re: A Green Affair! Starring Kawasaki Ninja 650 Edit: Now Sold!

Many Congratulations! I have been through this painful waiting phase. In fact, I had calendar for OND'12 pinned to my workstation. Everyday first thing I used to do is cross one date from calendar and continue to wait until the date comes when you tick it Green.

Regarding break-in for N650, please follow run-in procedure mentioned in manual book. First 1000 kms ride it only till 4K RPM and occasionally till 4.5K RPM is perfectly fine. Trust me you won't feel your going slow at 4K rpm. 6th Gear at 4K RPM is 90 kmph and that is not slow by any standards. Get the bike services once you complete 1000 kms and then for the next 600 kms please stick to 6K rpm. Post that you can ride as per your natural style

@icemang: Very rarely have I actually done crazy speeds and I do occasionally brust above 7K rpm and majority of the rides are between 4K - 6K rpm. Although what you mentioned must be good for engine in long run but occasional speed burst does not hurt the engine whatsoever.

re: A Green Affair! Starring Kawasaki Ninja 650 Edit: Now Sold!

Thanks [MENTION=61028]whymail[/MENTION] [MENTION=33779]icemang[/MENTION] and [MENTION=31671]Sachinnair[/MENTION] i was looking for some info like this....
Also can you suggest some good pair of gloves??
I already bought riding jacket and riding boots
this is my first upgrade from 150cc so trying to collect all accessories before the d day


Sent from my XT910 using xBhp Connect mobile app

re: A Green Affair! Starring Kawasaki Ninja 650 Edit: Now Sold!

[MENTION=32127]ambuj316[/MENTION] : i prefer cramster flux for their breath-ability. there are loads of options available online - try performance racing stores, adventure18, dsg, spg, a-stars, rynox, etc. - most of them have gauntlet types which i personally dont prefer. for gloves, its basically how much can u afford to spend, is what u will get... take ur pick

re: A Green Affair! Starring Kawasaki Ninja 650 Edit: Now Sold!

Very correct, Sachin. If one cannot have the occasional "twist the grip and get ready for lift-off" moments, then it is better to buy a Luna! Yes, the 650's engine can be taken to high RPM at times and it will not suffer any damage. Two operations cause untold damage to such normal engines. One is sustained operation at RPM close to the redline. Here, the wear is gradual, overall and predicative. Second is sudden and arbitrary increases in RPM from idle to redline and back. Here, the wear is sudden, isolated and unpredictable. Of the two, the latter is much more serious. We can continue the discussion on PMs as it will sidetrack what is essentially an ownership thread
[MENTION=32127]ambuj316[/MENTION]. [MENTION=31671]Sachinnair[/MENTION]. One additional tip. Never, EVER, take the bike to the redline. Even if it has done 1 million kms on the stock engine setup. The redline is like a "Never Exceed" bar on an aircraft's air speed indicator. Reaching that speed/RPM will has the potential to cause serious structural damage not only to the engine but to ALL parts of the machine.


The ASI of a Cessna 150. Forget the the Vs like Vso etc.

The Vne is Velocity Never Exceed. If you lay down the same line for the redline portion of the RPM, your engine will live to a grand old age without the need for any minor or major surgery in between!

I have not shown the RPM gauge here as modern aviation ones show percentages of power and not the actual RPM.

Date: 21 - 23rd Jun'13
Destination: Bangalore
Route Taken: Thane - Pune - Kolhapur - Belgaum - Bangalore and return via same route
Distance Covered: 2,070 kms

Less than 36 hours back, I was on my return journey from my 3rd Bangalore ride on N650. This time I had Gavin's huge Hyosung ST7 as company along side my N650. Each Bangalore run has been different in its own way. This ride had an absolute cool and pleasant climate all the way, no rains what so ever till we reached Bangalore & same when we came back. It took 14.5 hours to cover 1000 kms and it was nothing short of a brilliant ride. I was expecting rains but it ended up being a dry run both ways. Had a good time with my friends who stay in Bangalore and it's a good enough reason to always take the bike out for a long ride


Beauty Meets the Beast


McDonald's, Pune



Butt Break en-route Kolhapur




Evening Halt little ahead of Chitradurga




Day 1 - Done and Dusted


Day 2: Short Spin on Nice Road - Went till Hosur Road and Back to Bangalore

re: A Green Affair! Starring Kawasaki Ninja 650 Edit: Now Sold!

Whoa... what, when, where the....
Didya meet anyone? Was it a fun-trip or 'some other-trip'? If you had informed... We could have arranged a brief meet.

re: A Green Affair! Starring Kawasaki Ninja 650 Edit: Now Sold!

