Video : The 2008 250R at Barcellona

Here is a video of the 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R at the Barcellona track. Enjoy!

Kawasaki Ninja 250R for India : changes being made

We told you about the Kawasaki Ninja 250R for the Indian market here.
The news is very much confirmed. Infact, after Yamaha launched a baby R1, named the YZF-R15 for around USD $2400, Bajaj (the company who wants to get the Ninja 250R to India), is now working on localizing some of the components to reduce the cost of the Ninja 250R to around Rs 1.6 lakh or USd $ 3500.
It will be interested to see if this can happen!

Worth reading:
Yamaha's naked 160cc for India
India gets GP edition 150cc from Honda
TVS, an Indian manufacturer launches FI 160cc bike

Kawasaki Ninja 250R for the Interstate / highway?

Lot of prospective owners / current owners of the little Kawasaki Ninja 250R have this question - can the bike be good on the interstate or highways?

Well, i came across this forum where a guy wanted to know if it was ok to ride his Ninja 250R on the interstate which had a limit of 65mph / 104km/h.

The little Ninja can surely do around 90mph or 144km/h (true speed) any day. I reckon, this bike can easily keep up with the traffic and stay at 65-70mph easily.

Read the forum for more.

In the meantime, have a look at the 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R and the performance figures for the Ninja 250R

2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R

Here is the official picture of the 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R. Nothing much has changed, but the new color combination looks quite good.

Pricing as per the website remains between USD $3999 - USD $4099.

Colors are now: Metallic Diablo Black, Sunbeam Red, Candy Thunder Blue, Special Edition Lime Green / Metallic Diablo Black

There is a special edition version ( Lime Green / Metallic Diablo Black) Which also looks to get wheel stripes.

Also read
Get 5 more bhp from the 250R
Performance figures for the 250R
Tyre upgrades for the Ninja 250R
Ninja 250R first ride report

2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R

Deliveries of the 2009 model of Kawasaki Ninja 250R have begun.
To start with Australia now gets the Lime Green color option.

Fresh Ninja 250Rs also hitting the US showrooms. We dont know yet if they are re badged old ones or new ones.. Watch this space for more

5 bhp increase on the 250R!

Got this link on the net. Roaring Toyz have this special exhaust for the Ninja 250R and claim to increase the max power by 5bhp!!

Available for 600 USD... Follow this LINK

2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R performance figures

Here are a few figures from www.cycleworld.com



Price $3499
Dry weight 352 lb.
Wheelbase 54.9 in.
Seat height 31.0 in.
Fuel mileage 60 mpg (this is US mpg - means 25.5km per litre!)
0-60 mph 7.6 sec.
1/4-mile 15.54 sec. @ 82.70 mph
Horsepower 27.2 hp @ 10,770 rpm (again, diff power figs will be there for Europe model)
Torque 14.3 ft.-lb. @ 9650 rpm
Top speed 96 mph (or 154km/h)

Tyre upgrades for the 2008 Ninja 250R

The stock 110mm front

replaced with this 120mm

The stock 130mm of the rear...

replaced with this 150mm

While randomly surfing, i came across this article about tyre upsizing for the Kawasaki Ninja 250R. The guy at 2fiddy had posted this

The stock tyre is a 130/70 on 17inch alloy.
One can up size it to 150/70 on the same 17inch alloy

Also, this guy has upsized the front from a 110 to a 120.
Looks cool or not, you decide!!

In the meantime, have a look at the new 150cc bike from Yamaha for India. Yes, India again it is!
Click HERE to see the new 16bhp 150cc bike called the Yamaha YZF-R15

2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R : First Ride Report

Here is the official first ride report of the 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R by www.motorcycledaily.com

I'll bet you can't guess which Kawasaki is the best selling model. Is it the popular middle weight supersport ZX-6R? How about the recently redesigned dual purpose KLR650? If you guessed either of these bikes, you are wrong.

The top seller for Kawasaki has been the Ninja 250R . . . a bike that has been largely unchanged since 1988. That is, until the introduction of the all new 2008 250R....

See First Ride Report for the full read

Kawasaki Ninja 250R to enter India

Here is a link to the news 2008 Ninja 250R for India
Kawasaki seems to have tied up with an Indian manufacturer, Bajaj.
Bajaj will import the Ninja250R in CKD form from Thailand to save on custom duties. The bike should go on sale in a few months time.
India is the land of the worlds largest selling motorcycle brand. There are two-wheelers just about everywhere. We are sure the Ninja 250R will sell like hot cakes specially because the fastest bike India currently makes is a 220cc 20bhp one! Phew...

We are sure Indian bikers must be a happy lot now

Aftermarket pipes for Ninja 250R

Kawasaki's Ninja 250R is set to be one of the stand-out bikes for 2008, and if you're still umming-and-ahhing about getting one, these two new pipes could seal the deal.

Log on to Yoshimura and Two Brothers for a look.


The Yoshimura Dual TRC is available in carbon-fibre, stainless steel or titanium finish.



The second pipe is the Two Brothers M2 slip-on also available in a selection of finishes.

Between, in the recently concluded Auto Expo show in India, Bajaj, an Indian Manufacturer, has announced that it will be selling the Ninja 250R (locally assembled) in the next few months. Good news for this power starved country!