All Duels – Duel CBR500R Vs Ninja 300: the sports bike, A2 way! – Sport is better A2?

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Duel CBR500R Vs Ninja 300: the sports bike, A2 way !

All Duels - Duel CBR500R Vs Ninja 300: the sports bike, A2 way! - Sport is better A2?

Who said that novice riders’ bikes can’t be sporty? Certainly not Honda and Kawasaki! Each in their own way, the CBR500R and the Ninja 300 put the boot (racing) at the footrest for holders of the new A2 license. Duel.

Sport is better A2 ?

Behind the alluring fairings of the Honda CBR500R and the Kawasaki Ninja 300 are therefore hiding motorcycles more frequentable and comfortable – in a word: more reasonable – than their "super-sporty brothers". Alas, it is a fault that they borrow from them: mediocre protection, due to the obstinacy of the manufacturers to design tiny bubbles for reasons of look..

Certainly, installing a "pie server" as on a road would weigh down – in every sense of the word – the front part of these mini-sports. It’s a bit as if Shakira (1m57) stung Laure Manadou’s clothes (1m57 … around the shoulders!): Admit that it would be messy! But a more enveloping windshield would considerably improve the situation, without distorting the lines: just take a look at the MotoGP of Rossi, Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Co to see that elegance and efficiency are not incompatible..

Stalled at 130 km / h, the Honda purrs peacefully at 6000 rpm in sixth, leaving a large part of the helmet and shoulders exposed to turbulence. The fate of the apprentice Kawasaki pilot is even less enviable: the bubble of his mount deflects less air, because installed more horizontally. To make matters worse, the vibrations perceptible from 3000 rpm become omnipresent at 8000 rpm, while they are almost completely filtered on the CBR500R (just a few tingling under the saddle from 6000 rpm).

While driving at maximum speed in France, the different approach taken by the two manufacturers becomes more and more sensitive: the readable needle of the tachometer of the Ninja 300 first displays 3000 rpm more than the regime indicated by the small numerical graduations of its counterpart in Tokyo. A straw ! Typed "long stroke" (67 mm bore and 66.8 stroke), the block of the CBR500R does not love high speeds: its acceleration slows down appreciably around 8000 rpm, that is to say a thousand revolutions before its cut. ignition.

At 9000 r / min, the block more "square" of Akashi (62 x 49 mm) still has 4000 r / min of extension. And it quickly makes you feel that this is its favorite range of use: the Green rushes forward with enthusiasm, delivering in the process this kick to the foundation assimilated to sporty and / or character motorcycles. Of course, the "beast" spits only 39 hp and the expression of its sportiness is therefore relative to the 200 nags of the bestial ZX-10R !

On the Honda, this burst of energy is in vain … Coupled but terribly linear, the twin-cylinder of the CBR500R gives the impression of accelerating in the same way at 4000 rpm, 5000 rpm or 7000 rpm / min. A feeling corroborated during our tests of times: despite its larger displacement and power, the motorcycle of the first manufacturer does not get rid of its rival so easily. !

If at low and mid-revs, its higher torque allows it – logically – to take the lead, it suffices to whip the Kawa to make it see Green and very ripe! Taking advantage of its weight advantage, the Ninja 300 is even the quickest to set off at a red light. And if its pilot takes care to make it "howl" copiously by taking advantage of its reach, the CBR500R will have a hard time catching up…

Deceptive appearances…

As the first bends approach, the more energetic engine behavior of the Kawasaki makes it the theoretically favorite: you can imagine negotiating the bends full of fun, chiseling the trajectories thanks to its ultra-maneuverable front end and coming out with a bang. But in reality, the sporting predispositions of the Ninja 300 are undermined by a chassis that is much less convincing than that of the Honda..

More intuitive, the CBR500R shows above all a cohesion and a progressive damping which are lacking in the Green. It appears too dry on small shocks and not sufficiently braked hydraulically: the successions of bumps disunite its suspension tuning, while the mass transfers are insufficiently contained when the pace is accelerating..

