From Ninja 300 to Honda CBR650F

[Xorro]

I never thought I’d move away from the Ninja 300, but it’s happened! Myself and the o/h are now the very happy owners of two CBR650F’s in white (pics below).

When we got the N300’s back in 2013 we didn’t think we’d want anything else, the Kawasaki’s were such good fun to ride and easy to manage. However… last October we started looking at bikes, we wanted a bit more power, particularly for long distances, when the Ninja would feel like hard work.

The obvious choice was the Kawasaki ER6F (Ninja 650), but the riding position and feel of the bike was all wrong, the 636 was out as it was too sporty and we didn’t want a naked bike like the Z800. So, we tried lots of other brands, Honda CBF1000F, Triumph Street Triple (mental bike), BMW F800 GT (tractor?), CBR500 and the CBR650F. (More about my experiences of these in this page)

The CBR650 really stood out for us, the seating position and feel of the bike was not too dissimilar to the Ninja, the power deliver was smooth and predictable. The plan was to look at getting a pair of these in 2017, but that didn’t last lol, so we ordered them in May. We had to wait a whole month as there were no new white ones in the UK and luckily we found a dealer that had two coming in on a boat from Honda.


Ninja 300 vs CBR650F

We are still running them in, so we’ve not been going particularly fast, however the power delivery is really smooth (inline 4) and you can ride in a much higher gear, last night I went round a roundabout in 4th gear without any trouble. We’ve not had a 4 cylinder since about 2006 so had forgotten what they are like. Of course there is also more power (I’m looking forward to the break-in period being over )

The big difference for me is stability, it feels really planted on the road (secure), when passing a lorry there’s not the same effect of wind against the bike, seams in the road are less of an issue too, which must all be down to the larger back tire (180).

The seat is higher - 810mm vs 785mm - and I wouldn't be able to manage without my Daytona Lady Pilots.

It corners well too, almost effortlessly. It’s an amazing bike and we are both really pleased with them.

The dealer is going to split our Ninjas up, I protested saying that they’d always been together – he said they’re getting divorced :frown2: lol. They’ll keep one and send the other to another dealer in their group. I hope someone enjoys them as much as we did.

Some pics:

[sharky nrk]

Very nice. There are a lot of things I really like about those Hondas as an owner of their grandpa (600F2/F3).

[DEFY]

Congrates, Enjoy the new rides

Originally Posted by Xorro

The dealer is going to split our Ninjas up, I protested saying that they’d always been together – he said they’re getting divorced :frown2: lol. They’ll keep one and send the other to another dealer in their group. I hope someone enjoys them as much as we did.

Sometimes it's just not meant to be, they just have different career paths that can't merge at one location.

[Mike V]

Nice! I've been eyeing one of those myself. The local dealership still has a new 2014 650F in red. I really like how it looks and as you mentioned, it feels similar to the Ninja when sitting on it. I would also like something more suited for the highway but the more I ride the Ninja at speed, the less I'm bothered by the high revs.

Have you by chance ridden a VFR800F (called Interceptor here in the US)? The same dealership has one of those too, also a 2014 at a nice discount.

[Xorro]

I did sit on a VFR800 at the dealer, there was something about it that didn't appeal, can't remember what though, maybe seat width?

I'm loving the CBR, it feels awesome to ride

[Mike V]

I really like how it looks in white. Nice choice!

[BoBO]

It's a very nice bike. I rode one before and it's a perfect commute and track bike. The body positioning felt just about right for me. Too bad I couldn't keep it.

[choneofakind]

Gratz on the new rides! I've ridden an F3 long term and liked it a lot. These have potential but are so underrated.

[wendyjboss]

Congrats on the new bikes! I am waiting for my cbr500 now. Sold the ninja 250 a week ago ... it was a blast but am looking forward to a bit more power in a nimble machine. I hope mine also lives up to the standard that has thus far been set by , beloved ninja! congrats!

