Ninja 650R - Ownership Thread

[shivi2]

[QUOTE=ajithk;734451]Good stuff shivi. Keep us updated.


Bajaj expert and 650 mechanic from PBK came by - verdict was mostly tyre noise !!! doubt it as the pitch of the noise doesnt change with road surface!!
Anyways I have been asked to come over to the workshop and compare notes with another 650 parked with them....does anyone have a bit of tappet/valve noise ???? guy says its normal

[shivi2]

[QUOTE=shivi2;735394]

Good stuff shivi. Keep us updated.


Bajaj expert and 650 mechanic from PBK came by - verdict was mostly tyre noise !!! doubt it as the pitch of the noise doesnt change with road surface!!
Anyways I have been asked to come over to the workshop and compare notes with another 650 parked with them....does anyone have a bit of tappet/valve noise ???? guy says its normal

DOHC!! no tappets here I guess!

[ajithk]

Ride down a slope with clutch in and engine off. That should help isolate it. I suspect it is the caliper.

I thought i could hear a similar whirring noise from the front yesterday. Stopped, tapped the caliper bodies with my fist on both sides in the front. About 50 kms down the road, it disappeared by itself.

[sauravalwaysurs]

can anybody tell me what is the speed when in sixth gear when rpm is 4k?

[sauravalwaysurs]

Thanks Saurav, glad this was useful to you. Here are some more pics - some small upgrades, more functional than cosmetic.

Cosmetic changes - removed the saree guard and fitted new license plates.

More upgrades later!

this was the main change considering its size..

[sauravalwaysurs]

Thanks Sachin! For pics, please Ctrl C + Crtl V the link below -

xBhp.com : The Global Indian Biking Community - speedemon's Album: My Ninja650R

in two pics i saw both the indicators on.. how did you do that??

[ajithk]

can anybody tell me what is the speed when in sixth gear when rpm is 4k?

~85kph indicated.

[speedemon]

in two pics i saw both the indicators on.. how did you do that??

Saurav - the N650R has hazard lights, which were flashing when I took the pics.

[Sunnyside_up!]

Hi Guys,

Got my 650R on Sept 5, the third bike in Chennai and the first XBhpian in Chennai.

Have covered 6500 KM in the 75 odd days that I've owned it. I don't commute with it and only use it on weekends and long-distance out-of-towners. I've just returned from a 7 day, 2000+ km ride to Goa that covered TN, Karnataka, Goa and a little bit of Maharashtra too.

To be honest, I was a little disappointed with the 650 when I first got the bike having owned the brilliant 250R earlier. The bike lacked adequate bite in the brakes and the lights were ( still are ) hopeless. Also, the bike seemed to lacked focus with respect to handling, power delivery, etc., That was because I was used to a track oriented bike like the 250R.

Having ridden 6500kms however over all kinds of terrain, from excellent to extremely bad has changed my mind though......the brakes are still not fantastic, though the front does get better with time, and the lights still suck ( which is ok for me since I don't ride at night), but this bike is a simply awesome all-rounder!

It's soft front end which limits razor sharp handling soaks up bumps with ease, while the rear does a decent job even on bad roads. The road from Hubli to Panjim is simply non-existent and is nothing more than a broken gravel and mud track for 165kms but the bike performed brilliantly even in those conditions. Handling is brilliant though again not as track precise as the 250R, and the engine is torquey and willing and pounded everything it came across on the NH4 into dust!! For the Goa trip we had a CB1000R for company and I must say that even the 12L Honda was not as versatile for the myriad riding conditions that we faced.

For the kind of money that we paid for it and what it is capable of as an all-round sports bike, nothing else even comes close....yet.

[n_aditya]

Having ridden 6500kms however over all kinds of terrain, from excellent to extremely bad has changed my mind though......the brakes are still not fantastic, though the front does get better with time, and the lights still suck ( which is ok for me since I don't ride at night), but this bike is a simply awesome all-rounder!

For the kind of money that we paid for it and what it is capable of as an all-round sports bike, nothing else even comes close....yet.

Excellent review Sunny. This is what i was eagerly waiting for... an honest and completely unbiased review. Now i know why this bike is keeping you on the road for days together.

Glad you enjoyed the ride and made it back safe. Do you have any pics to share?

[Sunnyside_up!]

Excellent review Sunny. This is what i was eagerly waiting for... an honest and completely unbiased review. Now i know why this bike is keeping you on the road for days together.

Glad you enjoyed the ride and made it back safe. Do you have any pics to share?

Awesome ride dude....only problem my P&S camera packed up and the roads were too f^^ked up to clamp the GoPro mount onto the bike + since it was a 7 day ride, I had to use a tankbag in addition to the tailbag - so very few pics. Will post them shortly.

Guru has switched the stock brake-pads to EBC Pro's and I believe the bike is now doing stoppies with his 125kg butt on it! Amazing!

Guess that will sort out the braking issues. The lights are ok if you're on a dark road with no ambient light, but with oncoming traffic you sometimes wonder if you have any lights at all!

