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I've not long returned home with the new bike after 225km of rain, strong winds and generally cool temps on a mix of flat fast roads and a few twisties but mostly pretty straight and fast. So a reasonable test to formulate a few thoughts, 90% of them positive 
First observation from sitting on the bike was 'heck the seats low' (I'm 5ft 10.5") Then I started it up and it sounded dreadful as I expected ha! And then when I rode away I almost found it a bit cramped. It is a compact bike. But then the fun started when I managed to break the rear wheel lose changing from 2nd to third as I had forgot about the brand new tyres on the wet road. :surprise:
A few flicks from side to side soon confirmed that it is indeed a nimble beast even with the tank full. I spent the first 30km on my way to Invercargill (the provincial capital) just going up to speed and then decelerating, varying the revs and engine loading basically but giving it heaps of throttle. I kept it under 10K RPM tho.
After calling on a friend to show off the new machine and purchasing a new helmet which gave the engine another couple of heating and cooling cycles I headed for home at speed sitting on 140kph most of the way with a couple of bursts up to 160 (the ton!) just for a bit of 'variation' ha ha. Every now and then I let it decelerate right down as well.
So she's a sprightly little beast eh! Much quicker than my CBR300 but still with a low weight so it's a good combo. A few times it surprised me how fast I was going when I saw the speedo, it's very smooth and deceptive. I didnt find the vibration a problem but that's not too surprising after riding a single. However when I did stop after about 150km I had some numbness in my throttle hand.
I had some really strong side winds at times and for a light bike it was impressively stable and held it's line well. Much better than the CBR in this respect. Again, very stable through fast corners too. I had to hit some real rough bits to upset the suspension and induce a little wallowing.
It's a personal thing but I hate the high bars. They will have to go, then I may find the pegs too far forward and they will be replaced with rear sets. I'm also not a fan of the bug antennae mirrors but at least they are wide enough to see past your shoulders with. Will fit a bar end mirror once I get some block off plates.
So I've saved the best bit till last: There was section of road about 3/4 of the way home where you climb over a 500m hill with a mix of fast and slow twisties. By this time the road was dry and the wind had eased. My general feeling of the handling up to this point was positive but it had been masked by high wind buffeting and fairly straight roads. As I biffed the little Ninja hard into the first left hander at pace the smile that spread across my mug nearly split my helmet in two Yep, this thing can hold a line alright! And then happily be thrown over the other way without getting all upset and do it well again. Good to see. Kudos to the Sportmax tyres too, once I'd scrubbed the slippery stuff off they were faultless.
Tomorrow I will have a play with the rear preload adjustment and work out whats best for me. I've already added 2 PSI front and rear to the tyres. 28 in the front is surprisingly low. I'm on 30/34 F/R now.
Ah yes, I nearly forgot about the brakes. It's kinda hard to be unbiased as I've only been riding my race bike the last 7 months and it has braided lines and sintered pads etc so bites really well.
I was unimpressed with the Ninja, the braking power IS there but it doesn't have any initial bite and is spongy getting there. Probably ideal for learners encase they panic and grab a big handful but not for experienced sports riders. I dont believe the front brake to be as good as the CBR and I'm not really bothered about the rear as I hardly use it. Will see how I go with it, not sure about an upgrade at this stage. Will check there's no air in the system first.
But on the whole I'm really happy with the bike, very good value for money in particular.
What's the expression - 'It does what it says on the box'.
![Land vehicle Motorcycle Vehicle Motor vehicle Motorcycling]()
First observation from sitting on the bike was 'heck the seats low' (I'm 5ft 10.5") Then I started it up and it sounded dreadful as I expected ha! And then when I rode away I almost found it a bit cramped. It is a compact bike. But then the fun started when I managed to break the rear wheel lose changing from 2nd to third as I had forgot about the brand new tyres on the wet road. :surprise:
A few flicks from side to side soon confirmed that it is indeed a nimble beast even with the tank full. I spent the first 30km on my way to Invercargill (the provincial capital) just going up to speed and then decelerating, varying the revs and engine loading basically but giving it heaps of throttle. I kept it under 10K RPM tho.
After calling on a friend to show off the new machine and purchasing a new helmet which gave the engine another couple of heating and cooling cycles I headed for home at speed sitting on 140kph most of the way with a couple of bursts up to 160 (the ton!) just for a bit of 'variation' ha ha. Every now and then I let it decelerate right down as well.
So she's a sprightly little beast eh! Much quicker than my CBR300 but still with a low weight so it's a good combo. A few times it surprised me how fast I was going when I saw the speedo, it's very smooth and deceptive. I didnt find the vibration a problem but that's not too surprising after riding a single. However when I did stop after about 150km I had some numbness in my throttle hand.
I had some really strong side winds at times and for a light bike it was impressively stable and held it's line well. Much better than the CBR in this respect. Again, very stable through fast corners too. I had to hit some real rough bits to upset the suspension and induce a little wallowing.
It's a personal thing but I hate the high bars. They will have to go, then I may find the pegs too far forward and they will be replaced with rear sets. I'm also not a fan of the bug antennae mirrors but at least they are wide enough to see past your shoulders with. Will fit a bar end mirror once I get some block off plates.
So I've saved the best bit till last: There was section of road about 3/4 of the way home where you climb over a 500m hill with a mix of fast and slow twisties. By this time the road was dry and the wind had eased. My general feeling of the handling up to this point was positive but it had been masked by high wind buffeting and fairly straight roads. As I biffed the little Ninja hard into the first left hander at pace the smile that spread across my mug nearly split my helmet in two
Yep, this thing can hold a line alright! And then happily be thrown over the other way without getting all upset and do it well again. Good to see. Kudos to the Sportmax tyres too, once I'd scrubbed the slippery stuff off they were faultless. Tomorrow I will have a play with the rear preload adjustment and work out whats best for me. I've already added 2 PSI front and rear to the tyres. 28 in the front is surprisingly low. I'm on 30/34 F/R now.
Ah yes, I nearly forgot about the brakes. It's kinda hard to be unbiased as I've only been riding my race bike the last 7 months and it has braided lines and sintered pads etc so bites really well.
I was unimpressed with the Ninja, the braking power IS there but it doesn't have any initial bite and is spongy getting there. Probably ideal for learners encase they panic and grab a big handful but not for experienced sports riders. I dont believe the front brake to be as good as the CBR and I'm not really bothered about the rear as I hardly use it. Will see how I go with it, not sure about an upgrade at this stage. Will check there's no air in the system first.
But on the whole I'm really happy with the bike, very good value for money in particular.
What's the expression - 'It does what it says on the box'.
