Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater
Thu, 14 Feb 2013
Ninja 300 First Ride Impressions
I took the opportunity to test ride a Ninja 300 this week, and was struck by the experience. I have seen a lot of pro reviews (which are generally favorable), but very little from the Ninja 250 perspective, and figured I'd share my thoughts.
If you're coming across this article and know nothing about me, I've been riding a Ninja 250 since 2003, and have owned bikes ranging in size from a 1972 Honda CL175 (175cc) to a 2001 Moto Guzzi Le Mans (1100cc), including a number of BMW Airheads, a K bike, and a Goldwing sidecar rig. I've been riding since 1999, and I'd say that (with one short break) a Ninja 250 has been my primary bike since about 2004. I also had a 3-year stint racing F160 (CL/CB 160s and 175s) until I realized I wasn't having any fun.
I should start out by saying that my ride was only 15 minutes, since that was the policy of the dealership. I ended up spending 13 of those minutes on city streets, and a minute or two on the freeway, travelling from the entrance to the next exit. Still, it was an instructive experience.
I will refer repeatedly to the 250 in this review. I am specifically referring to the 1988-2007 era Ninja 250, before the 2008 makeover.
The Approach
This covers much of the same ground I wrote about before, but in less detail.
The Ninja 300's styling is obviously up to date with the current Kawasaki line of sportbikes, but I was interested to note the extent to which it shares Ninja 250 DNA under the fairings. Notably the frame and engine layout are obviously directly descended. Many of the more-visible bits, like the wheels, swingarm, exhaust, brakes, etc. are newly designed. The overall impression, though, is one of a brand new bike.
I was given a Special Edition green model to ride, which was functionally identical to the black and white models they had sitting nearby: it was news to me to learn that you could get the SE green model without ABS. SE green sets you back $200, and ABS sets you back another $500, but you can't get ABS on the other colors, so if you want ABS, you have to spend $700 over the base price.
I was pleased to see that the under-seat storage is actually a bit expanded from what was available on the 250. It's all under the passenger seat, but there's a fold-up tray suitable for small items like cellphones, and a larger area underneath which carries the tool kit, and has space for something else of a similar size.
I asked the parts guy, as part of our conversation about the bike, what he thought of the IRC tires the bike comes equipped with. He said he thought they were actually pretty good, had been getting good reviews, etc. We were both surprised by that: IRC has been a bargain-basement brand in my experience, but apparently with the appearance of the new-gen Ninja 250, the Honda CBR250R, and now the Ninja 300, small-bike 17" tires are proliferating, and the quality is improving. Good news for everyone.
On the Bike
The first thing I noticed about the bike while sitting on it was the instrument cluster. I had found the new-gen 250 instruments to be disappointing, but the 300 finally has a vaguely modern-feeling LCD and gauge cluster. I thought the startup sequence was actually fairly pretty, and was pleased to see the Kawasaki engineers having more fun with it. I was disappointed to see that, although they've given us a passing switch, Kawasaki still hasn't seen fit to give us hazard lights. There's even a cutout where the switch goes. Quit cheaping-out on safety features, guys.
The next thing I noticed was that the seating position is essentially identical to that on my 250. The handlebars and pegs are in the same positions relative to the seat. The main difference (which I really became aware of later) is that the tank is much wider. The whole bike, in fact, feels wider, because it is. The 250 has a very slender front profile befitting its narrow engine, while the 300 takes on the wide appearance of the 600 and larger machines. I understand the choice, but I don't really agree with it -- this bike has a narrow engine, and there's a lot of empty space being encompassed by those fairings. It feels a bit silly, like the bike is pretending to be something it's not.
The seat is a pleasant shape, not so sloped as the new 250's seat. I didn't feel like a quick stop would result in infertility, unlike on the 2008+ 250. It's also covered in a pleasantly grippy vinyl, which made it feel like I could pick a seating position and not worry about sliding around at all, yet wasn't so adhesive that I wouldn't be able to reposition. This was borne out once I was riding.
Get Up and Go
Starting the 300 is a surprising experience compared to the 250. I barely touched the starter, and it was purring. I'm sure this is thanks to the fuel injection system, which is a new development for the 300 (and an omission that caused a lot of grumbling on the 2008 250 refresh -- pretty much everywhere except the US got FI on their new 250s, but the US got carburetors). On my 250, I have to pull the choke on unless the bike has been warmed up, and then I spend the next five minutes slowly lowering it, and starting takes a number of crank revolutions. On the 300, it seemed like it revolved once, and was running.
As I started out, the odometer had all of 4 miles on it, so I was comparatively ginger with the bike. I was immediately impressed by the clutch, which was light and easy to engage, and not snatchy at all. From the diagrams I'd seen, I figured it might have a last-moment "lock-up" feeling, but I didn't notice it if it did. This was due to a misunderstanding of how the clutch's slipper function worked.
I also immediately noticed that I was riding in the 3000-6000 RPM range almost exclusively. Although you can do this on a 250, it's not a recipe for impressive performance; the 250 doesn't come alive until after 6000 RPM, whereas the 300 was clearly very happy from 2000 up, with plenty of power. The power curve must be much fatter in this range.
