New Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R

[OneMoreFarang]

9 hours ago, Damrongsak said:

The sound: 

 

 

That sounds like 12,000RPM, not 17,000. ???? 

[OneMoreFarang]

3 hours ago, Damrongsak said:

No front basket or luggage rack.  Does it have a phone charger or a mount to watch videos on your phone or even a beer holder while you try something?  Given the shape of the seat and tank, you'd be hard-pressed to carry more than your girlfriend and two tiny kids on it. 

That's a reason to tell the gf to lose some weight. 40kg is accepted, maybe 45kg if she is really tall.

 

[papa al]

15 hours ago, Happy Grumpy said:

Let's get that rear wheel on a dyno to really see the real BHP.

 

59 at the crank, Kawa are known for losing a lot by the time it gets to the asphalt. Probably high 40s. 

Do they supply really <deleted>ty chains & trannys or what?

[JonnyF]

On 3/19/2020 at 6:24 AM, gargamon said:

You can get a CB650R for about 300k. Why waste your time with this?

A few reasons.

 

ZX-25R is lighter

Has better suspension

Quickshifter

I'd be willing to bet it handles better

More fun at real world speeds

Looks better

Sounds better

It's not a Honda

 

The 650's are great bikes but unless you're on a big open road I think I'd have more fun on this little 250. Sometimes it's more fun extracting every bit of performance out of a small bike rather than cruising along on a big bike. Same reason I bought a KX250F for off road instead of a 450F. 

 

This is the first bike that's tickled my fancy for a while. 250,000 would be a fair price IMO. It's a much better spec than an R3.

 

 

[eisfeld]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

That sounds like 12,000RPM, not 17,000. ???? 

I thought the same when I watched it. Doesn't sound like crazy RPM, sounds like most i4 that go to around 11 - 13. Didn't want to post as I thought I'm just becoming deaf.

[OneMoreFarang]

29 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

I thought the same when I watched it. Doesn't sound like crazy RPM, sounds like most i4 that go to around 11 - 13. Didn't want to post as I thought I'm just becoming deaf.

That's what 14500 sounds like. And in real life it sounds a lot better than that.

 

[JonnyF]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

That sounds like 12,000RPM, not 17,000. ???? 

Sounds like it hit the rev limiter at 0:24 and 0:43.

 

[eisfeld]

4 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Sounds like it hit the rev limiter at 0:24 and 0:43.

 

Yup noticed that too, but I also thought that some downshifts sounded like higher RPM than the revlimiter. Hard to tell though.

 

BTW anyone else wondered why now with fly by wire throttles the revlimiters are still stuttering instead of a mode where it keeps a steady throttle at or slightly above peak power? Usually there's not much point to rev past the peak. Even the traction control can be smooth nowerdays.

[papa al]

7 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

That sounds like 12,000RPM, not 17,000. ???? 

Redline on papa's ceeber is 11.5.

sounds ~ the same.

Usually shift at 11 tho.

Or 10.

They / Yamaha / should make a 125 or 150cc 4-banger.

papa would go for that.

Naked.

20,000 r's is nice round number

Edited March 20, 2020 by papa al

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, papa al said:

Redline on papa's ceeber is 11.5.

sounds ~ the same.

Usually shift at 11 tho.

Or 10.

They / Yamaha / should make a 125 or 150cc 4-banger.

papa would go for that.

Naked.

20,000 r's is nice round number

But 150cc has less power than 250cc. I think 250cc is enough inside Bangkok, with 150cc it would be always WOT. Possible but not optimal.

[papa al]

19 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

it would be always WOT.

yehaaa!

[gargamon]

What's the power curve of this thing look like? Do you need to keep it at 8k to keep it drivable? I'd hate to have to drive at high rpm all the time.

[OneMoreFarang]

6 minutes ago, gargamon said:

What's the power curve of this thing look like? Do you need to keep it at 8k to keep it drivable? I'd hate to have to drive at high rpm all the time.

I make a guess:

There will be little power under 6k or 8k or something like this. But it will be possible to ride with 6k.

There will be a lot of power > 13k (or wherever it starts). And it will be a lot of fun riding it with high revs.

Now the question is basically: Would you want to ride a bike at 6000 RPM with little power if you know you could ride it with 14,000RPM screaming with lots of power?

