Re: Kawasaki Ninja 300 Ownership Experience

Just got myself into the conclusion that this is a very much dead group. Never mind, It has been 3 days with her, 1000kms and first service completed today.
One thing I noticed is the chain sound. It is always present and 90% owners has it. So ignoring it.

And the most important this is oil level. After filling the prescribed 2.2L of oil along with oil filter change, the oil level when viewed through oil level indicator, it just doesnt show up. Service guys are very well known of this and they said thats fine because many users had complained the same and they contacted Kawasaki and they were informed not to put more than 2.3L max.. Anyone else with this problem , pls come forward. It needs about 2.4L for the oil to be shown in oil level indicator.

Re: Kawasaki Ninja 300 Ownership Experience

Yes.. Even in my bike oil level was in between max and min after 1 service.. Its in same level after 1700kms.. Showroom guys said its normal level and no need to worry ;-):-)

Sent from my PI39100 using Tapatalk

Re: Kawasaki Ninja 300 Ownership Experience

Oil level reading could change in the indicator based on the location and position. Even if the bike is on paddock stand, it may/may not show oil level in the indicator. Get your friend to take snap of the oil level and you sit on the bike and keep it almost straight. Reason being, I am not sure if you can trust anyone to keep the 4L bike straight. Not all have steady hands and feet after seeing/touching a Ninja

But doesn't this beat the purpose of putting an oil indicator? I mean, I had a Pulsar 150 and now Duke 200. Both have oil level indicator glass on the right side and they work well.

Design flaw? Random guess here.

Re: Kawasaki Ninja 300 Ownership Experience

If you change oil. Filter then most probably the oil sitting in the OIL cooler as it has been fully drained. so the refill of oil will be slightly more than required. Secondly you need to run the bike till fans turn on then switch it off. This needs to be done on a paddock. Your oil level will show between min and max but if you let it rest for an hour or 2 there it will slowly increase back to max.

Re: Kawasaki Ninja 300 Ownership Experience

Oil sitting where ? Cooler ? I thought it was coolant that goes there.
Whatever you do , it wont show in oil level indicator unless you tilt the bike right. AFAIK, this is faced by almost all.

Re: Kawasaki Ninja 300 Ownership Experience

You completed 1000kms. within 3 days of delivery..??

Re: Kawasaki Ninja 300 Ownership Experience

Yeah Wanted to take her to where I work which is 400kms away, so thought of doing the first service and leaving, and did that

Re: Kawasaki Ninja 300 Ownership Experience

Ain't that too much running for a new engine in a day.. And were you able to keep it under the prescribed rev limits..??

Sent from my MI 3W using xBhp Connect mobile app

Re: Kawasaki Ninja 300 Ownership Experience

Congrats Ivin on a very good bike.

Re: Kawasaki Ninja 300 Ownership Experience

Maybe it is . Yes , I rode under the prescribed limits and gave her a minimum 15 minutes break every 1 hour .

Thank You bro

Re: Kawasaki Ninja 300 Ownership Experience

[MENTION=35455]Ivin[/MENTION]

1) bike should be straight when checking oil level
2) my bad i forgot that N300 doesnt have an external oil cooler

Re: Kawasaki Ninja 300 Ownership Experience


Aahhh.. Forgot to say one thing.. Congrats

Re: Kawasaki Ninja 300 Ownership Experience

Hi All, I have completed 6000 Kms on my bike, however, off late I am having tough time with the tyres on my bike. Bike is stable on straights, on corners at speeds of 130-140 km/hr, however, when the road is little dusty the front just packs up. It skids like they were made of wood.

The tires had more grip when they were new. The rear tire is still fine.

I am in a dilemma here. The stock IRC tyres did aid the handling. I could filter traffic easy and maneuverability was quite good.

I then had a word with Farhan, as my riding habit is more like his. He had installed Michelin Pilot Street on his bike, and later changed the front to MRF Revz. He said the front feels lot heavy with Michelins, and the handling during slow speed goes for a toss.

I decided to give it a try and installed Michelin Pilot street, stock specs on my Ninja. The dynamics are completely different and the front does feel lot heavier. It just does not have the lightness of the IRC's. As the tyres are new the grip levels are great, and the front does not wash away as it did on IRC's.

On searching the net, I found that "Pirelli Diablo Rosso 2" was favored more internationally. I checked sbkstore.in and found the tires with them for 30k (front and rear)

Pirelli Diablo Rosso II Tire Rear

Size140/70R17 (66H) TL
Pirelli Diablo Rosso II Tire Front

Size110/70ZR17 (54H) TL
I do not mind installing these, but I would like to know if anyone has put those before on a Ninja 300 and what is the opinion.
Would appreciate all the help in this regards.

Re: Kawasaki Ninja 300 Ownership Experience

Ownership experience and Minor mods ( Tapered bearings, Pipercross, Motocool, Nissin Sintered pads)

Its been 6 months and 6000 Kms on my Ninja 300, which my office colleagues lovingly call as "Mad Max". No prizes for guessing, it is due to my riding habits.

The last 6 months have been a good learning experience as it is my first twin cylinder and understanding her power delivery, weight, handling, dynamics, gear shifting meant I was going to ride the learning curve again.

None the less, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the refined, smooth, well put together package. Having said that I had my fair share of surprises.

Ninja 300 from factory is a wonderful piece of engineering. However, the Achilles heels are the brakes and tyres.

