2013 Kawasaki Ninjette 250 Breaks Cover!

[karlos]

The Thai model's displacement for the 2013 model is 250cc

Looks like the rest of the world is getting the 300 and Thailand is stuck with the 250 for a while.

I would assume it has something to do with Thai regulations, but god knows what?

Edited September 25, 2012 by karlos

[JonnyF]

The Thai model's displacement for the 2013 model is 250cc

Looks like the rest of the world is getting the 300 and Thailand is stuck with the 250 for a while.

I would assume it has something to do with Thai regulations, but god knows what?

So the 300 is made here but not sold here, but we can buy the 250 which is imported from Indonesia? Seriously, that is just NOT cricket...

[KRS1]

The Ninja 300 is now available for sale here in Los Angeles, may have to go to a dealer and sneak a test ride and report back.

Anyone want me to send them one?

Edited September 26, 2012 by KRS1

[dave_boo]

Wonder how many people in the Kingdom know that there is a 300 being made in country that should handily outclass both of Honda and Kawasaki's offerings and will hold off buying a 250 until it is available here. I'd bet that when Kawasaki's sales of the N250 drop to nearly nothing they'll get the message and figure some way of releasing the bike.

[loserlazer]

It is nonsense to get 250 instead of 300 in Thailand really.

What they are thinking?

Kawa cmon.

Sent from my GT-P1000 using Thaivisa Connect App

[karlos]

Yep this is Thailand at it's best, completly backwards.....

Perhaps the Ferraris sold here in Thailand have Fiat 500 engines in them??

[mania]

I have been a bit extra curious about this whole thing & have been asking around.

Today i got this email reply from Real Motosports Bangkok

Dear Sir Ninja300 WILL not be available for sales in Thailand for sure or at least in the next 2 years.

This has been confirmed by Kawasaki Thailand

I have yet to receive an answer from Kawasaki Thailand main headquarters.

Also I was told by another & have no confirmation as to its validity,

that the 300 Ninja is not a Thai product but manufactured in Indonesia

I was told the 300 is built there due to tax benefits without restrictions on engine size

further told that in Thailand the tax on manufacturers for engines over 250 but under 500 has a higher tax rate.

Meaning the 300 would cost more to produce in Thailand.

soooooooooo

That aside just out of curiosity looked & I have been seeing some pretty decent dynos on Ninja 250's from last year

that are using the JE 265cc piston with a bump

in compression to 12.5:1. along with porting & of course pipe,ecu

JE also makes a 282cc set but it requires re-sleeving where as the 265 is only a 2mm bore (each) job

Pretty impressive dyno the 265cc

Edited October 10, 2012 by mania

[karlos]

I have been a bit extra curious about this whole thing & have been asking around.

Today i got this email reply from Real Motosports Bangkok

Dear Sir Ninja300 WILL not be available for sales in Thailand for sure or at least in the next 2 years.

This has been confirmed by Kawasaki Thailand

I have yet to receive an answer from Kawasaki Thailand main headquarters.

Also I was told by another & have no confirmation as to its validity,

that the 300 Ninja is not a Thai product but manufactured in Indonesia

I was told the 300 is built there due to tax benefits without restrictions on engine size

further told that in Thailand the tax on manufacturers for engines over 250 but under 500 has a higher tax rate.

Meaning the 300 would cost more to produce in Thailand.

soooooooooo

That aside just out of curiosity looked & I have been seeing some pretty decent dynos on Ninja 250's from last year

that are using the JE 265cc piston with a bump

in compression to 12.5:1. along with porting & of course pipe,ecu

JE also makes a 282cc set but it requires re-sleeving where as the 265 is only a 2mm bore (each) job

Pretty impressive dyno the 265cc

Not too sure what to make of this. I always get contradicting news and opinions from them and Rama 9.

I understand the tax reasons behind Thailand sticking with the 250, my question now is.... What will Honda do with the CBR250??

will they stick with the 250 lump and squeeze a bit more omph from it, if so the Ninja250 will be left behind in terms of outright power, remembering that Honda now have 35bhp to compete with (outside of Thailand).

Or will they also up the engine's capacity and while the rest of the world have the choice of two great 300cc machines, Thailand will be stuck with the 250 lumps....

[denkiblue555]

I have been a bit extra curious about this whole thing & have been asking around.

Today i got this email reply from Real Motosports Bangkok

Dear Sir Ninja300 WILL not be available for sales in Thailand for sure or at least in the next 2 years.

This has been confirmed by Kawasaki Thailand

I have yet to receive an answer from Kawasaki Thailand main headquarters.

