Official 2013 Ninja 300 (and 250) Thread

[Bassman]

Originally Posted by Alex

That's awesome! I'll post up a fuel economy thread in the 300 tech section when I get a few moments later today.

Here it is:

Gas mileage poll for the new 300

Thanks so much Alex

[Surferboy120]

Originally Posted by Bassman

This is something I'm highly interested in. Thanks for the update! I'm curious though, how are you riding. Are you varying between highway and surface street speeds, babying it, flogging it, rolling it downhill at idle?

I am definitely not babying it but I am not flogging it because of break-in period. I have hit 8000 rpm plenty on the highway and have really tried to vary the throttle and not sit at a given rpm for long to help the seating process of the motor. Lots of in town riding with zips onto the highway. Not the most informative description but anyway... I will be changing the oil out this weekend and then the fun will begin.

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by Alex

FTFY. Tire wear is completely dependent on use. I know someone that gets 13k+ miles on his rear tire on a busa. Other riders with the same bike, same tires, get closer to 2k miles.

Maybe you have rougher roads over there in California. If anything, I should be getting less not more mileage than someone over there. The reason being that we have no twisties here so all the wear is in the center.

If you guys are going to the track and smoking your tires to warm them up, that could be the difference.

[Jiggles]

n4, you drive like a grandma, so you get good gas mileage and tire mileage. Alex rides it like a bronco. Roads are going to have a negligible effect on the mileage of tires and even though we have twisties here you do no spend 100% of the time turning, or even 50% of the time turning. The back tires life is dependent on your throttle hand and I'll bet there is a strong correlation of MPG and MPT (miles per tire)

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

n4, you drive like a grandma, so you get good gas mileage and tire mileage. Alex rides it like a bronco. Roads are going to have a negligible effect on the mileage of tires and even though we have twisties here you do no spend 100% of the time turning, or even 50% of the time turning. The back tires life is dependent on your throttle hand and I'll bet there is a strong correlation of MPG and MPT (miles per tire)

I don't ride like a grandma. I tend to go faster than I should and accelerate faster than I should and redline more than I should. There is something wrong with my bike and I only get about 50 mpg. I used to get 70 when it was newer. But the tire mileages I posted were exact miles.

Does the 300 have radials or bias ply?

[Jiggles]

So you're riding in the same manner that yielded 70mpg? I think alex stated he averages 35mpg on the 250 so it makes sense that his tire mileage would be significantly less than yours because he rides the bike significantly harder.

The 300 has radials, which is awesome

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

The 300 has radials, which is awesome

It does? I though IRC road winners were bias-ply?

The rear rim is 4" now instead of 3.5", which means a 140 radial will fit even more perfectly than it does on the newgen. Ahem, BT003's and DR2's

[Jiggles]

I thought I read that the new IRC's for the 300 will be radials

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

So you're riding in the same manner that yielded 70mpg? I think alex stated he averages 35mpg on the 250 so it makes sense that his tire mileage would be significantly less than yours because he rides the bike significantly harder.

The 300 has radials, which is awesome

Except when I first started out, I have always ridden a bit wild. But I don't smoke tires. Alex rides a newgen which doesn't get as good of mileage, but it has larger tires which should give him longer tread life. When I first started riding, I took it easy and got 80 mpg. Then after I got wild, it dropped to 70 and was that way for a long time, then suddenly I was getting 50-55 mpg. A friend I ride with all the time still gets 70. I just haven't figured out what's wrong with my bike yet, but sooner or later I will.

Are all the radials dual compound rubber and is that what's on the 300?

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

The 300 has radials, which is awesome

Nope. Still IRC bias-ply, with a slightly different compound and 10mm wider in the rear. Some of the reviews got it wrong, but it's clear in the specs.

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Alex rides a newgen which doesn't get as good of mileage, but it has larger tires which should give him longer tread life.

Larger tires don't necessarily get longer tread life; the tread isn't any deeper, and it can wear just as fast. I went through Sport Demons in exactly the same rate on our pre-gen.

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Are all the radials dual compound rubber and is that what's on the 300?

No, radials can be single compound, though they do make ones with multiple compounds. The 300 doesn't have radials. But mine will soon enough; I'm curious to try out those Diablo Rosso's sooner rather than later.

[Boom King]

So if you can't decide on which new colour scheme you like for the 300, why not go for a bike that has all of them?



A Canadian review of the 300 is up. I think it does a good job of comparing the new 300 to both the previous 250 and the Honda CBR250R. Interesting notes on how the 300 feels bigger than the previous 250 Ninja, a common theme in most reviews, but this is the first time I've heard it mentioned that it also feels wider between the knees. They also mention that the ABS model will not be available in Canada until 2013.

@Alex Feel free to add this review to the 300 review sticky

[choneofakind]

...how did they get that rainbow ninjette on the stand with it backwards like that?

[DaveTheCanuck]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

...how did they get that rainbow ninjette on the stand with it backwards like that?

[Kstorm21]

Random insurance question...will it go up now that the engine is larger?

[Somchai]

Here is the comparison between the 250 and the 300 incl. a 250 race bike:

Link to original page on YouTube.

Looks like Kwaki did a good job and especially you Mr. Jiggles listen to the recommended exhaust-system with its increase in power!

[Aufitt]

Originally Posted by Somchai

Here is the comparison between the 250 and the 300 incl. a 250 race bike:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=A3wHjJnZLzc

Looks like Kwaki did a good job and especially you Mr. Jiggles listen to the recommended exhaust-system with its increase in power!

OK I'm sold, was waiting for this dyno.
great power in stock trim.

[lgk]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

...how did they get that rainbow ninjette on the stand with it backwards like that?

slide the stand close and picked it up.

i do that sometimes when my garage is too full.

