Kawasaki Er4N And Ninja 400R (Er4F)

[cm das]

My D-Tracker is probably the best all around bike for my needs & level of riding. But if I had the money & the opportunity, I'd likely sell the D-Tracker & pick up a Er4N and a Klx 125.

[visions]

Count how many cars you see in the video above and then tell me again how scary and dangerous Thai roads are

Its not the cars you can see that are dangerous....its the ones you cant see......coming round a blind bend on your side of the road

Every day I travel a short stretch of windy road with little if any traffic Has a speed warning at 21kph. I can hang it all out and get round the corners at 80kph but usualy take it easy at about 70kph

last week, one morning I had a preminition, and took the first corner at about 45kph........to find a 10 wheeler parked facing toward me, on my side of the road!! If I had gone into the corner at my normal speed there is no way I could have avoided a head on or off the side of the road into a ditch.

An empty road in Thailand is no gurantee of safety. Called "Luck". Sooner or later, you will find a similar situation that I have just related.

[thomo]

An empty road in Thailand is no gurantee of safety

sadly, this is true.

Still, if I had the bike budget, I'd be on a ninja 650 quicker than a thread would be closed for asking a mod question.

Edited June 30, 2010 by thomo

[jackcorbett]

Aye, if you don't have the cojones to ride a big bike best to stick to scooters...

Where do you have a chance to use the modest ~70Hp of the Kawasaki 650?

How about here-

Or here-

Count how many cars you see in the video above and then tell me again how scary and dangerous Thai roads are

"Sorry, but you have posted more media files than you are allowed to" Grrrr... anyway the list is endless

Perhaps if you ventured a bit past walking street you might realize that Thailand is blessed with some of the most fantastic roads anywhere.

Ride On!

Tony

Note that I qualified my post to mean the Pattaya area. What my German friend meant was he had little chance to use the power of his 650 Ern6 because of the idiocy of the drivers here. Since posting my message about the ERn4 and Ern6, I took my gf to class at 9 a.m. from Naklua to just across from the new Central Shopping Center near Soi 9 in Pattaya. Before I got anymore than 400 meters up the street I live on a Thai guy driving in the right lane of the two way two lane suddenly decided he wanted to park his bike over on the left side of the street. So he suddenly swerved over in front of me from the lane just to my right without as much as a glance and drove just twenty feet in front of me. I had to break hard to avoid rear ending him. Then he kept veering to the left before calmly stopping his bike right next to the curb. Less than five kilometers later I turned left from Beach Road just past Mike's shopping mall onto Soi 11. There was a Thai woman ever so slowly crossing the street there while she was talking to some other Thais. She was looking straight at the pavement. Had I been going much faster than I was I could not have helped hitting her.

A very high percentage of the people here are dumber and less observant than rabbits and as we know a lot of rabbits wind up as road kill in short order. So whether to drive a big bike and to drive it fast or not is not a question of balls....it's a question of judgment and those who don't exercise it are going to wind up having an accident in short order. I think I've said quite away back that if i lived outside Pattaya out either in or much closer to the countryside that I might very well choose a different bike than my Nouvo Elegance. But even so, if one continued to drive out in the country side where there aren't very many other vehicles around the way I used to drive bikes in the U.S. I think a serious accident would still be inevitable due to the moronic driving of a very large percentage of drivers here.

[BigBikeBKK]

Count how many cars you see in the video above and then tell me again how scary and dangerous Thai roads are

Its not the cars you can see that are dangerous....its the ones you cant see......coming round a blind bend on your side of the road

Every day I travel a short stretch of windy road with little if any traffic Has a speed warning at 21kph. I can hang it all out and get round the corners at 80kph but usualy take it easy at about 70kph

last week, one morning I had a preminition, and took the first corner at about 45kph........to find a 10 wheeler parked facing toward me, on my side of the road!! If I had gone into the corner at my normal speed there is no way I could have avoided a head on or off the side of the road into a ditch.

An empty road in Thailand is no gurantee of safety. Called "Luck". Sooner or later, you will find a similar situation that I have just related.

Good point and please don't interpret my little flame at chicken little as saying that riders should ignore basic safety principles like LINE OF SIGHT.

Believing that one's "superior skills" will keep one out of trouble on a bike is a recipe for disaster IMO. No matter how skilled you or I am, it's best to ride to avoid situations that can turn ugly. Ride at a safe speed (which varies from one biker to the next and one bike to the next), scan farther ahead, think and ride strategically. And dress for the crash.

LINE OF SIGHT: Swivel your head and look through the turn. Look as far as you can, even if it feels uncomfortable at first. Position yourself toward the outside of the lane to increase your line of sight through the curve. Limit your speed at the curve's entrance until you can see the path. Begin your turn only after the clear pathway comes into view. Only then should you begin adding throttle-- when you know where the road leads and what hazards exist.

