By Special Correspondent Akshay Singh Ahlawat
It seems the wait for the entry level sports bike Kawasaki Ninja 250R will soon be over with Bajaj finally announcing its launch in May-June 2009 . Below is the news, which was published earlier in the Economic Times.
PUNE-BASED Bajaj Auto will launch sports bike Ninja 250 from technology partner Kawasaki in the next four to five months, while it gears up to introduce motorcycle, jointly developed with Austrian firm KTM by next year.
“The Kawasaki Ninja 250 will be launched by May or June,” MD Rajiv Bajaj said, while launching the company’s executive segment bike XCD 135 DTSSI, which has been priced at Rs 45,000. He said the Kawasaki Ninja 250 is expected to be priced above Rs 2 lakh.
On the company’s plans to introduce motorcycles from Austrian bike maker KTM, in which BAL has over 25 stake, he said the first of the jointly developed products will be launched by next year. “The bigger bikes from KTM like the Duke and RR will be assembled in our facility.
Their introduction has been delayed a bit. But we have been developing two bikes with engine capacity above 125 cc with KTM. The first of the jointly developed bikes will be launched next year,” Mr Bajaj said.
Bajaj will be importing the Ninja as CKD (completely knocked down) units from Thailand to save on custom duties. The Ninja features a DOHC 249cc parallel twin cylinder engine which is more compact than the previous bike offering good mass centralization and improves the handling.
It now offers good low and mid range torque thanks to dual overhead camshafts. The overall design of the bike is very well balanced and wind tunnel tested and of course the trademark ninja styling carried from its bigger siblings.
The bike has a top whack of 175kmph and 0-100 just under 6 seconds enabling the rider to exploit the powerband and is sure to please enthusiasts who were in dire need of a low cost sports bike.
The ninja will surely sell like hot cakes with its beginner friendly low-end grunt and a lively top-end rush. Compact size, exceptional pose value and a low price tag highlight Kawasaki’s new Ninja 250R quarter-liter performer.
Oh wait , it also gets you oodles of attention from the opposite gender!
Further Reading -
You can read about Bajaj’s plans as well as the superbikes expected in India shortly
Kawasaki Ninja 250 Specifications :
ENGINE
- -DOHC 249cc parallel twin cylinder
- -Max power – 31bhp@10500rpm
- -Max torque – 22Nm@9500rpm
- -Gears – 6 manual
- -Clutch – wet plate
- -Bore – 60
- -Stroke – 41.2
- -Cooling type – Liquid Cooled Denso system
- 0-100km/h : 5.75 sec
Top speed : 176km/h
Fuel economy : Around 22-30kmpl
DIMENSIONS
- -Lenth -1920.00 mm
- -Width -672.00 mm
- -Height -1034.00 mm
Suspension and Brakes
- -Front – Hydraulic Telescopic Forks
- -Rear – Uni-Track with aluminum inkage
- -Brakes – Dual piston disc brakes both front and rear
Colors available – Black and Lime Green
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its gd but prise matters
hey……. kawasaki CEO deside the new price for it OR else its gonna flop…….
wen can v see bike on road???
If people have the ballz to spend more than 2 lakhs on a bike then ninja is a great option…i personally have a ducati and an r1…i believe if ninja’s price does not come down then r15 would take the 1st place….it has amazing speed…zero vibration…excellent handling and great looks…one of my favorites…how ever,not for milaege freaks…But trust me..the beast is the best…
i am glad that baja has priced it slightly on the higher side b’cos then it will be exclusive enuff to warrant goin for it . i have a yamaha fzs and am sick of the sheer no of fz on road . its jus not exclusive enuff anymore . i am plannin to go for the ninja nxt yera and atleasy i can be sure that when i plaonk my money for it , i will get a stonkin bike which is also exclusive enuff !!
i think bajaj has done the right thing by gettin in the 250r first rather than the 600 or 1000cc . its all good to fantasize about buyin these big bikes but seriously guys how many of us really have the required skills for ridin thes bikes . the licencing process in india is a joke . so basically any idiot with enuff money and not a lot of sense , who got his licence by either bribig or making a figure of 8 on a hero honda splendor can go buy a 1000cc monster . it is jus disaster waiting to happen . i do think big bikes should be available but they should along with a compulsary riding instructions from a professional racing rider , so that we can get used to the power of these bikes .