 

Now I have a bike which has half decent power over 4000RPM and nice power with 8000RPM and even more at higher revs. Mostly I ride it maybe somewhere in the 5000 - 9000 range. It works fine and it's fun and I don't think I miss anything if I don't rev it to the limiter.

 

When I had the VFR400 I rode it often in the 10,000 to red line 14,500RPM range. Because it was a lot more fun and it sounded beautifully. I never wanted to ride it with low RPM. And I guess that ZX-25R will be similar to that.

 

And it only makes sense to buy a bike like that if you want high revs. Otherwise it's the wrong choice of bike.

[taninthai]

20 hours ago, eisfeld said:

I'd like to ride one for a bit but I wouldn't own one

Great comment sort of sums it up for me.......yes would be real fun in some nice twisties,,,but no fun riding it long distances to get to those type of roads,,,,don’t get the comments oh but it’s great fun inline four screamer high revving........so it’s the same as a cbr650 in-line 4 high revving screamer but less power

[VocalNeal]

2 hours ago, gargamon said:

What's the power curve of this thing look like? Do you need to keep it at 8k to keep it drivable? I'd hate to have to drive at high rpm all the time.

 

One has to think in terms of percentages and forget the actual numbers. Maybe we could repaint the tach. dial with some yellow/green/red segments?

 

My bike will run at below 7000-ish but about 8000 yeeha and it pulls like a train up to about 12,500. so that is about 60 to 100%. At 150 kph-ish it cruises at about 9500. But that is only a number on a dial. I do laugh and compare it to riding a chain saw, it simply purrs along. I can ride in commuter traffic at say 6000 but have to go down a gear if i want to take advantage of a gap in the traffic.

The Kawa will be, if similar, about 10,000 to 17,000. Like all bikes built for a similar purpose it will have a sweet spot but that also is just a number on a dial.

 

So maybe it won't be as fast as your mate on a 650 who isn't as fast as his mate on a 1000 et al. However if you all ride together the road conditions and the traffic will limit the progress of the 1000 guy. At the back of this trio or more is the guy on the 250. Instead of being limited by traffic etc. he will be riding up and down the gear box with a huge smile on his face just to keep up. ( ask me how I know?). The Kawa will be quick just not as fast.

Will the guy on the 1000 be more relaxed? That is simply a state of mind. Also the new 250 is a sport bike so I suspect it needs to run at about 120 kph/ 12750 rpm just to get the weight off the rider's arms. 

 

Not many will be using it to pop down to the 7-Eleven for a few beers. That is why you also have a scooter.

 

We will have to wait for a proper road test and on the negative side we don't even know if it will come here.

Edited March 20, 2020 by VocalNeal

[ktm jeff]

2 hours ago, gargamon said:

What's the power curve of this thing look like? Do you need to keep it at 8k to keep it drivable? I'd hate to have to drive at high rpm all the time.

gargamon , this isnt  the bike for you. If you need to ask what its advantage over a 400/500 of similar price , it isnt for you. Its for riders who want to ride a bike to the bikes fullest potential. The real world speed isnt brought into question. I think the Yamaha R3 is 210K , so if this is below 280K its worth it , but only for those who understand it.

[ktm jeff]

4 hours ago, papa al said:

Redline on papa's ceeber is 11.5.

sounds ~ the same.

Usually shift at 11 tho.

Or 10.

They / Yamaha / should make a 125 or 150cc 4-banger.

papa would go for that.

Naked.

20,000 r's is nice round number

Making a 125 4 cylinder with such advanced technology as this ZXR wont be much cheaper. Looking at that from another angle , making a 400 wont be much more expensive. Until then we have the R3 321cc twin and the 400 Ninja twin.

Edited March 20, 2020 by ktm jeff
18,000 RMP is a good number. 300 revs per second.

[eisfeld]

3 hours ago, ktm jeff said:

I think the Yamaha R3 is 210K

188k according to the Yamaha site.

 

3 hours ago, ktm jeff said:

Making a 125 4 cylinder with such advanced technology as this ZXR wont be much cheaper. Looking at that from another angle , making a 400 wont be much more expensive. Until then we have the R3 321cc twin and the 400 Ninja twin.

Yea that's why I don't fully understand the 250cc for this bike. Don't most licenses across Asia allow up to 400cc?