Happy Trails!

Tony

ps. I leave you with one more traffic clogged dangerous Thai road to remind everyone how terrible it is riding fast bikes in Thailand

WOOT!

[katabeachbum]

Okay, maybe I have a complete different view of a Honda Phantom TA200, so let me explain how I see them – they are most-of-the-time the last to get away from any traffic lights, they need a few kilometers to get anywhere near a safe cruising speed, and cornering is something what is best done at 40 to 50 km/h anything faster becomes dangerous...

So how does that compare to a Kawasaki Ninja 650R and make it burn fuel like 20km/l ???

I guess I treated my 2003 Phantom a bit different the year I had it, full throttle/rpm until 100 kmh, and averaged 30km/L

and If my 2010 Ninja 650R is going this slow, I said its milage is 25km/L but since I have never been this slow for a full tank, its probably 30-35km/L.

Edited July 1, 2010 by katabeachbum

[nikster]

Kawasaki claims that the new Ninja 400R does 37km/L

and I am sure the 650 can do 35 km/l if someone tried

but since I have my Ninja 650R for fun, its usually more like 20 km/L

That's the EPA rating in the USA.. 48mpg or 20km/l... I am getting 16/17 pretty consistently, guess I am having too much fun

I guess what Kawasaki means by 37 is what the bike can do under optimum conditions, like cruising not too fast at a constant speed without cold start, start/stop, or acceleration. A pretty artificial figure...

Edited July 1, 2010 by nikster

[VocalNeal]

Somebody in another forum mentioned it's because 400cc is much easier to get a driving license for in Japan...

Same reason Ducati makes a 400 Monster.

[Fishenough]

Okay, maybe I have a complete different view of a Honda Phantom TA200, so let me explain how I see them – they are most-of-the-time the last to get away from any traffic lights, they need a few kilometers to get anywhere near a safe cruising speed, and cornering is something what is best done at 40 to 50 km/h anything faster becomes dangerous...

So how does that compare to a Kawasaki Ninja 650R and make it burn fuel like 20km/l ???

And I considered you our local bike expert ; Have followed a certain TA200 around for several thousand kilometers were his corning speeds, he holds the bike at 88 for all but hairpin turns, leave GS's, Harley's Fazer and a few ER6n's far behind in short order. Of course as long as the road doesn't straighten out.

They make a 400 Monster? Would love a little 696 at my house

[VocalNeal]

They make a 400 Monster? Would love a little 696 at my house

I was going to buy one a long time ago when Ducati were still on Lad Prao 107. At the time they wanted 250,000, it was yellow. But I didn't....

[LivinLOS]

I'd certainly be interested a 400 version, as the next step up from my little cbr 150, which I'm very with. Unfortunately for the time being my budget will be rather restricted.

BTW 2nd hand 250 ninjas are now going for under 100k. 650 ninjas going for under 200k.

How much longer do people reckon we'll see 250ninjas going for 50-60,000b, or 650 ninjas going for under 100k?

2 years time?

Longer.. Theres nothing at the bottom end of the market in a newish condition to compete.. So they will price plateau until the compression of too many vehicles selling pushes them down.. Even an ER6 at 140 or 130 will take a long time IMO.

People still asking 200k on many year old hondas.. 100k on 15 year old CBR's.. Silly money..

[skybluestu]

A bit more info here

http://www.motorcycl...nada-89690.html

Edited July 6, 2010 by skybluestu

[skybluestu]

Any more news as to whether they are being made in Thailand and, if so, released here too?

Details and prices are already on Kawasaki Japan & Canada sites, seems daft not to sell them here too! From what I can tell they are the same size as the 650cc with only the cc amount being less.

http://www.kawasaki.ca/model/ninja-400r:1256

http://www.kawasaki-motors.com/model/er-4n/

[skybluestu]

Any more news as to whether they are being made in Thailand and, if so, released here too?

Details and prices are already on Kawasaki Japan & Canada sites, seems daft not to sell them here too! From what I can tell they are the same size as the 650cc with only the cc amount being less.

http://www.kawasaki....ninja-400r:1256

http://www.kawasaki-...om/model/er-4n/

Just had an email from Kawasaki Marketing in BKK which answers my own question.

'Kawasaki Ninja400r produce in Thailand and sell in Japan & Canada but it's not Thailand specification.

We have no plan to release it now.'

Mai pen rai!

[NormanW]

Assuming that it is produced in Thailand, would it split the cost difference between the little Ninja and the big one....i.e. round about 190 000 THB?

As a side note, does the fairing actually add 4kg onto those bikes?

Yes, the fairing is just under 4 kilogram

Now if I can lose 30kgs then hmmmmmmm! A speed machine!