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**nitrosatya** · 06-10-2011, 01:17 PM

As a teenager, I watched with dreamy eyes as Foggy belted his 916 to finish line. I used to get my kicks when a certain fluorescent yellow "46" nastro-azzuro Honda used to power-wheelie out of corners. Also when an orange "46" repsol used to OWN everyone on racetrack. When a blue Yamaha created sensation while overtaking at Laguna Seca.

So would I buy a touring bike?

{Maybe after the age of 40}

Cheers!

**captain koli** · 06-10-2011, 01:27 PM

n650r rocks

@all xbhp members this bike rocks looks big in person and the fit and finish is top quality and the pricing is just mind blowing

only if this had a ninja 1000 feel and look and 650cc i4 engine i will buy it in a heart beat

but im a vroom vroom guy so ill pass this baby

but still this is a sexy bike

**satyenpoojary** · 06-10-2011, 01:28 PM

i ride an average of 30-35 K Kms in a year.so what I do when I look for bigger displacement bike--I make a practical decision of going for N650 r (for ex. only)
with an FE of 20 kmpl & no. of service intervals in a total run of 30 k kms --does it not defeat the purpose of making it practical now ?

@DK: NO! In caps, thats still way cheaper than driving in a cage! and it makes the weekend rides AND or the tours so much more better! :P

and +1 on the 250. In a nut shell the duality in your preference is easy touring (Impact of Wallet effect as well) with the CBR
AND
Some Adrenaline rush on the weekend (for which you prefer a sporty bike!) (but yet no hunto!)

The same differs for GS, the same differs for TenHut and the same differs for me too!
I would prolly give the mad adrenaline duties to the KTM200 :P (or 690 if they effin launch it!)

The point is that a lot of people here are trying to find thier 'dhoombike' from this bike. Thats messing it up.

Chalo enough of this never ending discussion... So Guru, Aditya, RabidRacoon are you buying the n650?

**sheelpriye** · 06-10-2011, 01:40 PM

^^You aren't getting the replies/response you expect and they the responses aren't in line with your way of thinking. Hence the rant.

Its totally understandable & I sympathize with you.

(*Fixed)

**satyenpoojary** · 06-10-2011, 01:42 PM

^Huh! Was that for me? I keel you!

**Shivanshu** · 06-10-2011, 01:48 PM

Originally posted by gsferrari View Post

The general populace here has a tendency to shutter out any bike that wasn't featured in Dhoom/Dhoom-2/Dhoom-3 and whatever else sort of tinsel rubbish that litters the editing room floor.

They are so blinded that they can't see the bike for what it is! Something that will get them to work and back everyday, take them to ladakh and back without any unwarranted drama and still be around 10 years from now as boring and laid back as it was the day you bought it.

Among other issues...this applies to most I4 bikes unless you plan to ride only on weekends and early in the morning.

A smart individual or a successful investment banker win because they invest in the right resource at the right time and place

I am sticking with the MT01 which runs on almost anything you can fill the tank with. In addition I will invest in a smaller second bike to putter around town and take to far-away destinations. The 650R is the top contender at this point in time.

1. Regular bent steel tube handlebar:

Drop a bike with clip-ons and when they break...pray you have auto-rickshaw fare to take you home and call for the Tata Ace / 407. With a regular handle-bar you can simply whack it back into shape and provided the levers haven't broken - find your way back home. I crashed my Karizma at MMSC at Turn-2 and the handlebar was bent 90 degrees. Rode back to the pits...hammered it back out and I was back out on track 20 minutes later. Repairing the scrape on my ass took longer than that! A friend dropped his R1 and the first thing that broke was the clip-on. Game Over!

On a long ride...(just imagine Ladakh) if this happens to you...which would you prefer?

2. Upright riding ergonomics:

I cannot say this enough - The best riding posture for us non-racers is the upright posture. It gives you the best all-round visibility and you can therefore react to situations much faster. It is easier to get your feet down to the ground when things get slippery for that little bit extra support. You will need this when you suddenly find oil on the road in front of you (Mumbai), Sand on the road in front of you (Chennai), Gravel and rocks on the road in front of you (Bangalore) and Desi Kudis on the road in front of you (Namma Delhi). Wrist pain, lower back pain and neck pain - anyone who rides a superbike longer than 2-3 hours at a time will feel this stiffness.

