Kawasaki Ninja 250RR 2014 - Single Cylinder - Thailand

[mania]

I just got back & did not see any SL models in the showroom yet

They did have the new 2015 300

Pardon my poor phone camera shots.

They were nicer in person

The owner also has his 2014 done up in 30th anniversary Ninja colors

Quite nice

Edited September 3, 2014 by mania

[Deacon Bell]

They're definitely going for the sport's look!

[dave_boo]

^^^ I bet the 500x weighs a bit more too!

Undoubtedly. It also carries its weight so much higher that it feels much heavier than the Ninja 250 does.

It is nicer to be up at Vigo drivers eye level...and the wide bars sure do feel good to pull on due to the extra leverage.

[ll2]

I think I'm going to get the naked version. An all round unbeatable package. I don't need the speed, power, size or weight of the 300 twin.

Actually the naked twin is (was as this supplants it?) only a 250.

I do not think this will replace the Z250 twin

They are very popular here & a good seller at 151k

Also on the 2013 onwards 250 twins ( either ninja or z because same engine) seems it is an easy swap to go 300

Some folks have done it already changing crank/rods

drop in fit.

One guy went 335 with overbore & using 300 stroked crank got a good 41.22hp out of it

with no head work at all yet.

335 ninja 250.jpg

wow, achieving 41,22 hp is something for a modded 250 twin!

good job here. these ninja engines has good potential for growth unlike recent honda engines. a cbr500r European junior cup version is reaching 55 rwhp max but no boring and with a lot of other parts and other mods.

[mania]

[oval]

So has anyone ridden one of these? The Z250SL has caught my eye at 118,000 ...

[Nickymaster]

Nice bike if your weight is no more than 70kg

Had the twin cylinder ninja 250 in 2011. Felt really sorry for the little engine having to move around a 100kgs. Had to let her go after a couple of months.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Nickymaster

[mania]

So has anyone ridden one of these? The Z250SL has caught my eye at 118,000 ...

They are moving quite a few out of the Kawasaki Dealer here so seems to be popular.

Some recent FB pics below

Probably a lot of that due to price as you say is attractive.

But also for many I am sure it is plenty enough & has decent tires/suspension etc if coming up off a scooter.

As Nicky said smaller displacement is not really best suited to large people if your looking to ride in a sporty manner

thru twisty sections etc.

But I would say fine for folks up to 80kg rather than 70kg as he stated.

At 118k it does seem a decent deal & Kawasaki in most major cities here seem to have good support/parts/service etc.

The one here in CM has always impressed me as being quite professional/courteous

Edited December 4, 2014 by mania

[Supertuktuk]

Z250 SL is a good looking bike!

Edited December 4, 2014 by Supertuktuk

[ll2]

naked green one is looking very good in real. price is cool too.

but small. this bike is made in indonesia with asian markets in mind to replace old two strokers. and people will use them as workhorses too. so i think it can handle more than 80 kg.

faired one looks horrible though. sure i pay 150- 20 k more and get cbr300r.

also its chassis looks better and more rigid than ninja300 chassis.

Edited December 4, 2014 by ll2

[dave_boo]

This bike confuses me. It was seemingly made to compete against the CBR250...which is no longer around. It's cheaper than the CBR 300 but doesn't perform as well. It's a third engine for Kawasaki in that range (250 single, 250 twin and 300 twin). Will be interesting to see which bikes/engines remain in Kawasaki's stable.

[ttakata]

Does this Kawi 250 single exist in another frame?

Maybe it came from the dirt bike lineup and Kawi wants to spread its investment around?

Also a single would be easier/cheaper for Kawi shops to service.

The Kawi page doesn't list the Ninja 250 twin anymore.

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

I don't see why they shouldn't keep the Ninja 250 as long as they sell.

Comparing to the bewildering array of Samsung Galaxy (Note, Mega, S, Alpha, Ace, Grand, Core, Camera, Tablets....) offerings, this isn't so bad.

[dave_boo]

Does this Kawi 250 single exist in another frame?

Maybe it came from the dirt bike lineup and Kawi wants to spread its investment around?

Also a single would be easier/cheaper for Kawi shops to service.

The Kawi page doesn't list the Ninja 250 twin anymore.

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

I don't see why they shouldn't keep the Ninja 250 as long as they sell.

Comparing to the bewildering array of Samsung Galaxy (Note, Mega, S, Alpha, Ace, Grand, Core, Camera, Tablets....) offerings, this isn't so bad.

The Z250 (non-SL) uses the parallel twin.

**edit**

Your thought the SL can use an engine from the D-Tracker/KLX 250 may be correct. They share the same bore and stroke; but the compression ratio listed for the SL is slightly higher at 11.3:1 versus the 11.0:1 of the dirt bikes.

Edited December 4, 2014 by dave_boo

[Red13]

I bought one of these a few months ago.

Having put 2000 KM on it I can conclude it's a decent bike. As good as if not better than the CB300F (reviews agree).

For the money, 120k THB, it's a bargain.

I've also ridden the MT-03 (R3) which is a much better package BUT is 57k more expensive.