[pratap.pratu]

Originally Posted by magic flash

Hello riders

Just wanted to post a few pics of my 2014 Ninja 650. Stay tuned for updates

Cheers.

Congrats on ur bike Buddy. Can you please let me know on the gear shifts in your bike, I have heard that 650R has a hard clinking sound during shift of gears.
Is that true ? Keep us posted on your experience.

[narula123]

Originally Posted by VellVector

Hey Narula, I am planning to pick up either a Z800 or Z1000 and I was wondering if you Ninja group is exclusive for Ninja owners or whether other Kawasaki owners could also join?

Hey VellVector. We now have a club for all Kawasaki owners including the Zs and the ZXs

Search for Riders of Kawasaki India on facebook

Also register on www.roki.in

Hope to see you there.

Originally Posted by magic flash

Hello riders

Just wanted to post a few pics of my 2014 Ninja 650.

Congrats buddy. She is an awesome machine and will serve you well. Yours is the first 2014 model I have seen in India. From what I can see, they have reversed the colour scheme on the tank over the 2012/13 models. Any other changes?

[narula123]

Originally Posted by pratap.pratu

, I have heard that 650R has a hard clinking sound during shift of gears.

No such issues with the gearshift on my bike. Infact out of the 200 odd Ninja 650 owners in our club no one has had any gearshift problems so far. Its only the first gear which makes a sound on engagement when stationary which is normal on all big bikes.

[rbp]

Originally Posted by narula123

No such issues with the gearshift on my bike. Infact out of the 200 odd Ninja 650 owners in our club no one has had any gearshift problems so far. Its only the first gear which makes a sound on engagement when stationary which is normal on all big bikes.

True. It is only the first gear that has the trademark thud sound, the rest of the gears are smooth, in fact they get smoother after a 5 to 6K of running.

[narula123]

Update:

Since the last post, I have done a trackday at MMSC and added some bits to the bike.

She now has Ricor Intiminators in the front forks and along with those Stompgrip traction pads have gone onto the tank. My stock Dunlops had also run out and got replaced with Michelin Pilot Road3 for the street use. For track use I continue to use the Metzeler M5.

She also underwent her third service post 10,000 kms and I got the throttle-body sync done as a preventive maintenance.

RICOR Intiminators are basically active suspension cartridge valves which go and sit in the front forks. These valves can differentitate between wheel movement and chassis movement. In case of wheel movement due to undulations on the road the valves allow the oil to flow through and damping occurs.
Incase of chassis movement (experienced when the bike is under hard cornering) the valves close and do not allow any damping to occur. This causes the front suspension to stiffen up during cornering and eliminates the wallowing that is typically experienced on a stock bike during a corner. During a normal ride scenario, the wheel movement is still supported with damping and the ride remains supple. More of a Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde phenomenon.

I rode the bike post the installation and the effect was WOW. The ride has become firmer and bike felt a whole lot stable even over broken roads. The effect was all the more pronounced during cornering where the wallowing and pitching mid-corner was totally eliminated. She felt rock-stable in the corners and held the line beautifully which inspired much more confidence. The turn-in also was a lot sharper (the new tyres also play a role here). The bike was just so much happier and eager to corner. The RICOR theory actually works in reality. BIG thumbs up.
I cant wait to try them out at the track in May to experience their full effect. I have previously ridden fellow Bhpian Guru's bike on the track using the intiminators and it felt a totally different animal from my stock bike.

The Stompgrip is also a good addition and is recommended by track pros the world over. Hanging off the bike is a lot more easier and confident now. They do have a drawback - when riding in denims in the city you can feel the traction dots poking on your legs. Kind of a funny feeling. Again, like the Intiminators I am yet to use them on the track but im quite confident that they wont disappoint.

Coming to the Michelins. The Pilot Road 3 are one of the best sports-touring tyres in the market and justifiably so. They grip like a leech literally. Super awesome and a huge improvement over the stock Dunlops which themselves were quite impressive to start with.

Next on the upgrade wishlist are custom Velocity stacks, stiffer race rear suspension and rearsets. These are still not on the short-term horizon and are dependent on my bike upgrade plans and cost.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by narula123

RICOR Intiminators are basically active suspension cartridge valves which go and sit in the front forks. These valves can differentiate between wheel movement and chassis movement.

I rode the bike post the installation and the effect was WOW.

Could you please share the cost of this mod and how easy was the installation? Please also clarify on what the velocity stacks are.

Thanks.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by narula123

Coming to the Michelins. The Pilot Road 3 are one of the best sports-touring tyres in the market and justifiably so. They grip like a leech literally. Super awesome and a huge improvement over the stock Dunlops which themselves were quite impressive to start with.

Could you share the configuration of your tyres and also the cost of PR3? Also, did you consider any other tyres?

Would you be knowing or have experience of comparing PR3 with Metzelers?

[narula123]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Could you please share the cost of this mod and how easy was the installation? Please also clarify on what the velocity stacks are.

Thanks.

Hi Aditya,

The Ricor Intiminators were ordered from the Ricor website and handcarried down from US. Costs about Rs 12,000 a set. Installation involves removing both front forks, inserting the intiminators in between the spring and refilling with a 5W grade fork oil. Then reassembling the forks back onto the bike. Ofcourse it involves removing the fairing and front wheel for the installation.

The Stompgrips were bought from JV Promoto, Mumbai for Rs 5,500. Installation was very simple and DIY.

