Ninja 300 Review

[tnr4]

Hey folks,

Given the interest in the 300, and the limited number of them out there, I decided to do something I've never done before -- a video review. So if you are looking for a real-world opinion about the newest ninjette, here ya' go!

Link to original page on YouTube.

[Jiggles]

12 minutes!? Sorry I can't even bring myself to press play

[C L]

Thanks for the review
I enjoyed it

[psych0hans]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

12 minutes!? Sorry I can't even bring myself to press play

[hirubhaiambani]

Me likes this review… Helpful and unbiased… Especially coming from a rider who 'upgraded' from a supersport…

Good job Travis!

[hirubhaiambani]

Oh and I sent this video to a friend who rides supersports and thinks smaller displacement bikes are useless…lol… I am sure he will appreciate the 300 after seeing your video review

[psych0hans]

Originally Posted by tnr4

Hey folks,

Given the interest in the 300, and the limited number of them out there, I decided to do something I've never done before -- a video review. So if you are looking for a real-world opinion about the newest ninjette, here ya' go!

Fantastic review... And I hate you for it... lol I want the 300 more than ever now, But after all my mods on my black beauty, I know it's not going to happen... lol

[tnr4]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

12 minutes!? Sorry I can't even bring myself to press play

It's actually only 90 seconds long, but I filmed for a full 12 minutes as a Jiggles-inhibitor.

Originally Posted by psych0hans

Haha. NICE!

[tnr4]

Originally Posted by C L

Thanks for the review
I enjoyed it

Originally Posted by hirubhaiambani

Me likes this review… Helpful and unbiased… Especially coming from a rider who 'upgraded' from a supersport…

Good job Travis!

Originally Posted by hirubhaiambani

Oh and I sent this video to a friend who rides supersports and thinks smaller displacement bikes are useless…lol… I am sure he will appreciate the 300 after seeing your video review

Thanks folks!

Originally Posted by psych0hans

Fantastic review... And I hate you for it... lol I want the 300 more than ever now, But after all my mods on my black beauty, I know it's not going to happen... lol

Haha, yeah I know what you mean. I love all kinds of bikes, so I'm always lusting after what's new and interesting, lol. Thanks for the support!

[gogoKawi]

Originally Posted by tnr4

Hey folks,

Given the interest in the 300, and the limited number of them out there, I decided to do something I've never done before -- a video review. So if you are looking for a real-world opinion about the newest ninjette, here ya' go!

That area looks familiar... Somewhere in NW around Rock Creek?

Anyways, great review! I miss my 250 a lot. I was thinking about the 300. Romney Cycles has/had one with my name on it. But I was turned off by the fact you sit lower than the 250. I'm sure it's more comfortable for commuting. But I want a more sporty position, or at least on par with the 250. Does it affect you at all?

I'm sure I will see you around. If you see a guy in the city on a Green ZX6 or Black Ninja 1000 waving you down, that will probably be me.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by gogoKawi

But I was turned off by the fact you sit lower than the 250. I'm sure it's more comfortable for commuting. But I want a more sporty position, or at least on par with the 250.

The position seems to be identical to the 250 for me. The seat is slightly higher from the ground, but a little narrower at the front. It certainly didn't seem any lower. Were you comparing bikes that had the preload set at the same level?

[gogoKawi]

Originally Posted by Alex

The position seems to be identical to the 250 for me. The seat is slightly higher from the ground, but a little narrower at the front. It certainly didn't seem any lower. Were you comparing bikes that had the preload set at the same level?

Good question. I sat on a stock 2012 250r and 300 at the dealership (btw, the prices haven't come down on the 250s yet). I assume that the preload settings were the same or very similar. It may have been the narrow seat. But it felt like I was sitting further down in the 300 compared to the 250.

Maybe it was my subconscious overriding any logical comparison between the two bikes...

[Alex]

The gas tank is shaped a little differently (wider), so it may seem like the rider is sitting further into the bike. But I don't think that affects the riding position. It is no more upright or leaned over, and no more or less space between the seat and footpegs.

[tnr4]

Originally Posted by gogoKawi

Good question. I sat on a stock 2012 250r and 300 at the dealership (btw, the prices haven't come down on the 250s yet). I assume that the preload settings were the same or very similar. It may have been the narrow seat. But it felt like I was sitting further down in the 300 compared to the 250.