The bike made a pronounced high-pitched whine, which was probably coming from the cam chain. It overpowered the relatively subdued exhaust note, and made me feel like I was piloting a spaceship. As RPMs increased, the exhaust got louder, but in around-town riding, all I could hear was the whine. I didn't find it annoying, it was just different. I was wearing earplugs for the ride, so it's possible the whine would be overpowering without them.
The tank width became much more obvious to me once I was rolling, and I noticed that scooting all the way forward into the tank, I was making contact with it all the way along my legs. It was a reassuring contact, which sounds a bit odd to say, but was my impression at the time. The footpegs are the all-metal type now preferred, and I was interested to note that they have a distinct lip on the end, making it immediately obvious through my boots what my foot position was. The foot and hand controls quickly faded into the background, which means they worked as expected.
I found that in practice, I don't much like the layout of the tachometer. I'm used to having about 60% sweep around a circle, and I found the 40% sweep to feel oddly limiting. It was a little bit like driving a 60s Chevrolet, with one of those super wide "linear" speedometers. I'd love to see Kawasaki go back to a larger sweep, more circular tach with an LCD display in the lower corner for speed and such.
I was surprised to find that the LCD includes an ECO indicator (confusingly being a triangle of hexagons, which took me several glances to comprehend). I assume it shows when you're not blazing through gas, but I guess that's not really something I need help with, so I disregarded it once I figured out what it was.
Engines and Transmissions
The engine feels very different, yet very similar, to my familiar 250. The key difference is the addition of power in the 3000-6000 RPM range, which became apparent the instant I started riding. In character, the engines are very similar between the two bikes, which makes sense. They're the same layout, very nearly the same engine.
As a result of the fatter midrange power, the bike felt paradoxically weaker at the top of the RPM range (which I only touched briefly, while getting on the freeway). Although it has 7 more HP at th rear wheel than the 250, the build up to full power is less impressive. It's linear, whereas the 250 has an increasing slope (or so it seems when comparing the two), so that the 250 just seems to keep getting more powerful. The 300 doesn't get that extra punch impression, even though it's a considerably more powerful bike.
The transmission was another feature of the bike that faded into the background. I didn't notice any problems or anything noteworthy about it, which is a solid win in my book. I did notice that the "neutral finder" (blessing of beginners, and bane of bump-starters) feature is still present.
Riding Impressions
The mirrors are too narrow (as usual), so that the only way to see directly behind you is to lean way off to one side. The mirrors showed a perfect reflection of my hands, or the spot in the lane next to me, though. If I get a 300, it will immediately receive bar-end mirrors.
The suspension was pleasantly set up, sporty feeling, but not harsh. I didn't get a chance to really test it, but it's a very nice change compared to how the 250 was originally set up, with super lightweight springs. The tires were also pleasant to ride on, with a very neutral turning feel, and what appeared to be good grip (but again, with only 4 miles on the clock, I wasn't interested in testing how much of the release compound had already been scrubbed off).
The brakes felt fine, although the front brake didn't bite very much. I suspect that will be improved as they wear in. As promised, the stock line didn't particularly feel spongy. I didn't have an ABS model, and wouldn't have had a chance to test it if I did. I noticed on the German site that ABS was only mentioned on the front wheel, and not the rear. It's not clear to me whether or not the ABS system covers the rear wheel (although it probably does).
I didn't really notice the speedometer while riding, other than briefly on the freeway. My impression was that the speed display was a bit on the small side, but that's probably less of a problem once you're accustomed to look for it there. I am pleased to see two trip odometers. I hope the fuel gauge is actually worth anything, but I'm not holding my breath.
Back on Terra Firma
Once I finished up my ride, I took a bunch of photos, and shot a brief video of the gauge cluster's startup sequence. I was disappointed to note that the taillight is a single incandescent bulb, which seems like a mediocre choice in this era of LED taillights. LEDs don't burn out. That alone recommends them highly. If I get a 300, it wlll also immediately receive some add-on LED taillights.
I was pleased to see that the passenger seat (which is easily removed using the ignition key) is designed in such a way that it would be feasible to design replacement plates that could go there. I am specifically thinking of building a cargo plate, which would facilitate my beloved "shrimp basket," which I use practically every time I ride. However, I was also pleased to see that there's a complete set of hooks under the seat: the forward set is small, and just under the edge of the passenger seat; the aft set is larger, and down near the license plate holder. Unfortunately, this positioning means that any straps attached down there will have to rub on the bodywork, making them considerably less appealing.
What Would I Change?
The list of things I'd change on the bike is surprisingly short. I would add one or two power plugs (the little BMW type). I would add bar-end mirrors and LED taillights. I would make up a cargo plate to replace the passenger seat. I might install additional position lights facing forward, to make it even more obvious it's a motorcycle, since the turn signals don't contain running lights. I would look into whether the left switch pod could be replaced with one containing a 4-way flasher switch. On the 250, it's a simple swap, and gives you 4-way flashers (although the turn signal indicator doesn't light up when using them).
Overall, it's a surprisingly well set up bike. The price still gives me pause, but it's easy to see the appeal of the various improvements. It's not hard to imagine that I would pick a 300 as my next bike. My main question is whether I really need a new bike right now. Generally, the answer is no, and there's some appeal to waiting for next year's model. This would give Kawasaki time to sort out any bugs in the design, and might possibly give them time to come to their senses, and offer ABS on all colors, instead of just the Special Edition Horrid Kawasaki Green model.
Posted at 00:30 permanent link category: /motorcycle
Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater