[D1alup]

Sup everyone, new member checking in. Just picked up my new 400 yesterday, first person in the country (New Zealand) to get one according to the dealer. Have only riden it from the shop to home as it’s been pouring with rain. Hopefully fines up soon so I can go for a ride, torture just having it sitting in the garage

 

[Rm1sner]

Sup everyone, new member checking in. Just picked up my new 400 yesterday, first person in the country (New Zealand) to get one according to the dealer. Have only riden it from the shop to home as it’s been pouring with rain. Hopefully fines up soon so I can go for a ride, torture just having it sitting in the garage

Welcome to the forum! Not the best conditions for a first impression but any thoughts?


Kiwi, where is yours? Lol (Kiwi is another forum member from New Zealand).

 

[D1alup]

no real first impressions yet other than it looks frickin awesome (I got the black one). I babied it home yesterday in a torrential downpour so no proper feel for the bike yet. My only previous bike was a Honda 2012 CBR250r so this is my first upgrade. Compared to that the bike is a little bit bigger but felt just as easy to move around (the little that I did) and the riding position is very similar to my old bike. Once I get a few k's under my belt Ill post a bit more of an update.

Braking it in is a bit of a puzzle the manual says to not exceed 4000 RPM between 0 - 800km and then 6000 RPM between 800 - 1600km. This seems a bit stupid and unrealistic to me as I dont know how you could stay below 4000RPM and ride it even slightly normally. Will have to puzzle over that one a bit more.

 

[Rm1sner]

no real first impressions yet other than it looks frickin awesome (I got the black one). I babied it home yesterday in a torrential downpour so no proper feel for the bike yet. My only previous bike was a Honda 2012 CBR250r so this is my first upgrade. Compared to that the bike is a little bit bigger but felt just as easy to move around (the little that I did) and the riding position is very similar to my old bike. Once I get a few k's under my belt Ill post a bit more of an update.

Braking it in is a bit of a puzzle the manual says to not exceed 4000 RPM between 0 - 800km and then 6000 RPM between 800 - 1600km. This seems a bit stupid and unrealistic to me as I dont know how you could stay below 4000RPM and ride it even slightly normally. Will have to puzzle over that one a bit more.

The cbr250r always felt extremely light to me, almost as light as a grom. A definite power increase for sure!


As far as braking in, that seems to be a generic thing they put in most owner's manuals. We have a thread on this topic and seems most of us agree that it isn't the best idea to do that. It's pretty much impossible to keep it under that rpm and ride on public roads. You might give it a read to see if you can pull some useful info out of it.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

Hey Dial up, welcome from a fellow Kiwi! Firstly, love the username :smile_big:
I've been away for three days racing at the Burt Munro Challenge event down here, you probably heard of it? What part of the country you in?
Anyhoo, stoked to hear the Ninja 400's have hit the country - Yes!!
I will be ringing my dealer tomorrow and asking where mine is???? Lol.
I've ordered a black one too. I was interested in getting a pillion seat cowl for it but not at Kawasaki NZ prices. Can get it from Oz for nearly half that. Are you thinking of getting any accessories or aftermarket parts?

I used to have a CBR250R (& 300R) as well so really lookin forward to more thoughts from you once you got a few more clicks up,
Ps. Just ignore all that rubbish in the handbook about break in procedure and ride it how you want to.
Enjoy!

 

[freezuch]

Welcome!
It sucks about the rain, but at least you can go into your garage and seat on it, knowing you are the ONLY ONE in a country who can do that!

 

[D1alup]

Hey Dial up, welcome from a fellow Kiwi! Firstly, love the username :smile_big:
I've been away for three days racing at the Burt Munro Challenge event down here, you probably heard of it? What part of the country you in?
Anyhoo, stoked to hear the Ninja 400's have hit the country - Yes!!
I will be ringing my dealer tomorrow and asking where mine is???? Lol.
I've ordered a black one too. I was interested in getting a pillion seat cowl for it but not at Kawasaki NZ prices. Can get it from Oz for nearly half that. Are you thinking of getting any accessories or aftermarket parts?

I used to have a CBR250R (& 300R) as well so really lookin forward to more thoughts from you once you got a few more clicks up,
Ps. Just ignore all that rubbish in the handbook about break in procedure and ride it how you want to.
Enjoy!

Certainly heard of Burt Munro (love "The Worlds Fastest Indian movie") but hadn't heard of the Challenge before so looked it up. Looks like you would have had a lot of fun!
I'm up in Auckland so still waiting for the weather to clear up before I go out for a proper first ride....apparently there is another cyclone or something on the way again :/
Main mod I want to get when they are available is a tail tidy as I'm really not a fan of the stock rear end. After that I might do the exhaust as well but the bank balance needs a bit of time to recover first.
Just trying to finish sorting out insurance now and then the first sign of some dry weather I'm outa here

Hope your bike turns up soon!

 

[Rm1sner]

Certainly heard of Burt Munro (love "The Worlds Fastest Indian movie") but hadn't heard of the Challenge before so looked it up. Looks like you would have had a lot of fun!
I'm up in Auckland so still waiting for the weather to clear up before I go out for a proper first ride....apparently there is another cyclone or something on the way again :/
Main mod I want to get when they are available is a tail tidy as I'm really not a fan of the stock rear end. After that I might do the exhaust as well but the bank balance needs a bit of time to recover first.
Just trying to finish sorting out insurance now and then the first sign of some dry weather I'm outa here

Hope your bike turns up soon!

I'm not sure what shipping would be but TST Industries has a fender eliminator for 25 USD, 35 USD when you add in the signal light brackets.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

.... Just trying to finish sorting out insurance now ....

Let us know how much that ends up being and which company. Generally I insure my bikes for third party only but could be tempted to comprehensive if it's reasonable. Ta.

 

[D1alup]

Let us know how much that ends up being and which company. Generally I insure my bikes for third party only but could be tempted to comprehensive if it's reasonable. Ta.

Insurance ended up being about $470 through kiwibike. I've used them for my previous bike and always had good dealings with them. Havent had to make a claim at all but from what I hear they are very good. I did get a better offer, price and coverage wise, through the dealer but once I read the policy it was them reselling the policy, from a different manufacturer, underwritten by a different company and administered by a different company. I said no thanks as, if I do have to make a claim, I dont want have 4 different companies each pointing the finger at each other saying it's their fault not ours.

 

[Shiny Ride]

Hi D1alup, looking forward to hearing about how the breaking in process goes for your new Ninja baby.