I think the bike is good.. but hey whatz wrong with the tyres..?? bike like this should have more broad tyres..specificaly rear one..
i always wanted a ninja in my garage…n i think its launched in india coz i read here buyninja.blogspot.com saying its launch is on 7th October officially !
Great.. finally Kawasaki 250 to come to India.. Yamaha wil now have a true competitor
People this launch shows our old kawasaki is back in different form,, as of now no other similar bike is in the market, i wish to buy as i know service of bajaj is upto the commitment,
i am planing to bye kavasaki ninja ZX-6R-Black. can u tell me when they will launch in tamilnadu
Regards
Pradeep
dont give us dreams ………….. just launch it
@Asif – We have no information as of now. You need to come back to our blog daily to learn the updates. I think there is a chance for the 250 to be launched during the Auto Expo next year
i all
i m planing to buy Kawasaki ninja 250r. but i don’t know how long i am waiting for this bike. any body tell me if you have any information about this bike, witch month this bike lunch in India. i am all ready contact bajaj customer care, but they are not sure about this. and how much will it cost when it will launch in delhi
kawasakiis my dream bike really i to wiat
hi all
i m planing to buy Kawasaki ninja 250r. but i don’t know how long i am waiting for this bike. any body tell me if you have any information about this bike, witch month this bike lunch in India. i am all ready contact bajaj customer care, but they are not sure about this.
@Chetan
You mentioned to R15 as luna. No offence dude but either you have not ridden that machine yet or you are completely ignorant about the mechanics and technical aspects of that bike.
Considering the other so called performance bikes in Indian market, Yamaha r15 is a revelation. its like leap to the present for Indian performance biking scenario. a 150 cc machine outrunning and outperforming 220cc and 225 cc machine effortlessly and safely and smoothly, that’s what I call innovation. you call it Luna! different perspectives I should say lol!
@ chetan
Your idea about Kawasaki’s marketing strategy is completely wrong. No doubt that Ninja is an unique bike but its clearly a number raker for Kawasaki . Its a volume seller for them. As “unique” bike they got much bigger Ninjas in their stable. 250R is considered as the cheapest beginner machine all around the world and sells for a comparatively low price in all its international markets.
And all of the manufactures in India do have plans to bring in higher capacity machines from its international stable and so would do Kawasaki through bajaj. If you price the 250R at an inaccessible price of above 2 lakh it means they would place it neither here nor there. they may sell the pulsar 220s and they would sell the “unique” bigger Ninjas and they would never sell the 250R’s with that strategy.
And considering mini performance segments as one of the fastest growing in sales volume it would be completely stupid for bajaj to price it at an inaccessible above 2 lakh range.
Bajaj sales(of 200 & 220 DTSFi) even for the high performance segment is going down when Yamaha is raking in the numbers by the introduction of R15. If they are trying to boost their sales numbers they should price ninja in an accessible price range.
Well with an official confirmation from Bajaj in May 2009 which made the stock of Bajaj auto to go up slightly we are very much sure that the Ninja 250R, the best selling bike in its class in the world and also the best selling bike Kawasaki had ever produced will come to India in 2009 towards the end of the year.
The only doubt now is regarding the price which some predict would be around 1.6 lk and some say wud be 2 lk or bit above it.(there has never been official confirmation about price from bajaj except the Kawasaki guys saying it would be priced above 1 lakh.)
bajaj is already selling a 220 cc machine in india, the 220cc DTSFi pulsar for just under 1 lakh. selling a machine of 250 cc for 2 lk wud effectively stamp the pulsar 220 cc as a mediocre machine or would stamp ninja as an over priced machine.
