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Kawasaki Ninja 300

Gabe

Gabe

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Oct 26, 2002
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Where's Cleveland Heights?
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FZ-07 farkled-by-Amazon Edition
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Gabe
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Kawasaki Europe has released the 2013 Ninja 300R: http://www.kawasaki.co.uk/Ninja300

Highlights: FI, Slipper clutch, available ABS, new frame, bodywork, front fork and motor top end. Lots of new bodywork, if not all of it:

GetScaledImage.aspx

2012 Ninja 250R

No power claims, but the EPA filing says 39 hp at the crank, 7 more than the 250R. That should mean 32-33 at the wheel. Claimed curb weight is 383 pounds. My guess on price is it will be just a couple hundred bucks more than the current $4449 250R. Sigh--remember when they were just $2999, weighed 350 pounds and revved to 12,500 rpm? Not that long ago, either.

What do you think:will AFM bump displacement limit for 250 Production?
 
Didn't the pregens rev to 14,500?? I'm guessing the 300 will be $4,999 or higher MSRP. The current model is at $4,199 for the non SE version. Ya think with EFI, larger engine, slipper clutch, redesigned fairings guages and integrated lights, I think a $300 price increase is very optimistic.

Also, slipper clutch on a 300? Why? I'd prefer a better stock suspension
 
50cc increment with 7 HP bump seem kind of a waste imo. Therefore, I would rather jump from a 250 to a used Ninja 500 or 650.
 
I don't think many people are intending to jump from a 250 to a 300 :rolleyes
 
Jiggles said:
Didn't the pregens rev to 14,500?? I'm guessing the 300 will be $4,999 or higher MSRP. The current model is at $4,199 for the non SE version. Ya think with EFI, larger engine, slipper clutch, redesigned fairings guages and integrated lights, I think a $300 price increase is very optimistic.

Also, slipper clutch on a 300? Why? I'd prefer a better stock suspension
Click to expand...

Kwai claims improved suspension, though it's still 37mm front fork. I think kawi will keep the price well under $5000 so the bike will still be competitive with the Honda.

Thanks for the corrections on pricing and rpms.
 
hasn't anybody came to realization that 250 vs. 300 ninja news just don't make sense?....come on 50cc difference on same engine platfrom?and for a little price difference you get a slipper clutch and FI.?i dont think kawasaki would make a bike that will down its own model..just sayin..

:( maybe its time to say goodbye to the twofiddies.....

:) maybe its time to say hello to the threehunets......

oh...and this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4kGVPzljdVM
 
busjohn said:
50cc increment with 7 HP bump seem kind of a waste imo. Therefore, I would rather jump from a 250 to a used Ninja 500 or 650.
Click to expand...


That is nearly a 20% increase in HP. On a small bike, that will make a huge difference.
 
Want!

Coming from a single cylinder to a twin and the added HP is huge for me anyway.
 
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Interestingly, the 300 doesn't really fit well within Japan's tiered insurance and licensing system... (<250, 250-400, 400+) The 300cc displacement pops it into the mid-tier category, representing significantly higher insurance costs and mandatory vehicle inspections. The 250cc and under bikes are exempt from a lot of those costs and requirements. It's a big leap for them to make a 300cc bike, in that regard, and they are no doubt making this for the rest of the world, and not for the homelands.

Personally, I'd kill for a return of lightweight 400cc bikes, and this just looks like another step in the right direction. Give me a fuel efficent NC30 or CBR400RR with an awesome suspension, moderate power, light weight, and good fuel efficiency, and I'll sing heavenly praises.
 
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Honestly, if the gas mileage isn't much worse than the 250, I'd "upgrade" to a 300.

But it is a kind of...niche market? There are a lot more beginners waiting to jump to bigger bikes on 250s than people on 250s who wouldn't mind a little power boost while keeping other aspects of a small bike intact.

Maybe they are selling them both to see how it's received.
 
It's not about fitting into the Japanese, European or American market (so much), it's about the young man in Bangkok, Shanghai or New Delhi that wants to step up to a "big bike" from the 175cc single cylinder Honda knock off that he currently rides.

Gonna sell like hotcakes (or dumplings or roti or...).
 
Kestrel said:
Interestingly, the 300 doesn't really fit well within Japan's tiered insurance and licensing system... (<250, 250-400, 400+) The 300cc displacement pops it into the mid-tier category, representing significantly higher insurance costs and mandatory vehicle inspections. The 250cc and under bikes are exempt from a lot of those costs and requirements. It's a big leap for them to make a 300cc bike, in that regard, and they are no doubt making this for the rest of the world, and not for the homelands.

Personally, I'd kill for a return of lightweight 400cc bikes, and this just looks like another step in the right direction. Give me a fuel efficent NC30 or CBR400RR with an awesome suspension, moderate power, light weight, and good fuel efficiency, and I'll sing heavenly praises.
Click to expand...

OMG! Is it 1992 again? That would be awesome-my back wouldn't hurt so much and I'd be a 1/4 inch taller, and four cylinder 400cc sport bikes would make sense.

But it doesn't anymore, and never will. As I point out every time somebody says how awesome it would be to have a 400 cc sport bike, why, o why would a company make a bike that costs exactly the same as a 600 to engineer and build and price it less? And why would consumers buy a 400 when a 600 would be about the same weight, but make way more power and cost just a little bit more?

Sign the pledge: I promise to never wish for a 400cc sport bike again, because there will never, in a million gazillion years, ever be such an animal. You're more likely to get a bio-engineered Pegasus.
 
Cire 5th said:
Man those inline 4 cylinder 250s of the late 80s-early 90s sound real sweet. I've seen and heard them on YouTube. They never sold them here In the states though.
Click to expand...

They did but no one bought them.
 
I welcome these bikes 3 years from now when I can buy one for cheap that was dropped by a previous owner in the driveway.

Obviously the Kawk thinks the time is right in the US for these bikes. Cheap urban transportation.

I keep thinking of Gary with all of these little displacement Ninja threads. :(
 
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