i am sort of disappointed with the auto expo where the action i felt was muted in the 2 wheeler segment. not a single killer launch of any superbike. i am not a fan of harley. stone age bloated machine with some make up. yes the hype is all there. for a serious rider in India on a super bike, for me these things matter the most - 1. service / spare back up 2. should run on ordinary petrol 3. road suspension 4. city riding comfort ( ducati is a just no no ) inline 4 with 100 bhp plus. as of now one bike fits the bill. the Kawasaki ninja 1000. it should come around 10 lakhs. i got another 2 years to go for my next bike till then.. it the kawi 1000 on my wish list.

I booked the black here in Delhi. it costs 3.04L
They didn't ask for anything extra for a Green color and said its available in 1-3 weeks..but I wanted to go with the black one only.

so got no idea about the extra cost you were informed of.

The Fork Story so far...

I've covered 30K odd kms so far & my front fork started bottoming out under hard braking recently. Took it to Sai Service(pune) for front fork servicing (Never did the forks b4!). The fellow opened the fork, changed the cone set (as there were clear markings inside) and changed the fork oil. The whole process took 5 hrs. (incl. lunch break) & the bill was Rs.2100.
So far so good, now here's the fun part:
1. THE OIL: The old fork oil was very black & a little thick. Some bajaj oil was used as 'new fork oil' which was crystal clear & very thin. I checked the oil bottle (photos included), no clear desc. of oil grade etc. (recommended oil is any SAE 10W fork oil). And the bottle reads "Suitable for Pulsar, Calibar, Boxer, CT100 & Discover". I confirmed with the service guy before putting this oil, he said this the oil they use for N250r. It's been 2 weeks since then & the forks are totally gone & bottoming more even at small bumps. I talked to Service Manager in this regard & he was supposed to get back to me in 15 minutes yesterday (which he didn't even till today).
2. THE OIL LEVEL: After filling fresh oil (320ml in each fork), you are supposed to check the oil level using special 'Fork Oil Level Gauge' Tool. This was not performed. When asked, the reply was 'oil quantity 320ml is fixed, why check for oil level?'.
3. THE 'T': To tighten the 'T' (the steering stem head bolt & Nut), one need to apply certain NM of torque. Here it was done 'manually', based on 'human guessing' (our moto-Tight is good,More tight is perfect!). Haven't seen any torque wrench at the workshop in last 1.5 years. When I took the test ride, the bike was swinging left-right on it's own! This was fixed again by the expert guessing in 2-3 trials!
4. THE SPRING: The springs' length was not even checked for shortening. I came to know this after reading the service manual (STD spring length:420.5mm, service limit:412mm). I asked them about the spring, the guy asked me to bring the bike again & he will check the length (& just to do this, he will open the fork again & manual guessing will follow!). Just to make sure, I checked for the new springs. As expected, they were not in stock & will cost Rs.850 a piece. I asked them to order them just in case.

Talked to a superbiker, he says changing the oil to a good one will solve the fork issue. Now, i'm looking for suitable fork oil, any suggestions anyone?

Thanks Kiran and R-Series . The Octroi explains things.
As of now I am based out of Airoli.
P.S: I hope my back won't break while riding the Ninja. Am used to P220 and Yezdis.

I have no personal reviews on the below products but sharing these links and hope they are of some help.

Google India gave me this result - Gulf Front Fork Oil - Oil for Two Wheelers by Gulf Oil India but does not specify the weight of the oil.

However this might help too. There are many more fork oil threads which may be of some use.

The service of Bajaj and its allied products still remains the biggest deterrent for consumers. Bajaj must be losing at least 20-30% (perceptive figure) of their potential customers to competitors just because of their service; and then again a hefty part of almost 30-40% of existing customers because the service personnel at their authorized service points damage the product more.

Classic example of how beautiful products earn bad name because of some F@^#&ALL service personnel who did not know the process of servicing/repairing a bike and earning a customer's trust and loyalty.

I have had bad experience with probiking for almost all of the Bajaj products that I have had, be it my Spirit or Pulsar 150 or Pulsar 220 or the new Ninja.
The "Chalta hai" attitude and no attention to quality and detail have seriously made me re-think of buying any new Bajaj product.

Coming back to Vipin, the following fork oils are available in the Indian market.

1. Gulf Front Fork Oil
2. Motul Fork Oil 10W - Factory Line - Fully Synthetic
3. Hindustan Petroleum - HP Shock Absorber Oil Tele - High Viscosity, check feasibility
4. ELF MOTO Front Fork Oil
5. MAK SHOCK ABSORBER FLUID - 2R
6. Valvoline Front Fork Oil

The reason for the rhythmic oscillation while riding your bike could be one of the following

1. improper torque while tightening the 'T'
2. worn out cone set
3. improper level in one of the fork arms
4. worn out spring in one of the fork arms

Suggest that you demand for an expert at PBK to come in and have a look.

And I suggest you better kick start your service centre plan!

HAHAHA...wish I could. Calls for some serious investment and Im not even talking of the money involved.

Ninja Chain

Does any one have a spare NInja chain?
Need one before next wednesday.

The Rolon guys will take time to produce it. So thats not an option.
The Bajaj probiking guys has no chain in stock (in Pune).
Plus people have advised me about not using a karizma chain because of lack of strength!

Does anyone know if the probiking has any chain in stock in Blore or Chennai?

Need to get the chain changed before CSS and was banking on the Rolon to get me one

Used or New

Reason for buy
I wanted to be a Ninjette since 2008, but housing loans and other financial commitments made me stay away from it.

Clause..
Last week i came across an offer for used 250R, it actually woke-up my sleeping desire of owning one. I am expecting a US work permit within a year so I will be using the Ninja max till Jan/Feb 2013.

Dilemma:
Now my dilemma is should I go for the used one or a new one (considering the high depriciation for a year usage).

Or should I wait till my desire goes to sleep again

Yuv - after about 20 years of deferring things that I wanted to do but hesitated to because of other compulsions, one thing I have come to realize is that we do not get back the years that we let go - 2012 isn't coming back - so go for your dream if you can afford it!

However, living your dreams do not necessarily mean that you should throw good sense to the winds. If you're going to use the bike short term - think short term and pick up the used bike. Have your fun and hawk it next year, losing less than you would if you bought a new one. Only be sure that you're buying a well-looked after bike - don't get stuck with a lemon!

Go for a USED ONE - Will be cost effective - You will lose only about 10-20% depreciation.. But make sure u know how the bike is treated before buying. Do not just believe the seller alone, ask PBK, friends of friends etc.

Will check with Chennai PBK and get back to you.

Thanks Ananth. Could anyone check with probiking Bangalore or atleast give me their number so that i can check with them.

Thanks in Advance

Bangalore PBK - 080 41657777

I had ordered a chain around 20th Dec and they are yet to receive it... they apparently ordered it from Thailand and are expecting a delivery by end jan..so I'd assume they don't have it in stock... but would be good to call and reconfirm..

EDIT - am from B'lore btw