help mid range performance
3. Sharper design elements like the fairing, lights and body work.
4. Bigger 19 lit. fuel tank
5. Twin pipe frame (previous was a single pipe) which imparts more rigidity to the bike making it a better handler.
6. Twin pipe rear suspension with improved damping and more wheel travel.
7. Improved wheel travel on front suspension.
8. New instrumentation with analog tacho and digital speedo along with Eco indicator.
9. Ignition key slot now located in front of the tank rather than the handlebar to aid instrument visibility to the rider.
10. Handlebars are now 20mm wider
11. Seat height raised by 0.6 inches.
12. Compression ratio of the engine changed to 10.8:1 from 11.3:1
13. Split seats with better padding than before.
14. Dunlop rubber instead of the Bridgestones.
15. Improved brake pad compound to improve braking performance.
16. Price increase by $300 in the USA over previous model.


Hope this makes it to our shores soon. Rumours suggest that this was partly the reason why Bajaj closed bookings in the past and that the new model is already undergoing assembly at the Bajaj plant for a possible Diwali launch. No idea about the price increase though. Hope it isnt a dealbreaker.




(Sources - Various auto blogs and company website, Images courtesy Google)

[hiren.mistry]

Everything else looks better than the existing model except the fuel tank. Is it me or the new shape looks weirdly bloated.

[Sheel]

I believe once, you see the bike in real, the tank might appear proportionate.

Hope Kawasaki doesn't bump the prices.

[jalva]

2012 model looks ugly :-( Though there are quite a few positive changes, esp. the increase in tank size but the increase in seat height and possibly the curb weight doesnt help small guys like me...

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by narula123

Rumours suggest that this was partly the reason why Bajaj closed bookings in the past and that the new model is already undergoing assembly at the Bajaj plant for a possible Diwali launch.

For sure this bike does look much more modern and up to date with its split seats. Probably one has to get used to the concept of split seats.
Narula,
Are you sure that this bike would be launched in Diwali? thought this was scheduled for Feb 2012. But if its ready for Diwali launch then Bajaj surely know when to tap the market and it would also show the importance/seriousness it accords for the Big Bikes market.

[pawan_pullarwar]

I heard that there is a price revision for next batches (10,000 INR). May be newer model is a bit costlier.

[narula123]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Narula,
Are you sure that this bike would be launched in Diwali? thought this was scheduled for Feb 2012. But if its ready for Diwali launch then Bajaj surely know when to tap the market and it would also show the importance/seriousness it accords for the Big Bikes market.

ku69rd,

Like I said, its something the rumor mills are churning out. I dont have any credible word on it. Fact is that this model will hit our streets for sure, its just a question of when. And price revisions might be a big questionmark because the new model is $300 more expensive than the outgoing one in the US plus the CKD duties in India have gone up from 10% to 30% since bajaj's last N650 lot.

Originally Posted by jalva

2012 model looks ugly :-( Though there are quite a few positive changes, esp. the increase in tank size but the increase in seat height and possibly the curb weight doesnt help small guys like me...

A seat height increase of 0.6 inches (1.5 cm) and a weight increase of 5 kgs cannot be that bad now, can it?

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Please use the "edit" button if posting within 30 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post.

Also use "Multi Quote" option for quoting Multiple posts.

[thedreamcatcher]

I got to ride this bike yesterday, as my friend who booked it about 2 months ago got delivery about a week back.

The bike felt and handled quite well and it was truly a great experience. I do not recollect when was the last time I ever rode a bike, but this was great to ride.

The only thing I found really disappointing was the exhaust note, which never exuded any feeling of being on a sports bike. 1 on 10 for that.

[thedreamcatcher]

Hey Guys. Can someone please shed some light on finance options for this bike.

Spoke to ProBiking here in Bangalore and they told me the same 7.7%, over 2 Lakh Down Payment and 1 Year Payment option. What else is available.

Also, what options are available from other banks.

[GreaseMonk]

If anyone on TBHP has purchased the bike, could they please post their after sales service experience along with average costs involved in maintaining the bike?