I replaced the stock IRCs at 5000 Kms after it started giving up at the front under normal braking. I got Michelin Pilot Street radials and was not happy with the way it affected the dynamics of the bike. It felt lot heavier at the front, the kind of feeling you get when the cone set goes bad.

I was so mad at the tyres that I impulsively ordered Pirelli Diablos from sbkstore for 31000 a pair. Fortunately, he did not have the set ready and was asking 1800 more for the delivery. By that time I consulted Abhimanyu (Pratik Sir) and Farhan.

While Pratik Sir recommended getting the bearings changed, Farhan was of the opinion that the Michelins are on the heavier side and the extra grip was causing it to behave like that.

I had completed 300 Kms on the tyre and the heavy feeling started to subside. Could be possible that I got used to it. The heavy feeling was there at extremely slow speeds of 5-10 Km/hr.

Hence, I cancelled the order for Pirellis as I was looking at a loss of 10,000 bucks that I spent on the Michelins.

Farhan too was of the opinion that bearing and brake upgrade could improve the feel from the bike.

This is where I decided to take the plunge and spoke to Mr. Vikram from Motozone and fixed up the schedule for the below mods.

1. All Balls Tapered bearings
2. Piper Cross Air filter
3. Replace coolant with Motocool
4. Install Nissin Sintered brake pads.

I rode all the way from Mumbai to Pune yesterday i.e. Saturday, and reached his workshop by 5 PM. Mr. Vikram along with his brother got to work as soon as I reached, and it was a pleasure watching them work. They work in a perfect rhythm, and their style of working is something that grabs your attention.

For the bearing's replacement he put the bike on paddock, installed a jack below the engine and lifted the front off the ground. He used hydraulic jack to install the bearing and the precision with which he was working was just fabulous. This is how you expect your Service Center guys to work.

Before installing the tapered bearing I read as much as possible on international forums, and they were all praises for the mod. They suggest this as the first and cheapest mod that can make a vast improvement on your bike. It sounded too good to be true and my experience had taught me to take such things with a fistful of salt. I am glad that the mod surpassed my expectations and I cant remember when was the last time I was so happy with something like that.

The heavy feeling with the Michellins is gone. The tyres are performing way better than they did before. Stability, handling, filtering has improved several notches. The planted feeling while leaning in a corner is something that I cant describe in words. It has to be experienced to be believed. I was surprised as to how a small mod like this could improve the dynamics of a bike.

I have become a fan of Mr. Vikram and I am glad that we have someone like him in Mumbai/Pune.
Some pics:



Original Bearings, nothing wrong with them as of now, the reddishness is not rust but grease mark.




Pipercross was installed next. I am a fan of after market filters as they improve throttle response, and improve overall performance a bit. After going through Pratik Sir's post, I finalised on Pipercross and my experience with these filters has been good. Hence, it was an easy decision.

The filter along with the new bearings made riding her more enjoyable. The intake roar is just crazy. For someone looking at slipons just for the sound experience I too would recommend having a go at this filter. Throttle response has improved, and she surges ahead with more aggression.




Coolant was replaced after the filter change. My past experience with my Duke 200 suggested that I change the coolant ASAP. When my Duke seized, I got a chance to see the coolant water in the radiator. It was no where near green and was muddy in appearance. This was despite having coolant topped up at every service.

Hence replacing the coolant was on priority and having read Pratik Sir's experience, I decided to get it done from him. I got Motul Motocool instead of Engine Ice as I have my own reservations against it which I cant explain.

Mr. Vikram followed exact same procedure mentioned by Pratik Sir. He drained the radiator, flushed the system with distilled water and venegar, and put the new coolant.

I rode back from Pune to Mumbai and the fan did not come up once. Remains to be seen how it performs in traffic. In Pune traffic it didn't come up even once.




Finally, we installed Nissin Sintered brake pads. Surprisingly, Kawasaki used these on the 250, and decided to use normal pads on the more powerful 300. Braking is where 300 needs more attention. Stock braking feels inadequate and feels wooden. It needs more effort to modulate or control braking in slow speeds, high speeds, panic braking etc.

Mr. Vikram suggested I try out these pads, and by this time I was convinced of what ever Mr. Vikram commented. I tried them on, and what can I say. The difference is night and day. Braking distance has reduced by a big margin, I am back to using single finger braking method. Modulation is top notch.
The bite just increases with pressure and it does not lock up that fast.
This is what the Doctors had prescribed for me, and I am glad I finally found it. The pads have mad me happy, and I am not sure if I need the brake lines. Braking is the way I wanted it.




My experience with Mr. Vikram was one of the best I had with a performance Tuner. I was in his workshop at 5 PM and by 8 PM I was out. The systematic approach that he and his brother have towards working on these bikes will appeal to hardest of critics.

He is my Hero now, and I plan to get my bike serviced by him from here on. I am quite ecstatic and I am sorry if I sound immature in my presentation above. I am trying to write better and it looks like an uphill task. Any inputs to improve is most welcome.

Special thanks to Pratik Sir, Farhan, Yogesh and Amit for their guidance and support.

Re: Kawasaki Ninja 300 Ownership Experience

Thats a good plan made into work . I think it has done wonders for you and many including me is interested in doing these jobs .
Pleae mention the price of those new brake pads, bearings and all those things which you changed or upgraded during these jobs.
PS: I couldn't PM these to you because your inbox is full . Please consider deleting some messages.
Thank You