This is a tad bit late as this is the first day I’ve actually been able to ride but figured I’d make this anyway.
First off, a little about my riding experience. I started riding dirt bikes when I was around 13 and picked up my first street bike at 15 (I’m 24 now). My first bike was a 2003 Yamaha R6 and it probably wasn’t the smartest way to go about learning a proper street bike. Nevertheless, I was fortunate enough to not kill myself on it or even lay it down. Shoot, I never even got a ticket all though I’m not sure how. Since then I have owned quite a few sport bikes including an 07 ninja 250, 15 ninja 300, 04 cbr600rr, 01 gsxr750, 06 gsxr600, 08 zx6r and an amazing 2013 bmw s1000rr. There’s a 2017 grom as well but I didn’t keep that too long.
As for the Ninja 400, I ended up with a black ABS version and I just put about 120 miles on it today. If I had to sum it up, wow. This bike is better than I expected even after watching/reading reviews. The seat isn’t the most comfortable but it isn’t the worst either. It looks way better in person, especially in the sunlight. Handling is absolutely amazing and is extremely easy to maneuver at low speeds. Clutch pull is very light and it’s really easy to find the friction zone. Brakes are not the best by any means but they stop the bike, this is something I will be upgrading in the future. The seating position is more upright than I like so I have ordered clip ons and will install those soon, I might even order a pair of $30 eBay clip ons just to try them out and review them before putting my Gilles clip ons on. Shifting has a very nice click going up and down and I noticed that it will go from first to second when you’re stopped unlike the 300 where it wouldn’t go past neutral until you were moving. Lastly, the power.....oh boy does this thing scream for such a small bike. I hit 100 mph with ease while entering the highway from an on ramp. To give you an idea, I’m 5’11” and 160 lbs. this bike is surprisingly quick and you honestly can’t tell how good until you ride it for yourself.
A side note, there is quite a bit of vibration at highway speed and found my hands going a little numb towards the end. The engine breaking is very strong in all gears. It almost seems just as strong in 6th as it is in 1st.
I’m sure I missed quite a bit so I’ll be happy to answer any question that I can. Overall, I give it a solid 9/10.
First off, a little about my riding experience. I started riding dirt bikes when I was around 13 and picked up my first street bike at 15 (I’m 24 now). My first bike was a 2003 Yamaha R6 and it probably wasn’t the smartest way to go about learning a proper street bike. Nevertheless, I was fortunate enough to not kill myself on it or even lay it down. Shoot, I never even got a ticket all though I’m not sure how. Since then I have owned quite a few sport bikes including an 07 ninja 250, 15 ninja 300, 04 cbr600rr, 01 gsxr750, 06 gsxr600, 08 zx6r and an amazing 2013 bmw s1000rr. There’s a 2017 grom as well but I didn’t keep that too long.
As for the Ninja 400, I ended up with a black ABS version and I just put about 120 miles on it today. If I had to sum it up, wow. This bike is better than I expected even after watching/reading reviews. The seat isn’t the most comfortable but it isn’t the worst either. It looks way better in person, especially in the sunlight. Handling is absolutely amazing and is extremely easy to maneuver at low speeds. Clutch pull is very light and it’s really easy to find the friction zone. Brakes are not the best by any means but they stop the bike, this is something I will be upgrading in the future. The seating position is more upright than I like so I have ordered clip ons and will install those soon, I might even order a pair of $30 eBay clip ons just to try them out and review them before putting my Gilles clip ons on. Shifting has a very nice click going up and down and I noticed that it will go from first to second when you’re stopped unlike the 300 where it wouldn’t go past neutral until you were moving. Lastly, the power.....oh boy does this thing scream for such a small bike. I hit 100 mph with ease while entering the highway from an on ramp. To give you an idea, I’m 5’11” and 160 lbs. this bike is surprisingly quick and you honestly can’t tell how good until you ride it for yourself.
A side note, there is quite a bit of vibration at highway speed and found my hands going a little numb towards the end. The engine breaking is very strong in all gears. It almost seems just as strong in 6th as it is in 1st.
I’m sure I missed quite a bit so I’ll be happy to answer any question that I can. Overall, I give it a solid 9/10.
