Ninja 650R - Ownership Thread

[zimbly]

Congrats for the bike. And for a very well written post. Similar emotions here and among many other bikers who are awaiting delivery of the great ninja!
I booked mine on the 17th.

Thanks amar, trust me when i say, i know how impatient one can get awaiting delivery. Wishing u a speedy wait and many miles of ear to ear grins riding the kwacker.

Congrats Zimbly and looking forward to the post

Thanks Vectorz, she is terrific isn't she. colour is ideal too, makes people turn Green with envy(pun intended).
Post with photos and riding experience coming up tomorrow.

[vectorz]

" Veni, vidi, Vici"
More on the riding experience and photographs in my next post

Congrats Zimbly and looking forward to the post

[amar_bk]

Congratulations zimbly.

Congrats for the bike. And for a very well written post. Similar emotions here and among many other bikers who are awaiting delivery of the great ninja!
I booked mine on the 17th.

[zimbly]

Lock, Stock and one smokin Green barrel

There is a biker in all of us - in varying levels of passion. My passion finally caught up with me after all these years. After splendors and Kinetics to start with, i never stopped dreaming about moving up the rungs. The first rung was the FZ 16. the intrigue of owning one the the coolest looking 150cc bikes then was rather short lived... its been 3 years since and finally mustered the courage and finances to jump a couple of rungs.

Yup, i booked the ninja 650. In fact i wanted the bike so badly that since its media launch on the 9th of Aug, i have been practically at the Bund Garden Probiking showroom practically every day, only to be met with the recorded conversation time and time again - " Sir, when we open the bookings we will send you a mail". This was after the salesperson told me that there are only 4 bikes allocated for pune. So i became part of their showroom exhibit for the 2 weeks, albeit for a small duration on a daily basis. Finally on the 21st Aug, the salesperson tells me that all the bikes for pune were going to be allocated to bajaj references, and then he puts a rider that in case any bike is available from the lot he will let me have it. To say i was disappointed would have been an understatement.

Finally on the 23rd noon i got a call from Probiking, saying that one of the prospective Bajaj references had not turned up and if he remained incognito until 3 pm i could book the bike. At 3PM i disapparated aka Harry Potter style and magically appeared at the showroom. And as luck would have it i booked the bike and then the usual "awaiting delivery" blues hit me.

It took all my will power not to be a part of the Probiking exhibit for another next 2 weeks.

Fastforwarding through the agonizing wait, 4th Sept - got a call from them saying that the registration is done. I was in Goa at the time, supposedly partying until the 6th. 5th morning i checked out and was the Probiking showroom by 1630. Ofcourse, the one day delay in me collecting the bike gave me the opportunity to get rid of the Soree guard / Barbeque grill / Jail gate or whatever you may want to call the most pathetic saree guard ever to be fitted on a bike.
So when i went for delivery i had a suave and sexy looking derriere for the bike. Finished the formalities in a hurry and grabbed the keys. Got a quick demo from the guys at Probiking and she was all mine.
Fired her up and stuck it in first and trundled along in the rain for the most anticipated ride of my life. all i can add to describe the ride is " Veni, vidi, Vici"
More on the riding experience and photographs in my next post

[vectorz]

O man!

Went down to PBK to see the bike ... O MAN! I just stood there and grinned like an idiot for 10 mins ... It is awesome, beefy big, shorter than in pics, the finish is superb. I wanted to hug it.

One of the guys came over and was trying to explain the bike and I was like no thanks ... Already have one! , couldn't believe it I actually do..Now just can't wait to get the bike.

My trip of this weekend has been postponed as the RTO certificate for this lot of bike in karnataka has not come so next week now

[vectorz]

Congratulations Vectorz !! Awaiting your initial feedback and experiences !

Thanks Varun, will post as pics soon I am back and initial feedback to follow. Have you got delivery? if yes please share your experience too.

[Varun.Lamba]

Congratulations Vectorz !! Awaiting your initial feedback and experiences !

[Sunnyside_up!]

So wanted to know from previous owners or anyone who knows, in how many Km does one need to change out the soft compound tires on the bike? I have heard on most bikes it is 5-6K Km is that correct?

I have one of the highest mileage 2011 bikes. Changed the tyres at 16k Km's. Would have lasted a bit more if not for some tyre shredding action at the track. Metzelers and Dunlop Road smarts are available at about 24 k. I upgraded to some incredible Michelin Pilot Road 3's. Superb tyres!

[ABikerAtHeart]

So wanted to know from previous owners or anyone who knows, in how many Km does one need to change out the soft compound tires on the bike? I have heard on most bikes it is 5-6K Km is that correct?

and the brand, profile and price too.

[vectorz]

Tyre Tire?

So wanted to know from previous owners or anyone who knows, in how many Km does one need to change out the soft compound tires on the bike? I have heard on most bikes it is 5-6K Km is that correct?

[James]

Arghhh...Hulk smash! Dude tactic working and turning into a green monster..

Good one James! and I really hope i can return the favor someday in spades, but thanks for the pics feels good to see the bike had asked the folks at the showroom to send pics too but i guess you beat them to the punch!

And if i did not need that "vertical luggage rack" to register the bike I promise you we would have had a bbq with it. I have to ride back and live with it till i register the bike.

That wouldn't be any time soon! I already have my dream bikes!

The bike had just reached the service center this morning. They will send you pics later in the day! I was informed of the bike reaching the Supreme motors go-down but had no clue who bought it!

As per the guys there, all the bikes booked are booked by out-of-towners! Pity noone here booked one!

If you intend on taking a lotta pics on the way back, pull off the guard and chuck it into an overnight bus to blore! Its quite an eye sore and will ruin the pics!

Are you on whattsapp?


Cheers!

[vectorz]

Arghhh!

Sounds good mate! Anyway, here are 2 pics of your bike! Im just doing my part in making the wait unbearable! Evil, aren't' I?


Cheers!

P.S. I suggest a bbq party while you are here! That saree guard/grill will come in handy!

Arghhh...Hulk smash! Dude tactic working and turning into a green monster..

Good one James! and I really hope i can return the favor someday in spades, but thanks for the pics feels good to see the bike had asked the folks at the showroom to send pics too but i guess you beat them to the punch!

And if i did not need that "vertical luggage rack" to register the bike I promise you we would have had a bbq with it. I have to ride back and live with it till i register the bike.

[James]

Thanks James, will update as we finalize plans, wont be Monday more like towards the weekend.

Sounds good mate! Anyway, here are 2 pics of your bike! Im just doing my part in making the wait unbearable! Evil, aren't' I?


Cheers!

P.S. I suggest a bbq party while you are here! That saree guard/grill will come in handy!

[vectorz]

That sounds great! Congrats mate! Lemme know if you are free to meetup on monday @ mlore. Id love to have a look at the bike if possible.

Cheers!

Thanks James, will update as we finalise plans, wont be Monday more like towards the weekend.

Congrats! Saw your post here long time ago when your friend got the GT, Hope the N650R will be worth the wait

Thanks Brat, yup the both of us have been planning bikes for a while and now that the Ninja is here there was no way my friend would pass up an occasion to ride it on a long trip, as I have been riding the GT650N a fair bit over the last few months.

[Brat]

Well getting the bike registered is not too much of a runaround these days more so because the bike is from Karnataka. The dealer has said he will get help with the registration.

Congrats! Saw your post here long time ago when your friend got the GT, Hope the N650R will be worth the wait