[MENTION=31671]Sachinnair[/MENTION] : chaayla!!! direct idhhar se uddharr aur waapis bhi!
saath me gavin bhau on st7!
kya baat hain!
all i can do right now is read ur posts & drool... watch those fotos & drool some more...
am doing "aaall eez well" to myself for now...
someday / oneday

re: A Green Affair! Starring Kawasaki Ninja 650 Edit: Now Sold!

Nice Ride, nice helmet, nice route, what else can you ask for ?

Just one question out of curiosity, what speeds do you usually maintain while you go for long rides such as these (above 1k kms) ?

How sustained are you able to do speeds above 130kmph ?

re: A Green Affair! Starring Kawasaki Ninja 650 Edit: Now Sold!

There's always a next time so I will update this thread before the ride. I met my friends and had a good time relaxing for a day in Bangalore. The climate made the stay very pleasant and enjoyable.

NH4 is one of the best highways to ride in India and when you have a upright comfortable high speed touring bike like Ninja 650 then you'll reach 1K in a day with ease. I usually ride between 100-130 kmph in open stretches. You can sustain even speeds up to 150 kmph on this bike but I'm not a speed-freak so I have never tried to sustain speeds above 150. All speeds above 130 kmph have only been short bursts and back to normal speed. I like it that way!

re: A Green Affair! Starring Kawasaki Ninja 650 Edit: Now Sold!

Hi Sachin, I have been a silent reader, listener and admirer of your ownership experience. I am contemplating on buying one and I seek some knowledge from you. Would you recommend two up riding (touring) on the N650.


Thanks & Cheers!!
Guru

re: A Green Affair! Starring Kawasaki Ninja 650 Edit: Now Sold!

I have n't really got a chance to do a long ride with pillion so far so may not be able to do assist you much. I have done close to 60 kms at a stretch so far with pillion (female) and here's what she had to say - The seat is very hard, foot pegs are not comfortable (need something like sari guard where you can place your entire foot), grab rails are good but at high speeds you get scared even after holding the grab rails (Comfortable when one hand is on rider's shoulder), pillion also needs good quality helmet as wind blast is so much that the helmet might fly all over the place, etc etc No wonder female pillion's prefer Harley's and Enfield's

On a serious note, N650 is pretty good to ride 2 up. The back seat has moderate cushion, pillion has grab rails to hold on to & power planted in this parallel twin so much that it does not matter if you have a pillion or not. Downside is ground clearance is only 130 mm so with pillion one has to be ultra careful while going over speed breaker's. You have to reduce the speed to literally zero and then go over the speed breaker or else you'll easily scrape the under belly exhaust.

Would I recommend two up riding - Yes! I would definitely recommend but if you are planning to tour two up then you will need to buy hard side cases & top case to have a comfortable journey. Sad part is they cost a bomb.

I would probably share my experience with pillion once I get a chance to do few more rides

re: A Green Affair! Starring Kawasaki Ninja 650 Edit: Now Sold!

Have been riding the ninja with wifey on a regular basis. And she finds the bike quite comfortable as a pillion. She misses the backrest of my thunderbird but finds the vibration free touring at high speeds much more enjoyable.
I personally found riding pillion with my friend on ninja scary! But wear all the riding gear for safe and stress free rides. We have done 300+ km rides to manali and dalhousie without much hassle. Just need to take regular breaks. Of course the bike feels much more nimble without the pillion😄

re: A Green Affair! Starring Kawasaki Ninja 650 Edit: Now Sold!

Thank you for the detailed insight Sachin. What is the max payload that N650 can handle? Now I am waiting to test ride the D390 and then make up my mind.

Thanks again & Cheers,
Guru

re: A Green Affair! Starring Kawasaki Ninja 650 Edit: Now Sold!

Just one question from my side, Have you done any overnight trips with +1? If Yes, how do you manage to carry luggage when riding with +1. I was checking out Givi Side cases and Top case but they cost a bomb. Excluding Shipping and customs it is coming to 70K


Guru, I have not bothered to check Max Payload however I did some online research to find that max payload is 181 kgs or 400 lbs for rider, passenger, all luggage and accessories for N650.

All the best!

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After 3 months of follow-up with KTM, I have finally received RTO receipt for duplicate RC card. I had returned the original RC card because it had incorrect details updated. Model name was written as Ninja250R, cubic capacity was 249cc. I would be keeping the RTO receipt handy till I receive my new RC card with correct details.

Interested N650's buyers please ensure you check your RC card once you receive it as this problem has been reported by many owners. RTO or Bajaj, I do not know who is to blame but as owner we need to ensure we receive RC card with correct details. Now waiting for my new RC card. Hope it comes fast.

RTO Challan to be shown to traffic cops in case of checking

re: A Green Affair! Starring Kawasaki Ninja 650 Edit: Now Sold!

He he! I have viaterra claw for solo ride and cramster side bags for +1 rides. But have never used them yet. Took my car and driver along with me for luggage😄