 

Added costs would be marginal. Or maybe at 250cc the masses are so small that making it rev to 17k isn't too crazy expensive?

[ktm jeff]

25 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

188k according to the Yamaha site.

 

Yea that's why I don't fully understand the 250cc for this bike. Don't most licenses across Asia allow up to 400cc?

 

Added costs would be marginal. Or maybe at 250cc the masses are so small that making it rev to 17k isn't too crazy expensive?

188K is a great price. There was a 400cc license limit in Japan in the 80,s. Dont know whats about now. In Thailand i thought after the 110cc age limit , there was no restrictions. A 400 would have a "bit" of torque making it slightly less manic. In England i have a ZXR 400 track bike , but max power is 13,000 RPM. It will rev higher. The old Yamaha/Kawasaki/Suzuki  250/4,s would rev to 19/20K and had 45BHP. The Honda had 40BHP. The 400,s had 60 BHP . If this new ZXR 250 has 59 BHP , thats some machine.

[OneMoreFarang]

3 hours ago, ktm jeff said:

188K is a great price. There was a 400cc license limit in Japan in the 80,s. Dont know whats about now. In Thailand i thought after the 110cc age limit , there was no restrictions. A 400 would have a "bit" of torque making it slightly less manic. In England i have a ZXR 400 track bike , but max power is 13,000 RPM. It will rev higher. The old Yamaha/Kawasaki/Suzuki  250/4,s would rev to 19/20K and had 45BHP. The Honda had 40BHP. The 400,s had 60 BHP . If this new ZXR 250 has 59 BHP , thats some machine.

I read it's produced in Indonesia and made primary for the Indonesian market. I have no idea about their regulations.

[OneMoreFarang]

7 hours ago, taninthai said:

so it’s the same as a cbr650 in-line 4 high revving screamer but less power

No, it's not the same. Because the 650 won't rev anywhere near 17,000.

[taninthai]

4 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

No, it's not the same. Because the 650 won't rev anywhere near 17,000.

What’s the cbr650 Rev to then ,it’s a replacement for Honda hornet and my hornet screams to 16,000rpm

[OneMoreFarang]

6 minutes ago, taninthai said:

What’s the cbr650 Rev to then ,it’s a replacement for Honda hornet and my hornet screams to 16,000rpm

I googled it:

CBR650R
Max. Power Output: 70kW/12,000rpm
https://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/range/super-sport/cbr650r/specifications.html#/

 

[taninthai]

5 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I googled it:

CBR650R
Max. Power Output: 70kW/12,000rpm
https://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/range/super-sport/cbr650r/specifications.html#/

 

Agreed the new models are not screamers doesn’t sound anything like the older model hornet 600

 

[Chazar]

On 3/17/2020 at 10:33 PM, Happy Grumpy said:

250cc? 

 

Make it an inline four 400cc and I'd be interested.

 

 

yeah Ive never  liked twins  much although started out on one

[Chazar]

9 minutes ago, taninthai said:

Agreed the new models are not screamers doesn’t sound anything like the older model hornet 600

 

then take  of 10%  for inaccuracies etc

[findlay13]

deleted

 

Edited March 21, 2020 by findlay13
delete

[papa al]

On 3/19/2020 at 12:03 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

250cc size bike with 4 cylinder, 59HP and 17,000RPM. Who cares about the other little details? ???? 

iF can get 59HP out of 250cc four,

then 30+ out of 125cc should be do-able.

How the heck could anyone need more

than 30hp for blasting riding solo on Thai roads?

Just laziness IpO.

Why anyone would tolerate the heat in traffic

of a bigger bike

cornfuses papa tambien.

NTM parking challenges.

Sure its fun to blast around on a liter sometimes,

but a racebike amongst real road conditions?

[Speed limit 90.]

????? corn freeking fusing.

[papa al]

After careful consideration,

papa holding out for 4-hole 100cc.

Why?

papa's 1st bike in 1967 was a 100cc

twin.

Red.

[OneMoreFarang]

51 minutes ago, papa al said:

After careful consideration,

papa holding out for 4-hole 100cc.

Why?

papa's 1st bike in 1967 was a 100cc

twin.

Red.

When I was a little younger I read about RC engines with 10cc and 25,000RPM and I imagined a 120cc 12 cylinder in my bike...

This is also interesting, the idea was from a comic book.