Hi All,

I guess this was INEVITABLE and perhaps now becoming a trend with me of owning and restoring pre-owned bikes!! But honestly i never thought that such an incident would take place in my life and that too so quickly!! i would like to thank a lot of members from this forum (and blame them too - directly and indirectly!!) for messing with my head that resulted in going for a bike... which until now was nowhere in the picture and then - bank balance drying up at the speed of light!

So the list of 'culprits' are as follows (gentlemen please do take this in good humour ) @Divya Sharan , @AK3D , @gopakumar s pillai , @psr sir, @Akki4134 and @rreneav1987. Without a doubt i am indebted to all these members mentioned here for letting me finally focus my thoughts and get hold of a machine which i believe i now can begin my real riding adventures with.. I would like to thank @Sachinnair for sharing detailed longterm ownership experience with his "Midori" (link: https://www.xbhp.com/talkies/superbi...-now-sold.html) which provided a lot of data for us all to get an understanding of the vehicle i now had set my eyes on... thanks a lot buddy it really helped! I would also like to thank K.N.O.G (Kawasaki Ninja Owners group India) where like minded enthusiasts and passionate riders willingly and openly discuss and share their experience related to Ninja and other Kawasaki bikes (page link - https://www.facebook.com/groups/Ninj...?ref=bookmarks)

Dear readers do note that this initial post is just a small 'gyst' of what happened, how it happened and the steps that were followed afterwards to get hold of my new acquisition. In this thread - I would like to share my experiences right from technical discussion, the restoration process to the little adventures/travelogues that follow afterwards which will allow all of you to possibly learn and have a hearty read too. I hope that in the long run this thread will end up benefitting us all through a series of discussion and perhaps allow someone/somebody - who earlier had doubts about moving up the CC ladder due to associated ownership & maintenance costs: to now have a fresh perspective about how one can have, "the pudding and eat it too!" If all goes well, I intend to break the myth and confirm that - barring a few items, owning such a motorcycle is really not a very expensive affair regardless of the brand one would like to own.

I would also like to give a big shout out to the two Youtube heroes of mine who greatly influenced me in taking the leap of faith and the now the end result is happily resting in my garage:

1) Tyler Hoover and his crazy adventures with owning and restoring his "Hoopty Fleet":



and the other gentleman...

2) Freddy 'Tavarish' Hernandez and his experiences of owning pre-owned luxury cars and DIYs related to restoring them for dirt cheap:



Their respective vlogs shared over Youtube gave me the confidence that if such expensive pre-owned luxury cars can be restored/maintained for cheap, with a little wrestling and arm twisting the same should be possible in the land of "jugaadus" for a motorcycle as well right?? i hope i do end up being successful in this "little" mission of mine.

So without further ado let us begin with the story...


THE PRELUDE

For those who are not aware, i have had a blissful 3 years of ownership experience with my trusted Honda CBR 250R "little bird". It taught me a lot about motorcycling, better understanding of troubleshooting and maintenance, took me places i thought it could never go to, darn reliable as Honda badge claims it to be, brought out the 'little inner tourer' in me and in general helped in creating a thread which i hope benefitted a lot of members in this forum and outside as well (Link: https://www.xbhp.com/talkies/general...-cbr-250r.html). For the record, I was totally content with the performance of my CBR 250R and with the plethora of spares i had collected over the years in my garage, i believe i had enough "ammunition" in stock to run her to the ground in the near future (at least that was the intent!). However, it was my last stint to Nepal - a ride which changed everything for me! I slowly realised that sooner or later i was going to take touring/ADV riding quite seriously as a means of letting go, experience the unexplored places, meet people, culture and perhaps through this process re-discover myself in a new way.

So as it happens with every rider... once you start covering greater distances on road, slowly but steadily the need for a purpose built vehicle with better ergonomics, more power (the obvious!! ), high speed cruising capability, reliability, dependability and quite a lot of other factors which your current steed may lack - one starts thinking about it. Though this thought had started creeping in my mind for a while, i had no serious intention of upgrading to a higher CC spec model as i had figured out that in the long run the category of motorcycle i would like to own was going to be either a sports tourer or a proper ADV motorcycle: something which allows me to visit places i thought i never could. I was randomly thinking about "in the near possible future" acquisition options in my garage: Kawasaki Versys 650, Honda Africa Twin, Triumph Tiger, Suzuki Vstrom etc. All of this sounded really good in my head... but as it happens my bank balance never agreed with me (like ever!!) . All of them were to the North of the price band i currently couldn't afford. The Ground realities and common sense most of the time strikes down such aspiration or dreams pretty quick.

