Kawasaki D Tracker..

[properperson]

Saw the new D Tracker as Kawasaki dealers on Saturday - anyone bought one ? - what's it like ?

Also Ninja 250 - any reports on them ?? - price almost identical...

[dave_boo]

Quite different bikes....

The Ninja is a great bike; wicked fast through the corners with a good rider.

[Fishenough]

Do you mean the new D-Tracker 125?

Both the Ninja and the D-Tracker are the best 250 bikes available in Thailand off the lot. Choosing between the two is easy if you know your riding style.

[knortyboy]

What prices were you qouted and where in LOS?

[Fishenough]

What prices were you qouted and where in LOS?

Most major cities have a Kawcker dealer; 144,000 for the Ninja 250, 149,000 for the D-Tracker and KLX 250s.

[Dave the Dude]

The Ninja 650 is not too much more then, at those prices quoted.

I seem to remember on here, someone saying the 250 Ninja was underpowered?

Do you meen the 250 or 650 dave-boo ??

[Garry]

The Ninja 650 is not too much more then, at those prices quoted.

I seem to remember on here, someone saying the 250 Ninja was underpowered?

Do you meen the 250 or 650 dave-boo ??

The 650 has plenty of stick

[properperson]

test riden them now...

D Tracker - pretty dam good, although a bit noisy and not much grunt - not sure about riding position, but too high up for me...

Ninja 250 - felt dinky (im 5'10") and the only way of getting it to pull well is to rev the boll$$ks off it - no mid range grunt at low revevs...

[HangDongRider]

test riden them now...

D Tracker - pretty dam good, although a bit noisy and not much grunt - not sure about riding position, but too high up for me...

Ninja 250 - felt dinky (im 5'10") and the only way of getting it to pull well is to rev the boll$ks off it - no mid range grunt at low revevs...

D-Tracker too high??????????????????????????????????????????????????

[Fishenough]

D-Tracker too high??????????????????????????????????????????????????

Pends what your used to? I'm 5'11" and after a year my D-Tracker still feels small, and I've had my seat built up. The Ninjette only feels a wee bit smaller than a Yamie R6 to me.

Easy to help some with grunt issue of the D-Tracker, by a quick fix derestriction. Couple minutes if you go with the ECU bypass; that with pulling the snorkel and fitting a noisier exhaust liven it noticeably.

[Richard-BKK]

People keep talking about the Kawasaki D-Tracker 125, but if you call any official Kawasaki telephone numbers you get no, “that model not have in Thailand” if you manage to get a bit up to the a manager in English will explain that the model is not made in Thailand and they have no plans of importing it.

But then this can be absolutely not correct as this person also said that Kawasaki Thailand will not distribute the Kawasaki ZX-6R in Thailand.... Somebody said they will import them into Thailand last year...??? So anybody has a telephone number of a Kawasaki person who says different???

[nikster]

Ninja has 2x the horse power of the D-Tracker, but of course you need to rev it high. These bikes are so different they can't really be compared anyway, pick the one you want.

I found the D-Tracker just fine as long as you get it de-restricted, which is very easy to do. Very fun bike. There's also a huge mod scene out there so if you have the money you can get a new ECU with presumably more power, etc - I haven't followed this for a while, but I am sure power-enhancing mods are out there aplenty now....

[Khutan]

I had a test ride of the D-Tracker 250cc and the Ninja 650R on Saturday. The D-Tracker felt firm and reliable and like a fun bike to ride around. I am not sure if I would trust myself with the power of the Ninja, particularly with some of the close traffic in BKK.

[skybluestu]

Had a deposit on a D Tracker in Aug 08 but didn't go through with the purchase, bought a car instead. But thinking of buying one soon, has there been any changes/upgrades since then? Is there likely to be a new, revised version soon or will this model be around for another few years or so? Don't want to buy one and then in a few months see that a revised model is released.

Thanks in advance

[Johpa]

I had a test ride of the D-Tracker 250cc and the Ninja 650R on Saturday.

You must suffer from a split personality. Those two bikes could not be more different and appeal to completely different types of riders.

[skybluestu]

To answer my own question in post #14... Just been informed that the 2010 D Tracker will be launched 'sometime next month' by the Chiang Mai dealer, didn't say what, if any, changes have been made though.

[skybluestu]

More info re the soon to be available 2010 model, changes are...

1) Slight price increase, 2600baht more expensive, now 152,500k

2) Black front shock absorbers instead of silver

3) Different stickers

4) Colors will be Black and Orange, not black and yellow. The 'yellow' ones I've seen are very orange so not sure how much difference there will be.

[BigBikeBKK]

People keep talking about the Kawasaki D-Tracker 125, but if you call any official Kawasaki telephone numbers you get no, “that model not have in Thailand” if you manage to get a bit up to the a manager in English will explain that the model is not made in Thailand and they have no plans of importing it.

Wrong again Richard- the Thai built Kawasaki D-Tracker 125 has been on display and available for test rides at Kawasaki Rama 9 for the last two weeks. Maybe you called a Kawasaki scooter shop?

[skybluestu]

More info re the soon to be available 2010 model, changes are...