Also I was told by another & have no confirmation as to its validity,

that the 300 Ninja is not a Thai product but manufactured in Indonesia

I was told the 300 is built there due to tax benefits without restrictions on engine size

further told that in Thailand the tax on manufacturers for engines over 250 but under 500 has a higher tax rate.

Meaning the 300 would cost more to produce in Thailand.

soooooooooo

That aside just out of curiosity looked & I have been seeing some pretty decent dynos on Ninja 250's from last year

that are using the JE 265cc piston with a bump

in compression to 12.5:1. along with porting & of course pipe,ecu

JE also makes a 282cc set but it requires re-sleeving where as the 265 is only a 2mm bore (each) job

Pretty impressive dyno the 265cc

I was told at Rama 9 Kawasaki on Saturday that the Ninja 300 is built for export only, and will not be sold in Thailand.

Obviously it must make financial sense, but I don't really understand this rule/situation at all???

Also, FWIW the Rama 9 Kawasaki shop is under renovation until Mid December - the showroom is now near the parts section on the ground floor of the main building and the service centre is a bit of a mess, but they are still servicing bikes as usual - no dramas.

[loserlazer]

not so hard to understand, ninja 300 is a new bike and of course it costs more to produce one than ninja 250.

and i am not sure if they still have a special tax above 250 cc in Thailand? if yes, this might be another reason.

But of course, ninja 250 for sure is bringing more profit as it is still the old tech apart from the design and you have to modify your factory to accommodate the production of new tech on ninja 300 - slipper clutch, new engine, new geometry etc.

This might be the reason.

[cbrer]

So Thailand's getting the N250 that Indonesia produces, and not the N300 that is actually produced here then, oh well.

This guy has some fun ideas.

http://www.iamabiker...inja-300-naked/

Edited October 23, 2012 by cbrer

[Issanman]

Here is the Ninja 300 inside the front cover of the Nov issue of Cycle World magazine:

[Ackybang]

The new 250 is finally on the Thai kawasaki site, in three colours - eleven grand more than the old model.

[cbrer]

They even copied this unofficial Twin Vs Single'graph' onto the page:

They must be desperate.

http://www.kawasaki.co.th/th/motorcycle_01_ninja250r.asp

I can't see the price though. What's it listed at, 164k?

[mania]

I can't see the price though. What's it listed at, 164k?

Price quoted by Real Motosports is 158,500.

Edited October 28, 2012 by mania

[cbrer]

Ah okay, so 11k more than the 2010(?) price?

I thought it had gone up from 147,500 to 153,000b a few years ago. Could well be wrong though.

Of course the next question is going to be how much the CBR500 rings in at. Almost 50% more HP (47hp Vs 32hp) and if only thb25k more than some people will have decisions to make.

Also have to consider how much of those claimed HP figures will be lost on the way to the wheel. Kawa seem to lose that one by quite a lot.

Edited October 28, 2012 by cbrer

[karlos]

Yep Kawasaki seem to have shot themselves in the foot with regards to not selling the Ninja300 here. If the 300 was available here it would be nipping at the heels of the CBR500, as both bikes are very close in terms of power to weight. I can still see the Ninja250 selling well despite this due to it's fantastic looks and Kawasaki followers.

[Ackybang]

I'm not much of a techie - would that graph be representative of engine character, over a single of similar displacement ? What are the real World differences ?

Is there a confirmed price of the cbr yet, or release date, or is it all still based on supposition ?

This for me opens up further questions, as to whether they will actually release a z800 in the forthcoming Months, and if they did, would it really be around the 330 mark ? It seems unlikely, and according to my nearest dealer, definitely not. He said the 250 would be released, in three colours, quite a few Months ago, but to be fair, did say the price increase would only be around 4,000 baht, which is an inaccuracy to some degree. He said no z800, but definitely the zx14r, and possibly the 1400 GTR would be available, around December, but offered no further details of pricing, etc. This would be consistant with the advertised models in their latest 2012 'full line' brochure.

I actually emailed the factory directly over three weeks ago, and as yet have not been graced with a reply. This would seem to be the norm, in this service orientated Country, as I also emailed Red Baron ages ago, about pricing on a couple of imports, because he's normally considerably cheaper than the main dealers, but again - no reply.