Thanks to the wonderful relationship one builds over time with passionate riders & members of XBHP, i randomly used to chat with many senior riders in the likes of @Divya Sharan , @AK3D , @gopakumar s pillai , @psr sir, @Akki4134 : talking about biking in general and the future plans of owning a motorcycle which could do everything and take me places. Divya bhai's experiences riding various SBKs through social platform made me feel very happy for him as i could literally sense the rush and thrill such motorcycles provide at least through our random chats and the stories shared by him. At the same time the "i wish i could too..." thought kept on bugging me as unfortunately in this part of North East India, such opportunities are not present at all.. Plus the scare of non-availability of spares, horror stories of SVCs, ownership and maintenance and associated costs related with such bikes kept the Head Vs Heart quotient in check for me for a while.

While having one such discussion with @psr sir - he suggested the most apt candidate which if my bank balance agrees, i can perhaps consider looking around and may be start sending feelers too. Now as it happens - one should never ever share good "Yoda gyan" with a person suffering from OCMD (Obsessive Compulsive Motorcycle Disorder)!! Time and again while discussing about future sports tourer/ADV bike: Kawasaki Ninja 650 name kept on popping up quite a bit. Being a 649CC engine kept in production for over 20+ years and the crazy Kawasaki ingenuity with its engineering capabilities and "Toyota" like bulletproof build quality, Ninja 650 was actually one of the most reliable and practical 650CC sports-tourer motorcycle one can ask for in India. And thanks to being in the Indian market since 2011 and the latest revised model launches, there were plenty of pre-owned 650s which were up for grab and within a reasonable price. Now dear members, those of you who don't know much about Kawasaki, perhaps this video will give you an idea the kind of engineering prowess Kawasaki has in many fields and how they completely reshaped motorcycling industry even though they were probably the last entrant from Japan. They are simply a mad group of engineers having a field day, designing and producing some of the most powerful and rugged bikes in the market:



For those who know me from my previous thread, i was bit apprehensive about taking a possible jump into the pre-owned SBK category as if for any reason i do end up getting a lemon: the cost of repairs/restoration might be in all probability ASTRONOMICAL!! Post Bajaj - Kawasaki split up, the horror stories of a simple oil change and basic service cost shooting up to crazy numbers, spares shortage for months etc. was a bit disconcerting for me let alone there were Zilch SVC of Kawasaki anywhere in North East. The closest one was based in West Bengal which was some 1000+kms away! But @psr sir assured me that through proper research and sourcing it is very much possible to own this practical motorcycle and maintain it too while not at all being dependent on Kawasaki India SVCs. After chatting with @Akki4134 and @rreneav1987 i realised that there were plenty of after market sellers/suppliers who were dealing with parts and spares related to Ninja 650 so if for any reason the SVC is not up to the job, it is possible to get hold of spares from other sources.

My Biggest concern was with the lack of trained mechanics or rather i should say no mechanics in the North East who can deal with the possible complications of electrical and mechanical items with Ninja 650 as unlike in Metro cities in india, i was pretty much in an isolated place of North East India. So it was an obvious scare - what would happen, where would i be if something goes wrong or some critical component/part fails. But as always @psr sir assured me that given the experience i had gained on the single cylinder platform - Honda CBR 250R, transitioning from a 250 CC to a P-Twin 650 CC motor and in the process training a mechanic with common sense shouldn't be much of a hassle for me. I gave it a thought (day in and day out for at least 2-3 weeks if i might add) all thanks to Yoda gyan shared by @psr sir and the OCMD in me didn't let me be in peace! So slowly, the hunt for Ninja 650 had started - i kept on convincing myself that all i was doing was to just get a feel of the market - a pure market research. That i was not going to buy any vehicle let alone a Ninja 650 for a while, CBR 250R was plenty for all the application and trips i had planned for the near future... perhaps one fine day comes and i have a healthy bank balance, i shall then take the plunge and then get myself a good one... Oh and how wrong was i!!