Velocity Stacks are basically the intake ducts above your bike's airbox. The length of the stacks defines the performance characteristics of the bike. Shorter velocity stacks will increase top-end performance while Longer velocity stacks will increase the bottom-end performance. The length of the velocity stacks defines the duration the air spends in the intake before being fed to the engine. This modifies the flow characteristics and pressure of the intake air and accordingly changes the performance characteristics of the bike. These can be purchased from a number of tuning and performance parts stores and are bike specific. The ones for the Ninja 650 cost about $40.


Hi mobike008,

I got the Michelin PR3 from Singapore for about S$ 300 for a set. The Ninja runs a 120 front and a 160 rear tyre. I spent several hours on forums to research tyres and the choice for street tyres was always between the PR3/4 or the Pirelli Angel GT. The rest of the crop is a step or two behind these two on some parameter or the other.

I use the Metzeler M5s for my track runs and honestly the tyres have more grip than the PR3 due to more concentration & width of the softer side compounds in its construction. The PR3 are known to be long lasting tyres and various user feedback peg the life to be more than 15000 km. On the other hand Metzelers being softer will wear out quicker depending on usage. The PR3 being a sport-touring tyre is more suited to all-weather and surface riding than the Metzelers BUT I would not recommend using the PR3 on the track.

If you are not going to indulge in heavy sport riding or track use then PR3 should get your vote. Also see if you can get the Pirelli Angel GT, they are rumoured to be PR3 beaters.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by narula123

Hi mobike008,

I got the Michelin PR3 from Singapore for about S$ 300 for a set. The Ninja runs a 120 front and a 160 rear tyre. I spent several hours on forums to research tyres and the choice for street tyres was always between the PR3/4 or the Pirelli Angel GT. The rest of the crop is a step or two behind these two on some parameter or the other.

Thanks for that wonderful feedback. I reckon when Iam due for a change of tyres for my Bonneville, i already have these 3 shortlists

1. OEM Metzelers
2. PR3
3. Pirelli Angel GT

[SamtheLeo]

Hi Guys,

Can someone suggest a good set of tyres for Ninja 650 and how to source them.
Best deal i'm getting so far is Metzeler M5 for appx 25K on changemytyre.com

I have no track use.

[plimsollmark]

Originally Posted by narula123

I got the Michelin PR3 from Singapore for about S$ 300 for a set. The Ninja runs a 120 front and a 160 rear tyre. I spent several hours on forums to research tyres and the choice for street tyres was always between the PR3/4 or the Pirelli Angel GT. The rest of the crop is a step or two behind these two on some parameter or the other.

Hi narula123,

Any stress in bringing the tyres in with respect to the airport customs ?

[narula123]

Originally Posted by SamtheLeo

Hi Guys,
Can someone suggest a good set of tyres for Ninja 650 and how to source them.
Best deal i'm getting so far is Metzeler M5 for appx 25K on changemytyre.com
.

Hi, The M5 is a very decent tyre and will provide you much better grip than the stock tyres. The tradeoff is that life of the M5 will be lower than the stock tyres. 25k is the price which even I paid for my M5s

You can also look at sourcing the stock tyres through your local Kawasaki dealer. As per my conversation with the top bosses at Kawa, they have assured that the stock tyre shall be sourced and provided to customers. If track use is nil for you then I suggest you stick to the OEM tyres if possible in the interest of tyre life.

Originally Posted by plimsollmark

Hi narula123,
Any stress in bringing the tyres in with respect to the airport customs ?

Hi,
Getting a set through the customs is a hit-or-miss deal. If they stop you (which they legally can) they can fleece you for any amount they deem fit. Have had friends pay amounts ranging from 1k to 6k for a set at the same airport.

The thing is that a set of PR3 will cost you about Sing$ 300 (approx Rs 15k). Even if you pay 6k to customs (worst case) you still get the best possible tyres for 21k. Cheaper than the 25k options available here. Your call buddy.

[harsha.muvva]

Originally Posted by narula123

I got the Michelin PR3 from Singapore for about S$ 300 for a set. The Ninja runs a 120 front and a 160 rear tyre. I spent several hours on forums to research tyres and the choice for street tyres was always between the PR3/4 or the Pirelli Angel GT. The rest of the crop is a step or two behind these two on some parameter or the other.

hey Narula,

I am planning to get the michelin PR3 tyres for my FZ1, luckily a friend of mine will be visiting singapore soon and after reading about your experience in bringing down the tyres from there, I am also planning to get them from singapore.
Can you let me know where exactly did you pick the tyre from??
and also do suggest me if you know of any good riding gear/accessories store there.

I couldn't gather much of information from the internet

Must mention that you have done some really good and useful mods on the ninja650

regards,
harsha

[narula123]

Originally Posted by harsha.muvva

Can you let me know where exactly did you pick the tyre from??
and also do suggest me if you know of any good riding gear/accessories store there.
Must mention that you have done some really good and useful mods on the ninja650

Hi Harsha

You can pick up the tyres from either Regina Specialities or from Hodaka Motoworld (google both and call them). Motoworld will normally stock Pirelli and Dunlop while Regina has the other brands. Call them and check size availability.

Regina also happens to have quite a comprehensive collection of riding gear and accessories. I am sure you will find some good stuff there.

Thanks for your appreciation of my 650

[SRTH1987]

Just got an update from Jai Bajaj in Chennai saying the prices of N-650 and N-300 has been raised. Can somebody check with the other showrooms and confirm the same? Would be especially interested in the rates of Z-800 from Pune & delhi showrooms.