[n4mwd]

Yep, the 300 is very impressive. Huge HP gains across the board plus higher fuel economy definitely proves that Kawasaki engineers are clearly geniuses. But there is one thing the Ninja 300 can never do - be a 250.

[Surferboy120]

Originally Posted by Somchai

Here is the comparison between the 250 and the 300 incl. a 250 race bike:

Link to original page on YouTube.

Looks like Kwaki did a good job and especially you Mr. Jiggles listen to the recommended exhaust-system with its increase in power!

Wow!! Thank you sharing this!! I am loving my 300 and can't wait to get a full exhaust system on it and see what kind of gains it will get. Not sure it will see 40 to the wheel but who knows....

[adouglas]

I sure hope AreaP does a Quiet Core exhaust for this bike. I've got one on my 08 and it's PERFECT for the street... great sound, excellent power increase and not obnoxiously loud like a race can. The ideal compromise.

[sharky nrk]

Oh hell........now I gotta get one. Gonna have to sell something as the wife will not let me have 4 bikes.

[lgk]

Originally Posted by sharky nrk

Oh hell........now I gotta get one. Gonna have to sell something as the wife will not let me have 4 bikes.

tell her you'll expand her closet by 2/3s if she lets you get the bike.

worked for my buddy

[lgk]

Originally Posted by adouglas

I sure hope AreaP does a Quiet Core exhaust for this bike. I've got one on my 08 and it's PERFECT for the street... great sound, excellent power increase and not obnoxiously loud like a race can. The ideal compromise.

i agree completely.
thats why i recommend them above all others.

[Surferboy120]

Yes I am holding out for Area P and that nice 18 full exhaust as well.

[DougBR]

Originally Posted by sharky nrk

Oh hell........now I gotta get one. Gonna have to sell something as the wife will not let me have 4 bikes.

sell your wife...
problem solved!

[lgk]

Originally Posted by DougBR

sell your wife...
problem solved!

its cheaper to keep her...

so true they made a song about it.

[sharky nrk]

Originally Posted by lgk

its cheaper to keep her...

so true they made a song about it.

Couldn't survive without her lol let alone afford to get rid of her on purpose lol

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by Somchai

Here is the comparison between the 250 and the 300 incl. a 250 race bike:

Link to original page on YouTube.

Looks like Kwaki did a good job and especially you Mr. Jiggles listen to the recommended exhaust-system with its increase in power!

Useless without the actual graphs!!!

[DougBR]

Originally Posted by lgk

its cheaper to keep her...

so true they made a song about it.

lol... sounds funny! what is the name of the song?

[DougBR]

Originally Posted by sharky nrk

Couldn't survive without her lol let alone afford to get rid of her on purpose lol

buy the bike and she will get rid of you!

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by Heed

thread lacks real pictures. i'm tired of stock images

Awesome!

Originally Posted by zenn92

Man the black one really looks good... no way in hell ill be able to settle for the 250!

I'd say that it's mostly thanks to the blacked-out, and thus matching, windscreen. The floating windscreens are what I don't like about any of the newer Ninja models. If I got black, I'd do that in a heart-beat. Any other color, I'd start looking for matching vinyl colors to put around the sides of the main bubble.

[DaveTheCanuck]

Black does look really slick like that.

I'm picturing the red model with a blacked out windscreen and smoked headlights too. Om nom nom.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by DaveTheCanuck

What do others think about the SE Green colour scheme? The more I look at it, the less I like it...

I much prefer the plain green as seen in Ninject's post compared to this:



There's just way too much going on. But who knows, maybe you have to see it in person. From what I can tell in pics though, Red and White look to be the nicer colours this year.

I've been saying this since the Kawasaki Heavy Industries 250 images first surfaced. I really want the normal green. You can't just pull off the stickers because there are some pieces where the black/green is out-right inverted (chin portion of the lowers that would collect lost oil on a race bike, for example).

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by DaveTheCanuck

Black does look really slick like that.

I'm picturing the red model with a blacked out windscreen and smoked headlights too. Om nom nom.

But black wouldn't match.

Black with matching red colors on the side would get my approval.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

...If I did get a 300, I think I'd like the white one, but it would probably show dirt really bad (I live on a dirt road). I would have to hold out for a blue one. I can't understand why kawasaki forgot to include that color.

So did anybody else notice the complete lack of a center stand on the new 300? Being spoiled by the pregen, I can't imagine not having one. I wonder if someone will come up with an add on.

You did notice that there was no blue 2011 or 2012 bike and that no 2008+ Ninjette has a center stand, right?

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by CZroe

You did notice that there was no blue 2011 or 2012 bike and that no 2008+ Ninjette has a center stand, right?

I suppose somebody will probably come up with an aftermarket center stand for the thing. I did not know they forgot blue in the last two 250 years. I wouldn't be happy with a color other than blue because that's the color of my helmet, jacket and gloves and my other two bikes. Its a thing with me I guess. I'm sure they'll come out with one soon enough. In any case, I'm not crazy about being a 1st year of production beta tester. If there are any problems with the bike, we'll know a lot more next year.

[choneofakind]

I doubt anyone will come up with an aftermarket center stand. No one did it for the newges. I also haven't seen that for any other sport bikes.

People just use swingarm stands and make due for the other servicing that needs a center stand.

[Jiggles]

Aftermarket center stand, yea, right, lol

[lgk]

Originally Posted by DougBR

lol... sounds funny! what is the name of the song?

Link to original page on YouTube.

[lgk]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

Aftermarket center stand, yea, right, lol

sounds like a real winner lol.

pitbull is shaking from the loss of business...