Yet Another Bike Review - #Ninja300 | Why I selected Ninja300 as my second bike?

Yamaha FZ-S my first bike. I bought it in 2010 as soon as I started by professional career. It was purchase from practical point of view rather than anything else. My first job was in Chennai and one of my 'wise friend' suggested me to get my own vehicle if I don't was local autowallas to rob my entire salary. That ended by being a good decision though my riding endeavors remained restricted to local commute.

In 2014, I moved to Mumbai as I changed my job, and continued using my bike for local commutes. I was quite happy with the FZ-S and the limited performance it offered for my daily commutes.

I don’t remember what triggered the itch to change/ upgrade the bike but it happened in the latter half of 2018. Let me try to put down criteria I put down for shortlisting the bikes:

1. It should have more power than my FZ-S, i.e. cruising speed of 100-110km per hr;
2. Can also be used for daily commute including peak traffic;
3. Should be more comfortable than my FZ-S (but again I haven’t tested FZ-S on the highway)

Bikes that I ruled out:

1. RE 650 twins: In the past, their bikes have been unreliable (these new REs are superb by the way), high vibrations, and underwhelming performance. Last but not the least, too many REs on the road :-);  
2. TVS RR310: Exciting bike from TVS, but reviews mentioned quite a bit of vibration (this has been rectified in the BS6 version), plus a smaller tank;
3. Bajaj Dominar400: Initial reviews were good but given this was a new bike from their stable, I wasn’t sure of taking a bet on the reliability;
4. KTM 390 Duke: Two issues with the model at that time - first, I’m 6 foot and the ergonomics were a bit cramped and second, engine heating problem in heavy traffic (this has been sorted to large extent in BS6 version). Since I wanted a bike that I can use for my daily commute as well, I passed it. 

Based on these, I narrowed down on the following bikes:

1. FZ-250: Well the reviews of the bike weren't great but I initially had a soft corner. I have been using FZ-S for the last 8 years. I even took the test ride with Yamaha Dealer in Borivali West. A couple of issues - they weren’t allowing test rides for longer distance as they should, secondly, I wasn’t impressed with the bike in the quick short ride that I took.  
2. Yamaha R3: By now I have done quite a bit of online research and knew (theoretically) that twin-cylinder engines are much better in terms of refinement as well as the power delivery and hence was willing to look at the super expensive R3 as well. And got another surprise, the dealer didn’t have R3 test bikes available. Feedback to Yamaha, if you want to sell your premium bikes, please ask your dealers to keep test bikes, or better yet, just like Honda, launch a premium version of your dealership because apart from the price of R3, your existing dealers are certainly not helping you sell any. Another disappointment was the financing partnership that Yamaha dealer had with ICICI bank. Given that their volume comes from mass product, financing wasn’t designed for customers willing to shell out money for R3. How? Will tell you when in the paragraph below.  
3. Kawasaki Ninja300: After the underwhelming experience with Yamaha Dealer, I was back to square one, when I came across a review of Ninja300 and how localisation has helped the manufacturer to reduce the price by INR 50K while offering slipper and assist clutch, and dual-channel ABS. Now, Ninja300 has been a dream bike since the first time I saw it parked in an office parking space in Chennai. The price reduction only further fueled the old dream, so the only question I had was can it handle the traffic? So I dropped by at the Anzen Kawasaki dealership in Andheri. The difference in customer treatment was apparent as soon as I stepped foot in the showroom, it was as simple as offering water/tea/coffee to patiently explaining the bike. When I asked for a test ride, initially I was offered the same quick trip around the building, to which I politely declined and told them that I wanted to test the bike in real traffic. They obliged for it, as they should (quick lesson - if any dealer is not offering/ allowing you a proper test ride, they don’t deserve your money). It was still a 5km round trip but in Mumbai, traffic and I were immediately convinced that this is the bike that I’m going to buy (I’ll talk about it shortly). They had a financing tie-up with HDFC and terms were much sweeter than what I was offered by the ICICI bank agent at Yamaha Dealer (premium bike > premium customer > better price). It’s another matter that I went with Yes Bank as I was able to get an even better deal from them.

So this is not a review after a test ride. I bought the bike in January 2019, did 10,000km in the first 12 months and despite the lockdown added another 6,000km in 2020. This includes my daily commute to the office, multiple breakfast rides to Ahura Hotel (one of the favourite breakfast hangout place for Superbike owners) on Mumbai-Gujarat highway, multiple rides to Talegaon (just before Pune), Mumbai - Pune - Kaas - Mahabaleshwar - Mumbai (700km round trip), Mumbai - Hampi - Badami - Mumbai (1600km round trip), Mumbai - Goa via old highway - Mumbai via new highway (1200 km round trip) and the latest South India Trip, i.e. Mumbai - Hubli - Gokarna - Kannur - Kozhikode - Munnar - Coimbatore - Ooty - Coorg - Belur - Hubli - Mumbai (3800km round trip).

So I have tested the bike quite well in traffic, highway, twisties, and a little bit off-roading (Munnar) and I have to say - in short, it has come out with flying colours. To date, I have always felt that I’m now approaching my riding limit but never felt that I have reached the bike's limit in terms of what it can do.