3. Narrow tires:

They don't look that "Manly"? So what...lets see who is manly when you are ploughing through a 2-3" thick layer of sand on the road on your 300 section rear tire

More like sailing in this case. Narrow tires WORK for India. They pick up less rubbish, work better in water and debris on the road, wear more evenly and are cheaper to replace! They also generate less drag and improve fuel efficiency and vehicle performance.

4. The fugly windshield:

Rossiter had an eagle land on him in a real Neil Armstrong moment...at something like 180 Kph on the R1. He is still here with us but I am sure a nice tall windshield might have done a better job of protecting him. On a long ride it is really nice to get out of the way of the wind...the buffeting gets awfully tiring after a while. I know - I ride a naked bike and I am only partially deaf now.

Need more?

Possibly true...but thats all you guys expect out of your rides isn't it?

Look good, sound good, go fast, roll up into Lonavala every Sunday morning and get your jollies off discussing your latest racefit growler and roll back home in a haze of tire smoke and noise.

There is nothing wrong with that...Nothing wrong with being cool and doing 300Km of mileage in a month. You'll save money on fuel, tires, wear and tear and still wear a big smile on your face. What is wrong with that?

The tragedy is that the population starts believing that this is all there is to biking and gets caught up in the rat race to have the biggest, fastest, loudest and the foundation erodes...

The riding stops...and the preening begins...

Now I know liter bike riders who ride like there is no tomorrow and I respect them. They can change a tire on their own, service their bikes on their own and they ride so they don't have time for tomfoolery like swapping exhausts and stickers every two days. I know who these people are and they know who I am so all is good between us despite your interpretation of my posts.

If you think you are an idiot for buying an i4 - nothing I do/say/edit in my posts can change that. I don't think you are an idiot...your view of biking is just transcendentally different from mine. You could call me an idiot for doing 30,000 Kms on the MT-01 in less than 2 years...sure! I'm on my third set of tires, the resale value of my bike is shot to bits, Thor has battle-scars and wears the face of a seasoned warrior...

But I buy a bike so I can ride...not so I can be popular with the rest of the guys...or chicks.

GS very well said and explained in top notch rpm style how MT does it. The practicality seems to be gone way off-shore for the bikers, its more of what you have in your stable. I am myself looking forward for the Ninja 650, which may be proven to be the best sports-tourer in India. Though my personal favourite being the Tenere XT660Z and the Super Tenere, but I dont see them coming to India. So, what this Ninja is for I am sure its gonna do a hell of a job here, specially since we know that Ninjas do what they are made for

Though one question I had is the Fuel for the Ninja 650, can it run on any fuel or only 91 OCtane as it has a high compression ratio. Like say while touring to hills where we dont even get Premium forget about Octane, then what?? Normal Fuel + Octane Booster? Can you please shed some light on this.

And yes Helmets Off for 30K in 2yrs on your Beast

**niks_devil666** · 06-10-2011, 02:08 PM

Originally posted by prashant Gosavi View Post

Does'nt anybody think that the 650 is just a ER-6F repackaged as a Ninja for the Indian market ?

The bike sells in Europe as ER-6f and as Ninja 650R in US.

Originally posted by gsferrari View Post

How many you have lived with a ZX6R to know what it is like to ride on a daily basis. I can tell you...
1. Early clutch replacement. The combination of the bikes non-existent bottom-end torque and our stop-go-traffic = Clutch Kebab!
2. Invest in new fairing lowers and exhaust headers everytime you hear that delightful "scrrrruncchch" as you go over a speed-breaker. Or look like a total spanner as you climb off the bike, gingerly roll it over the speed-breaker and clamber back on it while the aunty on her Activa overtakes you...again...for the 15th time that morning!
3. Wear heat-reflective clothing...or re-deploy your mom's oven mitts around your calves and thighs as your legs gradually cook into drumsticks as the heat from the radiators is generously blown onto you!
4. Watch your wallet cringe as the 97 octane bills come tubling down the slopes of sHell!

Among other issues...this applies to most I4 bikes unless you plan to ride only on weekends and early in the morning.

You missed "parking and taking U-Turns/tight turns is next to impossible" in your list

Originally posted by n_aditya View Post

Regular maintenance itself on these machines cost a bomb and if its a crash or a slide then its even more worse. Will cost an arm, a leg, a kidney and a lung too.

So true

+1
People dream and aspire to buy Loud Inline-4 Super sport bikes. They miss out on the fact that using them everyday can become a pain.Haven't you seen most SBK's are not even run 2-3k kms a year.