Maybe it was my subconscious overriding any logical comparison between the two bikes...

Haha, maybe. But yeah, def not lower. By the numbers, about an inch higher, but yes, narrower at the front, so shorter folks can still find it friendly.

I'll keep an eye out for you! And yes, good eye -- that was on Beach Rd in the park, just on the MD side of the border. The little ride I shot was on Ross Rd, which is the only road in DC where you can have fun without risking going to jail.

[akima]

Great review. After watching it I have found myself looking at how much I can get for my current ninja 250

[antiant]

Nice review. Is the shifting about the same on the 250? Do you have to go through all the gears rapidly, or is it a little less cumbersome?

[tnr4]

Originally Posted by akima

Great review. After watching it I have found myself looking at how much I can get for my current ninja 250

Kawasaki should be paying me a finder's fee!

Originally Posted by antiant

Nice review. Is the shifting about the same on the 250? Do you have to go through all the gears rapidly, or is it a little less cumbersome?

It's been awhile since I rode the 250, so I'm not the best to compare them. Maybe @Alex can help? But for reference: if I'm riding aggressively, I shift out of second at the top of the meaty bit of the power band, and that takes me to about 56mph. So you can easily do all of your in town riding using just second and third, and it's comfortable -- not screaming or anything. And if you pop it up into 4th, you can still pull strong at most any reasonable in-town speed (20s, 30s, 40s). When on the highway, you can stay in 6th the whole time, whether slowing down or passing. Sure, you can pass more quickly if you bang it down into 5th or 4th, but you don't need to (I always felt like I needed to on the 250). So I certainly don't feel like I NEED to bang through all the gears all the time, although I kinda' enjoy it.

[Alex]

You never have to shift again, just leave it in third and break off the gear lever.


(Yes, it still requires shifting, but perhaps at a slightly less frantic rate. 1st gear is actually slightly lower, but with the taller rear sprocket and larger tire, it comes out about the same.)

[StephenA]

well if anyone want's to get rid of their 250 for a good price, lemme know ;D haha

[GreenNinja]

Thanks for the review. I actually sat through the entire video. It was a great review without much bias in my opinion.

[ricochet08]

wow man, very nice review. way better than mine

[Axellor]

You have really done good job to post the review, I really get delighted having watched this one.

[tnr4]

Originally Posted by GreenNinja

Thanks for the review. I actually sat through the entire video. It was a great review without much bias in my opinion.

Originally Posted by ricochet08

wow man, very nice review. way better than mine

Originally Posted by Axellor

You have really done good job to post the review, I really get delighted having watched this one.

Thanks folks! And Richochet: yours is one of the reasons I did mine! There is so little info out there on these bikes because of their newness, that I really scoured the inter webs for info. So I decided that I would try to help other folks the way you and others helped me.

[Alex]

Found myself 12 minutes, and watched the review. And enjoyed it!

Agreement on just about all points, I really like this bike as well. RE: the clutch, I also like how light the clutch lever is, but I'm not as much of a fan of its particular soft engagement. It's not just because it has a slipper (all three of the bikes in my garage right now have a slipper clutch). It's that it is tuned so soft that you do have to rev-match just about perfectly, or it does take too long to allow full engagement. It breaks free too easily IMO. In some ways it's a trade-off of not having the rear wheel skip or lockup ever no matter how clumsy someone shifts, with the requirement to be spot-on with blipping/rev-matching every shift or there is that delay while it matches itself into fully engaging. This isn't how slipper clutches work on any other bike I've owned or ridden, but I'd bet it's similar to other machines that use this same FCC design (Ducati Monster).

[2013 kawi girl]

Awesome review!!! Love how thorough you were and all in 90 seconds! LOL!!!!!

On another note, its early in the morning for me and a random thought passed through my mind. I wonder if we would look like a bunch of angry hornets if all the ninja 300's got together and were riding. Like I said, way too early in the morning for me.

[Byakkotai]

I will not lie...I watched the review 3 times (the full 12 mins). Kinda what happens when work only permits me to ride on weekends Good stuff, I'd probably watch it again come Monday haha.