The 650 Owners FB group is working on that now - will keep you posted.

Incidentally, there is a 300km run 650 for sale in Chennai. The owner has been advised to stay off the bike for health reasons. I think he will be looking at just cost.

[Praful]

Sunny - For braking, why not switch to steel braided hoses. That should improve the feel of braking by a fair margin.

And for lights, are the lights not bright enough or is the throw of light from the reflector not enough?


PS: The 6.5K kms review was what I'd call 'Sealing the deal'! Man the 650 sounds perfect !!

[ajithk]

Many i know going in for steel braided lines because of hear say. Please make sure you know what you are getting into. The braided lines dont like being flexed too much. Look at dirt bikes, they run straight up the fork legs, and are routed so they flex very very little despite the fork travel. Not saying, dont get them. I will be going for them too. Please make sure you know what you are getting into though.

[n_aditya]

Guru has switched the stock brake-pads to EBC Pro's and I believe the bike is now doing stoppies with his 125kg butt on it! Amazing! Guess that will sort out the braking issues. The lights are ok if you're on a dark road with no ambient light, but with oncoming traffic you sometimes wonder if you have any lights at all!

The 650 Owners FB group is working on that now - will keep you posted.

Incidentally, there is a 300km run 650 for sale in Chennai. The owner has been advised to stay off the bike for health reasons. I think he will be looking at just cost.

EBC brake pads are a very good upgrade but they dont last as long as the stock pads. Had them in my esteem for a while when i used to hit the tracks and the bite is excellent but nearly half the life of the stock pads.

Venkat Shyam was mentioning about upgrading the headlights to HID's. You may want to have a word with him. From what we spoke (really short discussion) there is no strain on the wiring, battery, electricals and doesnt compromise on reliability too.

Oh yeah, almost forgot, how much did the 650 deliver to a liter in terms of fuel efficiency? Did you have to look for 91 octane fuel or did she behave well with regular fuel from the highway bunks?

Many i know going in for steel braided lines because of hear say. Please make sure you know what you are getting into. The braided lines dont like being flexed too much. Look at dirt bikes, they run straight up the fork legs, and are routed so they flex very very little despite the fork travel. Not saying, dont get them. I will be going for them too. Please make sure you know what you are getting into though.

Care to highlight more on this Ajith? I am getting a slightly spongy feel on the front brakes after the last brake pad change. Might have to bleed them brakes to improve the feel. The steel braided brake upgrade has me curios for sometime now.

[Sunnyside_up!]

EBC brake pads are a very good upgrade but they dont last as long as the stock pads. Had them in my esteem for a while when i used to hit the tracks and the bite is excellent but nearly half the life of the stock pads.

Don't have many other alternatives IMO, the stock pads do get better with use - but they seem to wear in only by abt 3-4K kms! Also, when you're carrying 200kmph on the NH4, you definitely WANT better braking.

Venkat Shyam was mentioning about upgrading the headlights to HID's. You may want to have a word with him. From what we spoke (really short discussion) there is no strain on the wiring, battery, electricals and doesnt compromise on reliability too.

After getting stuck with a pretty useless 6K touring shield from ZeroG, I've adopted the let someone-try-it-out-first approach!

Oh yeah, almost forgot, how much did the 650 deliver to a liter in terms of fuel efficiency? Did you have to look for 91 octane fuel or did she behave well with regular fuel from the highway bunks?

About 20kmpl average, though I wasn't really taking note. 10K rpm tends to drink petrol - regular sada unleaded zindabad!

Care to highlight more on this Ajith? I am getting a slightly spongy feel on the front brakes after the last brake pad change. Might have to bleed them brakes to improve the feel. The steel braided brake upgrade has me curios for sometime now.

Ajith is right on this. I think the braided hoses may be an over-kill. Guru has fitted them on his bike, and he reported a pain in the a$$ job to do it. Also, the lines per se will only help in transmitting the pressure to the pads, which don't have adequate bite anyway. I'm getting the pads done first and then take a call on the lines.

Guru is currently doing stoppies after changing out the lines AND pads. ..I want to come to Bangalore just to see him do one!! LOL!!

As for switching them out on the 250, why on earth for? The 250 has the best brakes I've ever used. You need to start taking your foot off the rear, and engine brake - use your lessons from the track!!

@ Praful - Buddy, this bike is a real all-rounder - takes rough roads (not off-roading) well and is blindingly fast on the highways too. Will be able to take it 99% of the places you usually visit!

The torquey engine gets you a little lazy since it pulls in 2nd all the way to 120 effortlessly, and once you hit 3rd on the highway, you need to keep telling yourself you have 3 more gears since it happily chugs along all day at 150.....

Even though the bars and seating are quite upright, after getting used to it, you'll be taking corners like a pro. A month back on the Kotagiri twisties, I was gamely tailing Rajiv, who's a fast rider on his 250R, while a twenty something on a CeeBeeAar 250 was struggling to keep pace. The Amboli ghats on the Goa ride were lots of fun too.