And be careful not to exceed the measure too much: its stability on the angle can quickly be altered by the excessive reactivity of the front axle on bumps, and some steering movements are not to be excluded at high speed. In "arsouille" mode, the lack of feedback from its low-end tires (IRC Roadwinner) also calms the enthusiasm, as does its braking a little tight in power and frankly passable in terms of bite and feeling..

Rather than an anti-dribble clutch not completely transparent to use (return of effort to downshifting) and questionable utility on this kind of motorcycles, Kawasaki should consider grafting it with higher quality peripherals….

Very soft, almost soft at the start of the race, the Honda settles down more significantly when braking and accelerating. But a relevant calibration of its suspensions allows it to avoid sagging on its supports: once placed under stress, its fork and its mono-shock absorber gradually regain firmness, to the benefit of efficiency in curves..

Unlike the Kawasaki, the CBR500R often gives the impression that it was possible to negotiate the previous turn ten or fifteen miles faster. Unfortunately, its lack of ground clearance regularly opposes it: frustrating for the most nervous, its propensity to easily "rub" will, on the other hand, put a banana on beginners! Good pick therefore, since it is to them that it is addressed in priority !

Heavier and less sharp from the front, the Honda requires a little more effort to dive towards the rope, but it does so with more naturalness and neutrality than the Kawasaki. The first manufacturer’s bike then remains riveted on its trajectory, where it is more permissive than the Ninja 300 when it comes to changing the course when unbuttoned..

On condition, however, to show moderation if by chance the need to take the right lever is felt: actuated too vigorously on the angle, the front brake "locks" the steering. Almost insensitive to this phenomenon, the Kawa here takes advantage of the narrowness of its front tire and its 22 kilos less.

Verdict: spirit are you there ?

Thanks to the Honda CBR500R and the Ninja 300, young drivers can learn the joys of two-wheelers through – reasonably – sporty motorcycles. However, be careful not to be fooled by their high-sounding patronymic: far from being chrono hunters of small size and displacement, they mainly aim to offer the appearance of sportiness without imposing its constraints (infernal position, general discomfort , price and exclusivity).

At this level, the Kawasaki is the most faithful to the Ninja spirit: its lines cut with the billhook are more suggestive – success guaranteed at the end of the university! -, and its angry engine will give it the advantage over the placid Honda among beginners in love with sensations.

More “CB” than truly “CBR”, the first manufacturer’s motorcycle appears to be much too polished mechanically to be considered truly sporty. The general efficiency is there, no doubt, but it is watered down by a slightly lazy engine: if its hyper healthy part-cycle allows many fantasies, this is not the case of its mechanics…

The CBR500R however easily imposes itself on the Ninja 300. On the one hand, because it is more homogeneous and easy to understand, on the other because it offers more in many fields. More displacement, more power, more torque, but also more equipment and comfort for an equivalent price if we add ABS to the Kawasaki: equipped with anti-lock brakes as standard, the Honda s ‘exchange at € 5990 against € 5599 for the Ninja 300 with ABS (€ 4999 without).

Finally, the superior finish of the Honda sticks the final blow to its rival: both made in Thailand, the CBR500R and the Ninja 300 certainly do not come out of the same chains! Subject to a detailed examination, the "Zak" reveals a sum of irritating small imperfections, even for a motorcycle of this price: the welds (frame, brake pedal, steering column) are sloppy, the integration of the electrical network leaves to be desired and the footrest plates mark very quickly.

Not that on the Honda, which comes out with its head held high from this static confrontation! Admittedly, its presentation is less flashy than that of its rival (the turn signals integrated into the fairing and the hexagonal mirrors of the Ninja 300 produce their small effect), but its assembly is more careful, therefore more rewarding. Commercial attention to detail on the part of the first manufacturer: pampering the novice rider is indeed an excellent way to retain him !

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