Looking forward to more vids

[tnr4]

Originally Posted by Alex

Found myself 12 minutes, and watched the review. And enjoyed it!

Agreement on just about all points, I really like this bike as well. RE: the clutch, I also like how light the clutch lever is, but I'm not as much of a fan of its particular soft engagement. It's not just because it has a slipper (all three of the bikes in my garage right now have a slipper clutch). It's that it is tuned so soft that you do have to rev-match just about perfectly, or it does take too long to allow full engagement. It breaks free too easily IMO. In some ways it's a trade-off of not having the rear wheel skip or lockup ever no matter how clumsy someone shifts, with the requirement to be spot-on with blipping/rev-matching every shift or there is that delay while it matches itself into fully engaging. This isn't how slipper clutches work on any other bike I've owned or ridden, but I'd bet it's similar to other machines that use this same FCC design (Ducati Monster).

Interesting. It may just be that some people will like it better than others. Perhaps the amount of throttle release during shifting is just very natural for me. Whatever it is, I also went out yesterday and TRIED to recreate what used to bother me with the clutch, and had some trouble doing so. Maybe it also breaks in a bit? Although I doubt I have that many more miles than you do. *shrug*

Originally Posted by 2013 kawi girl

Awesome review!!! Love how thorough you were and all in 90 seconds! LOL!!!!!

On another note, its early in the morning for me and a random thought passed through my mind. I wonder if we would look like a bunch of angry hornets if all the ninja 300's got together and were riding. Like I said, way too early in the morning for me.

Originally Posted by Byakkotai

I will not lie...I watched the review 3 times (the full 12 mins). Kinda what happens when work only permits me to ride on weekends Good stuff, I'd probably watch it again come Monday haha.

Looking forward to more vids

Haha. Thanks! And yes, the swarm of angry hornets would be awesome. MIDWEST MEETUP, lol.

[akima]

^ Each of the four posts above is made by a different person and each of those people have a 300CC ninjette...

I still love my 2fiddy ninjette! Judging from discussion so far though, the difference between the pre-2008 and the 2008+ ninjette is a smaller difference than that of the 2008+ and the 2013.

2008+ improvements:
* better suspension
* 17" wheels
* better looks (not hard to do!)

2013 improvements:
* slipper clutch
* fi (for those that don't already have it and those that prefer it)
* integrated indicator lights (smooth and sexy!... and when you crash they don't pierce a hole in your... purse)
* more power
* abs option
* rear hugger (why doesn't the 2008+ ninjette have this???)

Personally I slightly prefer the looks of my ninjette to the new one, however I'm biased towards my baby!... and if @choneofakind can fall for the looks of his pre-gen, then that's all the proof we need that rider-bias towards their machine knows no bounds!

Also: the digital gauge does nothing for me. I like my analogue gauges. What I really want is no gauge and everything built into my helmet visor!

[choneofakind]

Akima, you crack me up. My baby is beautiful and I her so!!

Maybe it just takes a real nutcase to love a bike with a face that only a mother can love, but I'm too blinded to see it.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by tnr4

Interesting. It may just be that some people will like it better than others. Perhaps the amount of throttle release during shifting is just very natural for me. Whatever it is, I also went out yesterday and TRIED to recreate what used to bother me with the clutch, and had some trouble doing so. Maybe it also breaks in a bit? Although I doubt I have that many more miles than you do. *shrug*

I'm right at 600 miles, and will likely put 200 more on tomorrow. I know I should wait for the first service next weekend, but I'm a bad boy.

I don't notice any delay on upshifting, it's on downshifting. If you are coming into a corner at speed, drop two gears, and let the clutch out quickly, you want it to engage just as quickly. If you haven't rev-matched this bike perfectly while doing so, it takes longer than other slipper clutches to fully engage. The engine is so small, and changes revs so easily, that this clutch must be set *really* light to have it re-engage that slowly. Doing the exact same thing on a 10R, and the clutch is fully engaged almost immediately, even with its standard slipper setup.

[tnr4]

Originally Posted by Alex

I'm right at 600 miles, and will likely put 200 more on tomorrow. I know I should wait for the first service next weekend, but I'm a bad boy.

