The Updated Kawasaki Ninja 650R.
The indigenous bike manufacturer, Bajaj Auto Ltd created a stir when
it brought the Kawasaki Ninja 650R to the Indian market for the first
time at a killer price of about 4.75 lakhs. It was the first foray of
Bajaj Auto into offering high displacement bikes in India. With that
killer pricing, the mean green Ninja 650R became an instant hit among
the bike lovers. Such was the demand for this bike that Bajaj Auto had
to stop bookings intermittently to avoid facing supply constraints.
Well, the fault was at Kawasaki’s end allotting very few models for the
Indian market.
Come 2012, Kawasaki has given a fresh upgrade to its Ninja 650R and
also taken some lessons from Indian markets. One good piece of news
Bajaj Auto added along with the formal announcement of the 2012 Ninja
650R coming to India was that this time, the supply would be far more
than the last episodes. According to some rumours doing the round, Bajaj
Auto is likely to start the bookings from July-August, 2012. The bike
is set to be launched in few days and we evaluate what we are looking
forward to this year.
Kawasaki Ninja 650R Styling:
To put it straight, the 2012 iteration of the “Kwacker” 650 receives
majority of cosmetic upgrades and nothing serious under the covers.
Talking of styling, the most obvious is the design change done to the
front fairing. The new fairing looks sportier and is also wider giving
it a better “big daddy” bike aura all around. The headlight design
remains almost the same. The other parts going under the designer’s
knife are the fuel tank and the seat. The fuel tank gets a more
chiselled design portraying aggressiveness. The rear ends are neatly
sculpted for your thighs to go around it ensuring better grip. The rear
end doesn’t receive any styling changes though sadly.
Kawasaki Ninja 650R Performance:
The 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 650R gets the same mill as the previous
model, the liquid cooled, DOHC, 649cc parallel twin producing 72 PS
@8500 RPM and maximum torque of 66 Nm @7000 RPM. However, it is believed
that the 2012 model has been tuned to produce better low end and
mid-range power. Instead of focusing on outright performance or
best-in-class handling, Kawasaki has gone for a more holistic approach
merging the “good” of both worlds. The same engine is also likely to
receive new pistons for smoother power delivery and a revised intake
system giving a better engine noise. The short “underbelly” exhaust
muffler is also tweaked somewhat for better gas flow and noise. It is no
secret that the outgoing model did not make the best of the exhaust
notes unlike its sibling, the 250R. The power unit is coupled with the
same 6 speed manual gearbox.
Kawasaki Ninja 650R Handling:
When it comes to handling, there is indeed some sweet surprise in
store. The updated Kwacker gets a much stiffer twin-spar perimeter type
chassis fabricated of high tensile steel which is expected to make it
more agile round the corners allowing bikers to pull off increased lean
angles. In addition to that the saddle design and height has been
tweaked with. The new seat is wider, thicker and has more significant
amount of cushion letting you do your dream touring rides with absolute
ease. The saddle height has been slightly raised up this time but the
positions of the foot-pegs have been changed to give a better stance.
The front gets 41mm hydraulic telescopic fork while the trademark single
offset style laydown shock does duty at the rear. Braking power remains
the same with dual 300mm petal discs at the front and single 220mm
petal disc at the rear. An interesting piece of news we have come across
is that the 2012 version might get ABS as optional. Now this would be a
very lovely addition to this fast machine!
Kawasaki Ninja 650R Instrument cluster:
The 2012 model receives some improvements to its instrument cluster
too. It now sports a large tachometer above a smaller digital
speedometer, and the display now offers fuel economy and cruising range
info, as well an “ECO” indicator that shows when you’re riding with a
light throttle. Although, it doesn’t look very high tech but its neatly
laid out and offers clear display of all the information.
2012 Ninja 650R Price in India
All in all, the 2012 model is about to get some welcome changes to
make the mean green machine more desirable. However, Bajaj Auto seeing
the huge response last time is planning to increase the price of the
bike. It is expected to retail at Rs. 5.8 lakhs (approx). Make up your
minds fast in case you desire to possess such a fast piece of cool
machine!
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