1) Slight price increase, 2600baht more expensive, now 152,500k

2) Black front shock absorbers instead of silver

3) Different stickers

4) Colors will be Black and Orange, not black and yellow. The 'yellow' ones I've seen are very orange so not sure how much difference there will be.

[Khutan]

I had a test ride of the D-Tracker 250cc and the Ninja 650R on Saturday.

You must suffer from a split personality. Those two bikes could not be more different and appeal to completely different types of riders.

I have two different purposes, for what I am thinking of doing. But I am going with the D-Tracker.

[Richard-BKK]

@BigBikeBKK

Yes, you probably right, I called the wrong number... But then who would believe a 125cc with 10 horsepower (same power as a standard Honda Wave 125) being the same weight as a CBR150R would be on display at Kawasaki BIG BIKE... That is "almost" as funny of me calling the wrong number...

[Powerband]

Can you jump with the D-Tracker?

[BigBikeBKK]

Can you jump with the D-Tracker?

Dunno but I've caught some pretty big air with my ER6n

[dave_boo]

@BigBikeBKK

Yes, you probably right, I called the wrong number... But then who would believe a 125cc with 10 horsepower (same power as a standard Honda Wave 125) being the same weight as a CBR150R would be on display at Kawasaki BIG BIKE... That is "almost" as funny of me calling the wrong number...

And yet, on the front page of Kawasaki's "Big Bike" website, there's a picture and link to the KLX 125....

**edit**

Also lists the D-Tracker 125...since that's what the discussion is about.

[BigBikeBKK]

@BigBikeBKK

Yes, you probably right, I called the wrong number... But then who would believe a 125cc with 10 horsepower (same power as a standard Honda Wave 125) being the same weight as a CBR150R would be on display at Kawasaki BIG BIKE... That is "almost" as funny of me calling the wrong number...

And yet, on the front page of Kawasaki's "Big Bike" website, there's a picture and link to the KLX 125....

**edit**

Also lists the D-Tracker 125...since that's what the discussion is about.

Ah but Dave, you're assuming Richard can read....

[Richard-BKK]

Okay, maybe I cannot read, so let me check. I looked at the Kawasaki D-tracker 125 web-page and what I understand is, Kawasaki made the most expensive 125cc motorcycle and giving it the performance (10 horsepower) of what we best can compare to the cheapest motorcycles available in Thailand.

It seems that you can modify the D-tracker 125 and KLX125 relative easy, big bore upgrades are available. But then who will feel comfortable cruising at 120km/h with a 160cc bore-up doing 10,400 rpm having to depend on air-cooling only...

Also upgrading the latest 125cc Kawasaki's to 160cc will set you back about 40,000 Baht (with likely still some hidden costs) so for 83,000 Baht (motorcycle) + 40,000 Baht (upgrade) = 123,000 Baht and all you get is still only 16 horsepower.

So yes, I can maybe not read... but looking at the Kawasaki D-tracker or KLX125 web-pages I cannot stop laughing ….

[jbeck]

why would anyone want a d-tracker 125 when the 250 is the same size physically, and probably a similar price?

are these bikes fuel injected? what year did they start doing this?

and if so, has anyone modified the ECU, etc.. how much did it help?

[Richard-BKK]

The 125cc KLX125 and the D-tracker 125 are relative new motorcycles, the Kawasaki D-Tracker 125 is in the UK available for a few months.

Both 125cc Kawasaki's are indeed fuel-injection, with a ECU which limiteds much modifications. The only way to serious increase performance is to turn the bike into a carburettor breather... Which needs several engine parts of the Kawasaki KLX140, most of this parts are not available from replacement part manufacturers, therefore the transformation from 125cc fuel-injection to 125cc carburettor bike is not cheap, then to increase performance you need something like a 160cc bore-up kit. The exhaust pipe of the new Kawasaki's looks even small if compared to a Honda Wave 125, so they very likely need to be replaced also. All with all the top performance you get using all this modifications is power under 16 horsepower.

Still I will not feel comfortable riding from Bangkok to Chonburi doing 10,400rpm on a big bore-up air-cooled engine. As you can see in the attached dyno-sheet, revving up to 10,400 rpm is not needed to gain full performance. So maybe they have a future with this bike...

I would say spent some more money and go for a Kawasaki D-Tracker 250 or buy another motorcycle.

[LivinLOS]

So yes, I can maybe not read... but looking at the Kawasaki D-tracker or KLX125 web-pages I cannot stop laughing ….

The relative value or not of the 125 offerings is a different point.. My bet is they will sell scads of them to style concious younger Thais who want more than a ksr, yes the engine is weak, I would love to see a 150 or so with more hp in it but its not a full size bike.

But the issue people are ribbing you is your flat out declarative statements that where once again 180 degrees out.. If your speculating and guessing perhaps learn to add "I think" at the start of your comments... As your reminders of industry connections tends to give the impression of privvy info, which is seems isnt correct.

VTR anyone ??

[Richard-BKK]

The Kawasaki D-Tracker 125 is not a full bike? If I read the specs, my Thai is not that good, but I read that it is not much smaller then a Honda CBR150R, weight is also similar?