Ninja 250R: It has everything a great !
What if the little 250 was the real Kawasaki novelty? It was able to surprise where the others (even undergoing a complete redesign like the ZX10-R) only appear as evolutions. Meeting with Claire Depeuille, communications manager for the Greens.
What if the little Kawasaki Ninja 250 R was the real novelty from the Akashi manufacturer at this 2007 World Cup? In any case, it was able to create a surprise where the other machines, even undergoing a total overhaul like the ZX10-R, only appear as evolutions.
Site therefore decided to find out more by meeting Claire Depeuille-Bodin, Kawasaki France’s marketing and communications manager. When she took up her post in 2005, Ms. Depeuille-Bodin carried out a simple calculation: the average displacement of the company was at the time at 800 cc !
Kawasaki has however been able to adapt to the logical trend of lower displacement by releasing the ER-6, the Versys, and now the Ninja 250 R! (read).
A "Baby Ninja" with a sporty look and powered by a 249 cc vertical twin "full of torque at low and mid-range", ensures Kawasaki. An unexpected drop in displacement on the French market but that Kawa takes care to do under the guise of its flagship name: the Ninja !
"You can’t compare the sales of the Ninja and the Z750 (best selling motorcycle in France for the second year in a row), and yet bikers know as much – or even more – about Ninjas than Zs.", remarks Claire Depeuille-Bodin: a way for the factory to offer a rewarding product that benefits from the aura of its big sisters.
However, will the young French biker feel attracted by this modest volume? "It should be understood that a manufacturer does not develop a model just for France", retorts the communication manager."Kawasaki builds for the whole world, these are planetary projects and there has been a demand across the world probably much greater than for France".
By increasing the number of marketing studies, the green brand has nevertheless found it wise to offer the "Ninjette" in France. Its sales targets are of the order of 200 to 500 units in France and 5 to 6,000 for the European market.
The demand is mainly Spanish, but the ZX2-R (the only Ninja Full Power on our territory!) Can meet its French public, explains Claire Depeuille: "for a young license, this motorcycle offers an interesting alternative with a reduced purchase cost – compared to a 600 cc -, a low insurance contribution, inexpensive maintenance and the certainty of having a rewarding and aesthetically attractive motorcycle".
Young French licensees will therefore be delighted to learn that the 250-R will certainly develop less than 35 hp originally, which will exempt them from a clamping device! In addition, its price should display "around 4000 euros", assures Kawasaki.
Yet to detail it closely, the quarter liter does not seem "cheap": petal brake discs, front headlight "Z 750 Spirit" and an angular line which is reminiscent of the 2003/2004 models of its great sister ZX6-R.
The seat is comfortable, we just regret that the plastic covering around the tank affects the smoothness of the machine. The instrumentation goes to the basics with a speedometer, two drop-down trips, tachometer and temperature gauge. The design is still a bit austere and we would have appreciated a fuel gauge.
But the bi should be reasonable at the pump … Unless we tease the 12,000 revs displayed before the red zone to verify that "operation of the engine at full load will surprise with the extent of performance at high speeds", says the press kit…
Aware of the issues and the consequences, it is now likely that Kawasaki will soon draw one (or more?) 125 cc. "Kawasaki cannot ignore the 125 sector and its 50% of two-wheel sales: officially at Kawasaki the project is under study", confirms Claire Depeuille-Bodin.
Will the Ninja range begin with a ZX125-R, to counter the new Yamaha YZF 125 presented at the show and the now acclaimed Honda CBR 125 R? To follow soon on Site !
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