I decided as a part of my 'research' to keep my options open to Pan-India and within a reasonable imaginary budget with 10% additional mark-up cost being kept aside to restore the bike given that with any pre-owned vehicle it is expected that certain niggles or maintenance is bound to be present regardless of how new or old the vehicle may be or how little mileage it has clocked on the odometer over the duration of ownership by the current owner. I must thank @rreneav1987 who actively and rather selflessly shared ads of various pre-owned Ninjas across the country to help me get a feel of the pricing and also identify possible hidden gremlins and legal issues with paperwork/law and order. Of course @psr sir was constantly troubled with all the information i had collected while going through such adverts. This kept on going for a month which slowly resulted in my "market feel and test" mantra getting converted to a committed resolve that, "now no matter what happens i have to get a Ninja 650 of my own!!".. i guess the inner child in me just screamed "now or never" every time i went through a possible ad and then argued with everybody (including self!) about the positives and negatives of this potential financial bomb i was planning to drop on my own head!! Based on my experience with Honda CBR 250R, i was very clear that at no point of time would i accept a bike which was modded in any manner given the touring plans i had in mind so a bike which has been experimented upon by an unknown entity was on a complete no go list. I had decided to strictly abide by the two golden rules, "there is no replacement for displacement!" and "bone stock as it is from the factory" is the best platform one should have.

After a month of random search, it just so happened that we stumbled upon one such advert of a Ninja 650: 2014 year make which had done just 6,800 kms on the ODO, was bone stock with no stupid ECU remaps, performance air filters nor Loud pipes dangling from bottom: in short a vehicle which at least from the description in the advert sounded a genuine one and the owner had given the required details in plain and factual manner. Incidentally it was from an adjoining state to Assam where i currently reside in... so i guess my stars somehow were aligned to at least go and check out this vehicle. After interacting with the owner over telephone, it was decided to come to a common acceptable location where both me and the seller can meet and then can do the needful. I had requested the owner to send me some more pics of the vehicle on my cellphone which would allow me to gauge the motorcycle better.





Pic 1 & 2: some of the images shared of the potential Ninja 650 i was looking at.

So 'D' day arrived when the seller agreed to meet at a common point. I along with my trusted friends started our drive to have a look at the vehicle in person and do the necessary verification of the documents, proper physical assessment of the bike and also a test ride to get a feel of the vehicle. After waiting for a bit in the said location, the owner arrived, the pleasantries were exchanged we then went ahead with the assessment of the vehicle. Unlike normally what other people/buyers would do, even before starting the bike - we first checked the documentation related to the vehicle. The owner was open and honest about the fact that this Ninja 650 was currently Hypothecated with a bank and that he had accidentally managed to drop it once which had scratched the RHS side of the fairing. On a closer inspection of the bike me and my friends confirmed that even though the scratch was present, the panel had not broken from anywhere and that a simple paint touch up could easily fix this.

We then went ahead with the inspection of the motorcycle to look for any major accident damage to the chassis, alloy wheels bend/crack, fork damage, condition of the front and rear rotors, MID console to confirm the authenticity of the odometer reading, condition of the tires, chain & sprockets, brake rotors and pads etc. All looked genuine. We then went ahead with the test ride - which revealed that the vehicle was definitely due for a proper service as there was a burning smell emitting from the engine. The coolant through inspection of the reservoir tank also confirmed our suspicion that it was never replaced and needed an urgent overhaul.. The clutch lever was super hard to pull, handlebar was feeling heavy, rear fender had dog chew marks on it.. all in all i got the feeling that 'story so far...' was going to repeat itself with me all over again if i pick up this bike!! However, the engine was solid, building good torque and power, heck even the front rotors were sparingly used! The chain was never adjusted which confirmed that the mileage was genuine and it was a good platform to work upon and restore. After a bit of back and forth on the principle sum, we finally concluded the deal on an agreed pricing and a tentative date was set to do the formalities, make the payment and then collect the bike from the owner. What i liked about the whole interaction was that even though the bike was hypothecated, the owner was ok with me having a word with the manager of the bank to confirm the nature of the hypothecation and processes needed to get the vehicle transferred under my name should i decide to go ahead with the deal.





















