Hello Forum, I was never really interested in super-bikes to begin with, Dhoom was my knowledge source, did not understand anything about BHP, torque , gear ratio . My 100cc Honda was enough for me at one point in time, this was until i had a chance to ride the ninja 650 that my manager owned. Guess what? One small ride and everything changed and was never the same. I got addicted to the torque. This was back in 2015 and since then I have been aiming to buy a big bike. Till now The plan gets postponed for one reason or another, Finances, The bike, Approval of family, The upkeep of the bike, until 2 weeks ago when I decided to just go get it and think about it later. For 2 years I was caught in confusion as to what bike is right for me, heck I almost bought a Daytona 675R and a z800 but I felt something was missing, somehow I knew I wont be spending as much time with them as I would have wanted and its better to not have a bike than have one that you would not ride.
I was always into long highway rides and somehow I felt there was no bike in the market that I would personally like taking out, the old ninja 650 was not my taste in looks, z800 would not give me wind protection and Daytona for touring?? I may well just stop touring.

The Dilemma of a new buyer was all over my mind. So I decided to just enjoy what I had in the meantime and understand my needs as a rider, so I just took off with my Honda Twister, I did around 18,000 KM on it, all around Bangalore, The longest being 700KM (kolli hills) in a single day and was pretty surprised as to what all that little engine can do, Rain, heat, cold, night, day, broken roads It took it all and got me home safely and I fell in love with her, I still am. But I knew, on the highway I needed something better,safer, more comfortable so I can go longer distances, see new places, meet new people. I even attended racing school at MMRT, Chennai(November 2016) to learn and understand more about riding, Engine braking, counter steering, target fixation, Throttle and gear modulation , blipping the throttle were some of the things I learnt there and still regard them as some of the very important skills you can have as a rider. Made a lot of mistakes on the track, but that is fine, by evening when all my mistakes were done and we took to the track for free laps. The feeling you get everything right, and do that supercool corner entry- apex- exit , nobody can see but you have the biggest smile you ever had inside your helmet as you charge out of the corner while leaned in the corner. The joy is priceless

The day I went to enquire about the finances on z800, the ninja 650 2017 was launched, and the dilemma kicked in once again. Going through reviews, videos, and hundreds of hours on the internet, I was pretty convinced that this might be it, I Just found my new touring partner, and with ABS and slipper clutch now, It was hard to resist. and It just happened, I did not even plan just sent to the bank, Applied for the loan and within 3 days Booking was done. Hurray..!!!

I got to see both the KRT edition and the the metallic black at the showroom, and somehow the black one appealed to me more aesthetically and also had a shorter waiting period (25 days compared to 3 months on the KRT edition). I wanted the black and told them to get it ASAP, this has been 2 years in the waiting. and what do I get to know? The bike would arrive in 15 days instead of 25. one more reason to rejoice.

So here we have it.. booking done on 26th July,have bought all my safety gear and some for bike. and waiting for Bike delivery which shall happen by 14th August 2017.

This happens to be the 45th Ninja 650| 2017 sold in Bangalore and the third one in Metallic black colour.

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If the moderators Do not mind, I would like to keep this as a purchase + maintenance + accessories + long term review of this bike so other forum members who plan to buy the same can benefit from it. A ninja 650 Journal If we shall call it.

If other forum members have any questions regarding this , I am more than happy to answer.
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For those Interested in a price breakup of these bikes post-GST and stuff, You guys may find this Info useful. Attached a pdf too.


BTW.. does this count as a super-bike?