Kawasaki Ninja 650

Premiere Kawasaki Ninja 650

Sportily packaged in-line twin

Content of

The Kawasaki Ninja 650 follows the mid-range sports tourer ER-6f in the Kawasaki model range. "Ninja" In the model name, however, there is a promise to the fans – how does the Kawasaki Ninja 650 live up to that?

The styling is right! The knobbly, extremely undynamic fairing of the ER-6f has now become a dress with a sharp cut from front to back, borrowed from the ZX-10 superbike and, with a little extra charge, also given the paintwork of the world champion racing team . Otherwise the new Kawasaki Ninja 650 go through a metamorphosis that turns out to be ninja-like. She has lost 18 kilos. Mainly because of the newly made tubular space frame and the swing arm, which is also much nicer than the simple, box-shaped part of the ER-6f. With an anti-hopping clutch, the two-cylinder 650 is finally contemporary.

Premiere Kawasaki Ninja 650

Sportily packaged in-line twin

More pressure in the middle

At first glance, the engine is anything but ninja. The parallel twin of the Kawasaki Ninja 650 actually lost four horsepower compared to its predecessor, and the throttle valves have shrunk from 38 to 36 millimeters in diameter. As a staunch ninja fan you would have to shake your head in disbelief and even yell “blasphemy”. But there is a very practical reason for this, and it has only marginally to do with Euro 4.

Designed as an everyday country road motorcycle, Kawasaki gave up some top-end power for more pressure in the middle. And you can see that in the Kawasaki Ninja 650. I myself have been racing in an ER-6 twin for three years and had to struggle with the low pressure in the middle of the rev range against the competitors on V-Twins. This has become noticeably better with the Ninja 650. However, even with a committed country road whirlwind, it is noticeable that things are going to be tough this year and that with the smooth-running Ninja 650 gearbox, you have to shift earlier if you want to get down to business. More pressure in the middle and better top-end performance would have been 100 percent "ninja".

Kawasaki Ninja 650 – problem-free driving behavior

The Kawasaki Ninja 650 has to be praised for its problem-free handling. It cuts a fine figure in terms of handling. The brakes are finally set up in a sporty way. Although the chassis has also been sharpened, experienced ninja fighters will complain about a rather poor response behavior and, especially in connection with the new brake, the extremely fast dipping fork, which even blocks when the chase is really wild. But if you go to work like this, you should approach the more mature ninja sisters who take on the ZX-10R or H2.

They are happy about such a pace. The Kawasaki Ninja 650, on the other hand, is a sleekly styled sweeper for little money for beginners in the sports segment, casual leisure enthusiasts and all those who perhaps had a ninja years ago and want to find their way back to motorcycling true to the brand.

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