Before I go into further details, let me put out the basic information that is available in the public domain:

• 296cc liquid-cooled 4 stroke twin-cylinder engine
• Generates max power of 39.4 PS @ 11,000 rpm and max torque of 27 Nm @ 10,000 rpm
• Metal Fuel Tank with 17 litres capacity
• Dual-Channel ABS with Slipper-Assist Clutch with 6-speed manual gearbox
• Semi-digital basic instrument cluster with projector headlights
• 17 inch MRF tyres with alloy wheels

Let me try to give my experience or review of my Ninja300 or Toothless (yes, that’s what I call it!!!) in a question-answer kind of format:

Q1. Can this be a beginner or first bike?

=> Yes, absolutely. The power terrain builds up linearly, and hence even as a beginner you can use it comfortably unlike say Duke390/ RC390. If you are a beginner then the only thing I would suggest, get yourself very well acquainted with the bike power delivery, earn your stripes the hard way, before you open it up on the highway beyond 7,000 rpm because above 7,000 rpm it’s an absolute beast and will give run for money to few larger bikes as well.

Q2. Ergonomics/ Ride Comfort?

=> Don’t get fooled by the looks. It looks like a proper sports bike but the ergonomics are quite comfortable. I wouldn’t say it’s neutral, as a rider you have to lean a little forward and footpegs are slightly rear-set and a little high. It creates a very comfortable riding position, which doesn’t put undue pressure on your wrist or shoulders like RC390 or Yamaha R15 which have a very aggressive stance. 

Another thing, the engine heat dissipation is a beauty in this bike. One of the biggest problems of riding higher cc bikes in traffic is that they become hot and your thighs/calf get cooked. But not in Ninja300 (apparently, Kawasaki has worked their magic on their higher cc bikes as well), as the heat dissipation system works beautifully which keeps you very comfortable riding in city traffic as well.

Lastly, the stock seats are also very comfortable for the rider. Not too stiff, neither too soft. It is wide and there is enough room to move around. Though the same can’t be said for the pillion seat/ comfort. If you are planning to ride with a pillion, I will recommend upgrading the pillion seat. Overall, based on my experience I can confidently recommend this bike to anyone for touring as well as daily commute.

Q3. The ever perennial question - ‘Kitna deti hai’?

=> In heavy traffic, it gives me 23-25km/ltr and on highways, it returns as high 28 km/ltr. I would put it as decent numbers given the way I ride and with a 17 ltr tank, one full tank can keep you going non-stop for at least 400-450km before you stop for fuel.

Q4. Touring Capability

=> This is where everything comes together, and it will put a smile on your face every time you ride this bike. As I have mentioned above, on highways above 7,000rpm bike is the happiest and will easily do 100-130 km/hr whole day long. While many thrill-seekers may want more, let me tell you on Indian roads, combined with if you want to ride for long hours, this is a very good cruising speed. In my book beyond this speed, it starts becoming very dangerous. While I have taken the bike beyond 130 km/hr quite a few times but those have been short bursts rather than riding at those speeds for long hours. 

There are enough videos on youtube that showcase that Ninja300 can reach a top speed of 176-180km/hr however till now I haven’t managed the courage to take it beyond 150km/hr. Quick advice, don’t try anything which you are not comfortable with.

Lastly, the bike has multiple ‘hook’ points to tie-up your luggage, or saddlebags. 

Q5. Cornering Capability

When it comes to twisties, the smile simply keeps getting bigger and bigger. The slightly rear-set foot-pegs placed relatively higher, allows you to lean the bike to serious angles without scraping the footpegs. The bike is extremely flickable and just wants you to lean more and more. While till now I have not found myself wanting-for more grip during cornering, extreme corner buffs may want to change the stock tyres to something more sticky like Michelin Road 5 or something.

Q6. Rider aides

=> It comes with simple but extremely useful rider aides - Dual channel ABS and Slipper-and-Assist clutch. The ABS is never too intrusive but kicks in at the right time to save your ass (it has done that quite a few times for me already). And the slipper-and-assist clutch allows you to downshift aggressively, whether you want to use it for overtaking or for extreme engine braking.

Q7. Instrument Cluster/ lighting etc

=> In today’s day and age, one will be underwhelmed with the Ninja300 instrument cluster as it’s very basic hybrid Analog-Digital cluster. It doesn’t have a gear indicator, no hazard lighting switch, no fancy riding modes either. To be honest, I have only missed the gear indicator a few times and would have certainly preferred a fully digital console but again no complaint.

If I have a complaint, it is about the headlight, they are pathetic and don’t provide enough lighting on the road. Hence I have upgraded the headlight to LED lights which cost me INR 6000 and have improved the lighting by a great margin giving much higher confidence while riding at night.

Q8. Suspension and ground clearance

=> It comes with a non-adjustable telescopic suspension in the front and mono-shock at the rear which is adjustable. However, adjusting the rear mono-shock is not easy. You have to take out your toolbox to do it. I have been using it on its stock setting of 2 (out of 5) and it has been comfortable for me - I have done all my trips without a pillion till now. If you plan to ride with a pillion, I would recommend trying to set it at 3 or even 4. Why? This is the last gripe I have with Kawasaki, and it is the ground clearance of 140mm. It is just enough for our Indian roads which many times have a mountain for speed breakers. Another 5mm of ground clearance and it would have made life so much easier. 

After riding a few thousand kilometres, I have figured out tricks to avoid bumping the bike’s bottom on the speed breaker but I’m riding without a pillion. With a pillion and stock setting, you will bottom out and scrape the bottom.

Conclusion

So, if you can afford it, go ahead and buy it. In my view, it is the best twin cylinder bike available in the market today. Irrespective of what your trip throws at you, the bike will handle it and will bring a smile to your face.