I don't notice any delay on upshifting, it's on downshifting. If you are coming into a corner at speed, drop two gears, and let the clutch out quickly, you want it to engage just as quickly. If you haven't rev-matched this bike perfectly while doing so, it takes longer than other slipper clutches to fully engage. The engine is so small, and changes revs so easily, that this clutch must be set *really* light to have it re-engage that slowly. Doing the exact same thing on a 10R, and the clutch is fully engaged almost immediately, even with its standard slipper setup.

Ahhh, I gotcha. Yeah, the slowness doesn't bother me too much on downshift -- I just take it as a challenge to get better at rev-matching. But I suppose if my previous (or other!) bikes had better slippers on them, it might be more frustrating.

On a separate note: I'm continually impressed by how nicely the transmission handles clutchless shifting. I've virtually never had an imperfect clutchless upshift on it (even 1st to 2nd, which was always VERY long on my Triumph), and today I even played around with clutchless downshifting and they were silky smooth as well.

I'm also working on my drag-style launches with the hopes of maybe doing a couple of aggressive 0-60 runs to answer that omnipresent question around the inter webs.

[akima]

Originally Posted by tnr4

I'm also working on my drag-style launches with the hopes of maybe doing a couple of aggressive 0-60 runs to answer that omnipresent question around the inter webs.

That's interesting. If you're at stand still and you bring the revs up high and then drop the clutch, surely with this new slipper clutch, your take-off is going to be slow as the clutch gradually engages. I bet for this reason the stock 2fiddy ninjettes can launch quicker than the stock 3hunded!

I find myself performing the above take-off when I'm feeling cheeky (which is most the time!) and I want to pull out in-front of an oncoming car when there isn't much space. It's perfect for dealing with fast-moving, busy traffic.

[GreenNinja]

hmmmm akima's theory seems to be pretty accurate. I'm curious to know if the slipper clutch will affect the launch too.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by akima

That's interesting. If you're at stand still and you bring the revs up high and then drop the clutch, surely with this new slipper clutch, your take-off is going to be slow as the clutch gradually engages.

Originally Posted by GreenNinja

I'm curious to know if the slipper clutch will affect the launch too.

That isn't what slipper clutches do. All racebikes have slipper clutches, and they can accelerate exactly as hard as the engine can propel the bike. The slipper works in the other direction: When the the rear wheel is traveling at faster than the engine would be requiring it to, the clutch alllows it to break free, and spin faster than it would otherwise. It's a one-way slip, with ramps set up to only work in that direction. When accelerating, the slipper doesn't come into affect as the engine is continuously running faster or equal to the speed of the rear wheel.

Now what would effect the launch is if the clutch is a bit weak and doesn't allow you to engage quickly enough due to soft springs, etc. And from that respect, there might be something to it on the 300. It isn't a particularly strong clutch, at least by feel, and I will be interested to see how durable it is after a number of race starts.

[akima]

Originally Posted by Alex

That isn't what slipper clutches do. All racebikes have slipper clutches, and they can accelerate exactly as hard as the engine can propel the bike. The slipper works in the other direction: When the the rear wheel is traveling at faster than the engine would be requiring it to, the clutch alllows it to break free, and spin faster than it would otherwise. It's a one-way slip, with ramps set up to only work in that direction. When accelerating, the slipper doesn't come into affect as the engine is continuously running faster or equal to the speed of the rear wheel.

Now what would effect the launch is if the clutch is a bit weak and doesn't allow you to engage quickly enough due to soft springs, etc. And from that respect, there might be something to it on the 300. It isn't a particularly strong clutch, at least by feel, and I will be interested to see how durable it is after a number of race starts.

Ah! That all makes sense to me, thanks

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by tnr4

I'm also working on my drag-style launches with the hopes of maybe doing a couple of aggressive 0-60 runs to answer that omnipresent question around the inter webs.

Post your numbers here:
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=99216

I want to see what the new bike can do.

[tnr4]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Post your numbers here:
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=99216

I want to see what the new bike can do.

Alright Chone, it's done. Maybe you can actually time the damn vid, as I really couldn't. It was fun though!

[choneofakind]

Yeah, those are really vibrate-y. They definitely look quick though!

[antiant]

Anyone seen this video yet and have any thoughts about it?

Link to original page on YouTube.

[Alex]

I don't speak British, but I believe that is what is termed a "wanker".