Tenhut, bluevolt : Regarding your opinion(s) about anything more than a 250 being overkill on Indian roads : I can relate to that, but having owned a litre bike for about 2 years now, I can tell you it's not about the cc, and calling it a "death machine" as one post went, is a bit much. There are umpteen things you can do with more powerful bikes than just go faster.

That said, I found the Ninja to be archaic and underpowered. Handled brilliantly though.

The word underpowered is being thrown around a lot.

Underpowered is a relative word. Do you mean Ninja is underpowered to cd100 or to a hayabusa???

You are very lucky Bluevolt Sir . I sold off all my bikes so that i could own a Ninja 250R . Even persuaded my wife . I have a scooty ( Dio ) and its been lying in the garrage for the past two weeks. My brother asked for a day and met with an accident. We dont even have a Honda showroom here in Shillong. Managed to get the parts from Gauhati somedays back. Hopefully i will get my scooty tomorrow. Shall ride my Dio till i get the Ninja. Waiting is frustrating honestly.

where did this incident happen ?

It is relative to people's expectations and personal experiences with other motorcycles. We must not forget that, for many countries, the Ninja 250R is just an entry level sportbike which combines good looks, mileage, ergonomics and rider friendliness in an affordable package. So by no stretch of imagination is this bike a 'crotch rocket', or something which will thrill you by its sudden bursts of acceleration,accompanied by a throaty exhaust growl. At lower RPM's, the bike feels like any other 180-220 cc Indian bike. So just because it looks like a 600cc sportsbike doesn't mean it will have the same muscles underneath. A Yamaha R1 is 10 lakhs more expensive than the Ninja, so what you pay for is what you get, and a relative comparison between a Ninja and supersports bike is unfair, IMHO. I see this mindset come across everywhere, even in reviews (see youtube videos by Indian auto mags), where one of the reviewers was saying that the Ninja 250R does not sound like a litre class! Lol!

I would still say anything above a 250R is a waste of money in India (for everyday riding, not track use) for average joes like us who save out of their not-so-American salaries to buy an expensive motorbike. Of course, my 'waste of money' comment does not apply to people who make that much in a month or two. In the same vein ,many of us think nothing before spending 2K on a dinner, though it will come across as wasteful spending to many in our country.

And it is not always about speed, as Rossiter rightly pointed out. You should be able to ride and park your bike with freedom, without worrying how many scratches or ripped seats you will see when you come back after watching 3 Idiots at your neighbourhood mall. And of course, the traffic sense of motorists in India is second only to Somalia - even Mexico and countries in South America are far better in that sense. You can take my word for it. And the last bastions of 'wind-in-the hair' riding zones are fast becoming 'no 2 wheeler zones'. The Mumbai-Pune expressway, Ahmedabad-Vadodara, Delhi-Gurgaon, to name a few. As regular highways turn into high speed expressway over the next few years, I fear this will become common-place.

And I agree - the 'death machine' comment was a bit harsh. Whether or not a machine is a death machine depends on who is riding it. If anything, sportsbikes are much safer, with crisp brakes, handling and failsafes like ABS in some.

^^ Totally agree. Well written.

Well said bluevolt. I think you brought out the point I was trying to make.

Isn't there a proximity alarm available for bikes? Y'know, the kind which screams if someone touches or comes too close...

It hurts when one calls the supersports and superbikes a death machine right ? It aint me calling them that. Infact my non biker friends even call the Ninja 250R a death machine. Its how ppl are percieving us. Sportsbikes, bluevolt, are safer with crisp brakes,handling etc and thats the POINT.
They inspire confidence...I never felt scared on the Ninja250R like i did on the XYZ bike which i recently tried out. Handling is so good speeds to the tune of 100 seem like 60. But are they really 60 ? Those crisp brakes aint gonna help you much when someone just jumps out the bushes right in front of you. Am I exaggerating ? No...the friend of mine I mentioned in my earlier post got a woman a free ICU pass. Why ? Cause she was crossing the NATIONAL HIGHWAY 4 with a ton load of wood logs and Sugarcanes in her hand..climbing up the waist high divider and then jumping right in front of his front wheel out the bushes ! Good luck braking the crisp brakes !
Dont take it personally...I am getting my own 1000cc bike too( i dont even know why i am doding that )...but in India..( I have mentioned this before) where speeds of even 50kmph are potential deaths...ppl arent wrong to call the 1000cc a death machine. Whether u know to ride or not ! It sadly is so...

Lets look at the rules,they dont ensure rider safety at all...no two wheelers on highways !!!!!!
Dude...whatever happened with making intelligent rules based on vehicle CCs ? How can anyone ever make such rules. Anyways...this same friend of mine recovered after three days stay in an alien village, where he rammed the sugarcane lady, followed by insane turmoil with the cops and court after almost sending the lady to her maker. On his way again to his destination he was blown by a Public transport BUS shifting lanes like it were drunk ! You know what he was riding ? A pulsar 220...what next ? 3 months of hospitalization...week long coma...femur bone broken...cannot be healed...nuts and bolts and screws and rods to be inserted..can he ride again ? No one can tell...
He most definitely was an amaetuer then right ? The guy has done leh ladakh to kanya Kumari...not just a pro...a kickass pro !
This is my last post in which I complain...i know it aint a nice thing to go on reading when all I am doing is crying you a fcukin river. But I hope you get the point and why I am so frustrated.

My final Verdict : On the roads anything upwardly 250cc = increased probability of you know what ! Track is different !

Admired your post Bluevolt. Goods thought, penned well, I begin to feel a good respect for you.

I have never heard of giving "bad" respect for anybody till date ...... Lol... just kidding....

Prajwal

Agree with both what bluevolt tenhut say, however, moving towards safer roads for all is what it is all about, and ignorance amongst the extremely large masses of people in our country is what needs to be worked on. To label these bikes as death machines i still feel is unfair, the bike itself is not going provoke an incident, it is not only the rider but also the environment in which they ride that often creates a fatal result

yes...the beauties arent the culprits. The environment is !

Even the kinetic honda was (and still is) a "death machine" !

Prajwal

Yes it is relative, but I will not take your flame bait and explain my opinion about it.

Bluevolt: I think you have realised, just as I quickly did, that these bikes are not meant to be parked in malls / public places. That said, I am a lot less paranoid about the bike after having got a perimeter sensor and after the R15 launched Most of the people mistake my bike for an R15 and leave it alone. In any case, scratches and dents on the bike are expected with any bike, not just your Ninja or the other guy's ZMR or whatever.

Oh, and parking the bike in a normal two wheeler parking stand, with a bike cover always helps the situation by a great deal.