Fun and very engaging middleweight sportsbike
KAWASAKI NINJA 650To my surprise the new Kawasaki Ninja 650 was a fun and very engaging middleweight sportsbike. Even though it's not supersport fun exciting, it still proves to keep up with its main rivals and reward you the harder you ride it.
The Ninja's engine is a parallel twin that makes 68 bhp and 64 nm of torque. It pulls very well all the way up to its 10,000 rpm red line.
But it's not just fun at its limit, it actually has very usable grunt at the lower range which helps getting out of traffic very quickly.
It may not feel as racey as the Suzuki middleweight engine used on the SV650 but you could hardly notice the difference on everyday riding. It may be more inline with the Honda CBR500R and not with the more sport-focused CBR650R. That's a real shame as the engine is quite capable but it almost makes 30 bhp less than the Honda top middleweight sportsbike.
As stated by Kawasaki, the Ninja 650 is a performance tourer. Infact you could enjoy touring on this bike. With its favourable riding position, you're sitting almost completely upright, which is very nice, but it also means you won't get much wind protection out of the stock windscreen. If you're more touring oriented you'll be better off fitting a taller and wider screen to help with buffeting and noise.
Though, I must admit, motorway riding is very pleasant for this kind of bike. The vibrations present just over 60 mph disappear as soon as you knock the top gear in. Becoming as smooth as you'd like for those long journeys.
The new Ninja 650 feels so light and agile, weighing at just over 193 kg wet.
The suspensions are almost perfect, combined with very sharp brakes making handling this bike almost too easy.
You need very little input on the bars when you come to a turn and the bike just leans over for you. I also found it very forgiving if I ever was a bit off approching a bend. The bike seemed to adjust quickly and effortlessly.
The front forks aren't adjustable but they feel very nice. The rear could do with being a bit more firm but you can adjust the preload.
It's actually quite fun to dive in and pick it back up at full gas.
Never have I felt like it was too much to handle, infact the experience was just as Kawasaki always promises it to be. Sharp, precise and refined.
Visibility is awesome too, even though you best set up your mirrors before you start riding, because of their far away position it's almost impossibile to adjust them on the go.
The new TFT dash looks great, but I would have liked to see the control buttons on the handlebars rather than reaching for those below the screen.
Very little equipment comes with this bike, infact there's just ABS, no traction control, riding modes or other electronic rider aids. Let's face it, you probably won't need them as the bike is as composed as it can be.
You can't beat some of the offers now available on this bike at Bolton Motorcycles. Starting from £7,249.00 this Kawasaki Ninja 650 is a stunning sportsbike with a comfortable position and respectable performance.
I highly reccomand you take it for a test ride and experience what this bike has to offer.
Gianluigi Mango
GM MOTO