[CaliGrrl]

Good-looking set of bikes!

[algs26]

Wasted no time with the Kriega bags, I see. Did you test ride the FZ6R? I read some review that complained about vibrations on the Honda which seems unusual for a 4 cylinder.

I still need to try a street triple. Or even better, a brutale.

[Xorro]

Thanks for the comments folks.
@algs26 we had stuff to take down and bring back so we swapped. the Kriega bags from the Ninja to the CBR. Underneath the seat of the CBR are two straps, which means that you only need to use two of the Kriega ones - unfortunately I didn't know this until we got home.
In the UK the FZ6R is called the XJ6 Diversion. We sat on one years ago but never considered it when we were looking more recently. I think Yamaha UK have stopped selling it now.

I found the Street Triple to be quite aggressive with regards to acceleration and braking.

[InvisiBill]

I'm interested to see how you like it after a while. http://www.revzilla.com/common-tread...cbr650f-review and a lot of the comments paint it as a fine bike, but that it's sort of bland and filling a gap that doesn't really need to be filled.

The Honda CBR650F, in a vacuum, is a fine motorcycle. While I don't think it does anything particularly well, it also doesn't do anything poorly. For new riders, however, it simply isn't as appropriate, fun, or economical as options like the Kawasaki Ninja 650R.

However, this tidbit could apply to a lot of people around here.

While this bike may not be the best bike to bridge the gap for new riders between their CBR300R or CBR500R and CBR600RR, it would be an excellent bike for the guy who's been riding his whole life and loves to ride the snot out of an inline-four, but doesn't necessarily want to get arrested.

We'll call this guy the "mature rider." Not that he's old, necessarily, but just that has both the skill to ride something you have to wind up pretty high and the knowledge that he doesn't need to go 130 mph everywhere. For that guy, this is a wonderful track toy or canyon carver, because it allows him to work on the same riding skills he would with a supersport, just at speeds bordering almost legal.

People who want an I4 sportbike without needing to go 160mph. People who want something that's decent for commuting, but still kinda supersporty. Sort of a mini-SS, which a number of people around here have asked for (though it's still a bit bigger than the little bikes some people would prefer).

My 500 seems to have enough power for what I do, but this sounds like the sort of thing I'd think about upgrading to. I've seen people complain that the Ninja 650 seems a bit big and clumsy compared to the smaller Ninjas, so it worries me a bit that they say the CBR isn't as fun (which admittedly doesn't necessarily mean less agile).

I think the deal I got on my 500 has skewed my perception of bike cost, but $8500-$9000 seems like a lot of money if the bike turns out to not feel very fun. The Ninja is $7200-$7600 in comparison.

[choneofakind]

^^^ I think that mature rider thing sounds good. That's basically what I need. Problem is, in the hands of a 23yo, even a ninjette can get you into some extra-legal territory on the speedo without much effort.

I think I need a Grom to keep my speedo honest...

Side note: the new Grom redesign looks badass with the LED headlight setup and new fairings. They also managed to finesse some more power out of that little thumper. Still cheap, too.

[Snake]

Congratulations! Sweet looking ride.

[Xorro]

Thanks for the comments.

The article on Revzilla was a good read. I/we like the bike because it has plenty of power without being mental or unpredictable, good ergonomics and an inline-4. It's much better than the Hornet I had years ago.

[Mike V]

Originally Posted by Xorro

Thanks for the comments.

The article on Revzilla was a good read. I/we like the bike because it has plenty of power without being mental or unpredictable, good ergonomics and an inline-4. It's much better than the Hornet I had years ago.

I picked up a red 650F a couple weeks ago and feel the same way about it. I like it a lot.

The seat is slightly higher but otherwise the seating position is very similar to the Ninja. Going from 28 to 86 hp is quite the eye opener. I think it's just the right amount of power, especially in 2nd gear.

[JohnnyBravo]

Sweet rides... Congrats