I almost got myself a similar deal before I realised I wanted a bike which I could use regularly and not only for Sunday morning rides. The lust and fascination for super sports will always be there for all of us. One has to understand his own requirements before putting his money down.
-------
The 650 R comes in at such a mouth watering price.With that comfortable ergonomics and sufficient power it makes it a much more practical bike than the big litre class bikes.

**fireblah** · 06-10-2011, 02:45 PM

Hello,
Just read the review, did not read all comments...
just wanted to say that the pricing is so dam good , that alone will sell the bike ! Bike is good looking.
Also, a question, why do you have to do a burnout on all bikes ? Its criminal on the tyres... is it a sign of manhood or something ?
Also, nice location of pictures ! May I know where it is ?

@vaibhavpisal : honda lacks character ? guess you are right. I think I will take that as a compliment for honda... They deserve a different category.. maybe that category should be called, Honda ?

and about the whiff that i scented in this thread about touring/sports/track etc, its all cool. !
Its a state of mind.. what kind of bike you like. I hate riding R1, but sometimes, just sometimes when the mood is whacky and wild, I have to get on top of the One... she gives you 100% satisfaction when you ask for it

I still cant get over CB400 which I rode at Honda manesar plant... was the most brilliant bike I rode ever !
I love fireblade so much that I cant think of any reason (except maybe road condition) as to why I cant take her to leh laddakh ? Yes will use track for touring ... ( jo hoga dekha jayega )

This 650R seems great, I think kawasaki has flicked their 'party on' switch now... and I am sure Indians are going to welcome this package of theirs whole heartedly ...

**neil.jericho** · 06-10-2011, 02:49 PM

Very nice pictures as always but honestly the writing trails behind the photography. Waiting for the full review in the magazine. Loved the discussion over the last few pages, that's what keeps me coming back to this site.

Honestly I've always been fascinated by 'sports bike' and I loved the shark looking ZX 10R from a few years back but as i get older (and hopefully wiser) I know that when I do end up buying a big bike, its probably going to be a more usable bike (Bandit / N650R) than a litre class bike that will scare the socks off me. Though I wouldnt mind having an Aprilia RSV4 in my garage as well somewhere down the line. Thats how I look at it, to each his own.

**xionite** · 06-10-2011, 03:44 PM

^^ u need to stick to the 2011 speculation thread bud.
nothing's off limits for you there.

**harishsangwan** · 06-10-2011, 03:52 PM

Has any XBhp member owned this bike before? Obviously not in India, but may be other country. Needed comments from a first hand experience about the exhaust, when taking it off-road.
I know I have asked the same thing earlier as well, but then dint really get a reply.

**xionite** · 06-10-2011, 04:10 PM

Originally posted by harishsangwan View Post

Has any XBhp member owned this bike before? Obviously not in India, but may be other country. Needed comments from a first hand experience about the exhaust, when taking it off-road.
I know I have asked the same thing earlier as well, but then dint really get a reply.

saw ur first two posts about the 650R exhaust...
didn't reply coz i don't have any first hand experience with the N650R.

but it's only logical to assume that if the exhaust is submerged it's gonna be a problem.

**n_aditya** · 06-10-2011, 04:22 PM

Originally posted by satyenpoojary View Post

So Guru, Aditya, RabidRacoon are you buying the n650?

To be honest, i'm not done with the 250R yet. It still a fun bike to ride and i'm not bored of it. Sometimes i feel the need for faster acceleration but i'll bide my time. I dont see a point keeping both the 250 and the 650 cos i wouldn't be doing justice to them both. Plus the 250 is a great track tool so it'll be hard for me to let her go. I've enjoyed my 4-wheeled days at the track so i know the 250 is going to make me love her even more.

I'll wait and watch and prolly pick up a used one down the line... and i may have more choices also at that time

**harishsangwan** · 06-10-2011, 04:48 PM

Originally posted by xionite View Post

saw ur first two posts about the 650R exhaust...
didn't reply coz i don't have any first hand experience with the N650R.

but it's only logical to assume that if the exhaust is submerged it's gonna be a problem.

Maybe the member that I was talking about is from another forum.

The reason I asked about it being kinda submerged is coz there have been times when my Karizma was kinda stuck in water, but then its exhaust is at an elevated level when compared to that of the 650r. Also, I did have to drag the bike out of water and sand but it would be very difficult to do the same with the 650 due to its weight.

**bikefreak** · 06-10-2011, 04:52 PM

Booked the bike today

Supposed to get delivery by mid July.

Cheers

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The xBhp Ninja 650R Review

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