Pic 3 - 12: Vehicle inspected on the day of the meet. Note the paint scratch on the RHS side of the fairing. Everything had checked out: the front and rear brake rotors were in brand new condition. The OEM chain had not adjustment done to it which confirmed that this vehicle was sparingly used. Battery was found to be in good health and cranked the vehicle very easily.

After a few weeks, the deal was finally done, the vehicle was now in my hands though I still had to wait for the bank to process the documents and provide the NOC clearance for the necessary ownership transfer to be done in my name but i could technically ride this bike back to my state with ease. The owner was kind enough to give the bike a thorough wash before sending her off with me. After a while, it suddenly hit me that i now had become an owner of a 649CC parallel twin, 72 BHP superbike (sports tourer actually) something which only about a month back was nowhere in my to do/to acquire list! I shared the news with all the respective gentlemen mentioned above and they were equally happy to see me getting hold of something - which a lot of riders do aspire but some give it up half way through and for some, the wait becomes an endless one due to various reasons.

THE AFTERMATH

On paper 72 BHP sounds pretty much puny compared to the likes of Busas, R1s and other SBK behemoths, but i had learned this long back (thanks to a thread shared by @ken cool da on XBHP: https://www.xbhp.com/talkies/superbi...-way-life.html) that when jumping up the ladder, one must respect the bike and incrementally test the speed and cornering capabilities of the motorcycle over a period of time and mileage or else the consequences will not be pleasant at all! So before commencing the return leg of the journey, i had mentally prepared myself to keep the right wrist under check and not to cross triple digit speeds for the first 1000-1500 kms at least as this would allow me to re-learn and train my responses to the workings of the Ninja 650.

Thanks to the earlier muscle memory of riding CBR 250R, it is quite natural for one to apply the same amount of throttle actuation and gear VS RPM combo when riding. All this gave me a good shakedown when i just incidentally happened to glance upon the MID console meter below while riding her on the highway. Trust me for a person jumping from 26 BHP to 72 BHP - nothing prepares you for the amount of violence this 649 CC motor is capable of! In the blink of an eye when i thought i was doing sedate speeds of 60 - 80 kmph, the speedo was actually busy hurriedly rushing towards the north of 130+ kmph! She is so deceptively fast that one doesn't even realise that she is hitting those numbers till the engine note changes post 6,000 rpm and all hell breaks loose! One is literally pushed back and has to hold onto the handlebars for dear life. There was usable power almost everywhere! Even @ 40 kmph my Ninja 650 was able to pull easily on 6th gear all the way to 130+ kmph in a matter of seconds! I guess for a simpleton.. all this was too much to bear so now i had to make a conscious effort to keep a tab on the speedo and thus speeds under check. While cornering the steering felt quite heavy and i was not sure why. The vehicle kept on pulling towards left more than right which i suspected might have been due to fatter tires or as @psr sir suggested a possible aftermath of dual discs doing duty on front which increases the amount of rotational mass that makes steering dynamics bit different then that of Honda CBR 250R.













Pic 13 - 18: My proud possession - Kawasaki Ninja 650.

It took all my effort to consciously not let the motorcycle jump on the speedo to 100+ kmph mark which she could do even without breaking any sweat. By the time i had entered Assam's state border, it was night fall and one thing became apparently clear: the stock OEM headlights SUCK big time!! the visibility on low beam was pathetic and on high beam, well to put it gently - it was not at all inspiring. So this was definitely something i intended to address at a later stage. But all in all, this was definitely something different for a biker who all this while was conditioned for a single cylinder 250CC motorcycle. I did have had my share of experience riding N250, N300 and a 2009 R1 but all of that was long back when i was stationed in Mumbai. But over a period of time all that seemed to fade away and with the familiarity of a single cylinder for the last 24,000+ kms, your body does tend to get conditioned accordingly.


Anyways, for the moment let us end this first post here. Shall share more parts of the ownership and restoration story as in when time permits.

Until Then...


Cheers,