All subjective, of course, but I personally agree with you, Karlos - I love the Kawa's, they really seem to capture the imagination, and I am dissapointed that the 300 doesn't look like it will be released in the near future, I would have bought one in a flash - pity. If the Honda was still less than 200,000, I would still probably rather spend the extra, and commit to a ninja 650 - to be honest, and it's probably rather childish, but the only thing that has really put me off about them up till now, is that the engine note seems juxtaposed by the look of the beast. Would love a fat z - but at 591, the price would leave me a bit thinner on the ground for petty cash than I would like. What's going to happen with pricing, once ASEAN kicks off ? Are all of these way too expensive the day before bikes, suddenly going to be priced realistically ? Or are they going to deliberately inflate, and fix the prices, to balance the market ?

Edited October 28, 2012 by Ackybang

[karlos]

@ Ackybang

I Know where you are coming from about the 650's exhaust...........

But the engine note sounds good onboard above 6000rpm

I'm sure from the pavement / side walk it sounds like a muffled wet fart though

[JonnyF]

Ah okay, so 11k more than the 2010(?) price?

I thought it had gone up from 147,500 to 153,000b a few years ago. Could well be wrong though.

Of course the next question is going to be how much the CBR500 rings in at. Almost 50% more HP (47hp Vs 32hp) and if only thb25k more than some people will have decisions to make.

Also have to consider how much of those claimed HP figures will be lost on the way to the wheel. Kawa seem to lose that one by quite a lot.

50% more hp, and yet only around 10kph faster, maybe it's carrying some excess weight? Looks good though...

[karlos]

I recall seeing a power to weight ration comparison between the two bikes somewhere yesterday. There's not much between the two bikes (Ninja300 and CBR500) So i would assume the same also

.

[nikster]

Ah okay, so 11k more than the 2010(?) price?

I thought it had gone up from 147,500 to 153,000b a few years ago. Could well be wrong though.

Of course the next question is going to be how much the CBR500 rings in at. Almost 50% more HP (47hp Vs 32hp) and if only thb25k more than some people will have decisions to make.

Also have to consider how much of those claimed HP figures will be lost on the way to the wheel. Kawa seem to lose that one by quite a lot.

50% more hp, and yet only around 10kph faster, maybe it's carrying some excess weight? Looks good though...

It's probably geared towards usable torque like the CBR250, sacrificing top speed and max HP.

Let's face it, Honda is kicking ass right now. Love the 2013 Ninjette design (hey how about a redesign of the Versys guys?)... but design alone is not enough. The Ninja 300 is a pretty good answer to the CBR250 but it's IMO too expensive even in the US.

[fullcave]

I liked it up to the part that it ways a whooping 172kg.

[karlos]

I liked it up to the part that it ways a whooping 172kg.

Sure it 'WEIGHS' a fair bit but it's not designed to smash any power to weight records.

If Thailand was getting the 300cc version it would be pretty nippy for it's weight and power output, shame

[mania]

If Thailand was getting the 300cc version it would be pretty nippy for it's weight and power output, shame

I meant to post that I did finally get a reply from Kawasaki Thailand

short & sweet

Dear xxxxx

we not sale Ninja300 in thailand

Thank You

Kawasaki Motors Enterprise (Thailand) Co.,Ltd.

Edited October 30, 2012 by mania

[karlos]

'Short' it most certainly was lol

[JonnyF]

A reply to an email is as good as it gets in Thailand. Anyone expecting a dissertation on Kawasaki marketing strategy from Nong/Lek who answers the emails is going to be disappointed

Shame they're not selling it though. Looks a good bike...

[dave_boo]

I liked it up to the part that it ways a whooping 172kg.

Sure it 'WEIGHS' a fair bit but it's not designed to smash any power to weight records.

If Thailand was getting the 300cc version it would be pretty nippy for it's weight and power output, shame

The 39 BHP claimed? As the 250 claims 33 and nobody can provide an FI chart of over 25? I'd bet the stock 300 doesn't even reach the old 250 rating...

[nikster]

Well ... info from "that other forum" suggests that the Ninja 300 is coming sometime next year. They need to catch up with demand first.

Price is a concern for this bike as they can either make it competitive with the new Honda 500s - but that would mean selling it at or only marginally more than the 250. Kawasaki has resisted dropping the price on the 250 so far - maybe sales numbers are still OK. Or they price it in line with the 250.. that would be 180 - 200k baht... and come very close to a Honda CB/R/X 500.

[loserlazer]

ohh 158.5 k for a 250 cc?

C'mon Kawa, Honda 500 will kick your ass

as it will steal sales both from ninja 250 and 650 ninja.

They must be stupid for not offering ninja 300 here. it is a good bike man.

I think Kawa did not see Honda coming with a 500 cc here.

and a kawa z800 i am sure will cost around 400 k as a 250 cc ninja alone costs nearly 160 k thb