The price of Ninja in US market is 3999$ for the carburetor version which was 500$ less in 2008. (the thai and European market is having a more costly Fi version)But considering the craze towards Fi bikes in India It would be just wise for Bajaj to launch an Fi ninja here which may bring the price tag to a higher range. But if you believe US bike experts the carburetor version is as good as the Fi version or the difference is negligible.
The yamaha R15 which is close to a true sport bike is selling at 1.07 lakh in India and is selling like hot cakes and is proving to be a gold mine for its manufacturer. But a price tag of 2 lakh even for 250 cc machine means much lesser sales. Im sure the Ninja 250R is worth it. But are the Indian customers (read bike enthusiasts, not the everyday commuter) willing to pay that much?. If bajaj is trying to push the volume the bike should be righteously placed somewhere around the 1.5 to 1.7 Lakh tab. India is having a free trade agreement with Thailand enabling bajaj to import the CKD kit with no duties, and Thailand is much closer to India compared to US or European markets. This should enable them to price it much lower than in US market. If they can do it then its going to bring in a fortune for bajaj and Kawasaki and its going to truly re-write the Indian sport biking scenario which Yamaha had started doing with the introduction of YZF R15.
A lot of people have been waiting for many years to get a sports bike with good build quality.
Dumb ass managements of bajaj/Hero honda etc just want to fill the road with pathetic quality super-cheap 100 – 125cc bikes and add to the pollution and traffic.
INDIA IS NO LONGER AN UNDERDEVELOPED COUNTRY. WE NEED SUPER BIKES.
An Awsome bike and no wonder would certainly kill yamaha ( india) brigade in a hands down fashion.
Who wants to bye a Luna' like tyre bike for 1,10,000? ( YZF R15) No offence to very good fiber body although….
Young Indian Blood is waiting for this Ninja..
Hope Bajaj makes a move before this world comes to an end …. and CBK…*( Hope local manufacture meets the International expectations..Quality is something Bajaj is NOT known for)
But yes Kawasaki is a Trusted Brand.
Bravo!
An Awsome bike and no wonder would certainly kill yamaha ( india) brigade in a hands down fashion.
Who wants to bye a Luna' like tyre bike for 1,10,000? ( YZF R15) No offence to very good fiber body although….
Young Indian Blood is waiting for this Ninja..
Hope Bajaj makes a move before this world comes to an end …. and CBK…*( Hope local manufacture meets the International expectations..Quality is something Bajaj is NOT known for)
But yes Kawasaki is a Trusted Brand.
Bravo!
@ zeeshan
no offence brother but you're the dumb one here….see its a unique bike… they dont have to sell it like hot cakes …. it is something of that value man
and imagine if it were 1.5 lakh or something…. then every tom dick and harry on the road would have it
“Hamara Bajaj” is definitely smarter than u
and besides there'll be only 400 CBU's …. after that the parts and spares will be localised
Consider yourself lucky if u ever manage to lay hands on the first 400
the pride of owning it is bigger than its price man
some of the people are saying the ninja 250r will be priced at 1.6 lakhs and some say above 2 lakhs what is the right info
if they are going to price it above 2lakh actually nearly 3- 4 lakh (by considering its present price& india's import duties) by introducing as cbu, they are sure going to face real hard time in da future…. i thought rajiv bajaj is a smart man, but turned out to be dumb as fuck….if they had introduced as ckd's & priced under 2lakh, they would have sold it like hot cakes…. just this 1 step was enough to bring back bajaj on top of the charts….but wat can we say when their intension is to go down in losses… by launching some bullshit 100cc-115cc – 125cc- 135cc- 145cc—-skinny bikes….Com'on bajaj times are changing in india, people want performance bikes…
how much will it cost when it will launch in mumbai
thanks!
“”The overall design of the bike is very well balanced and wind tunnel tested and of course the trademark ninja styling carried from its bigger siblings the ninja 600RR and 1000RR.”"
As the above lines have been stated let me correct you that nothing like kawasaki ninja 600rr or 1000rr exists at all.Its the honda CBR range that has 600rr and 1000rr models in the line up.
The ninja line up consists of 250R,ZX-6R,650-R,ZX-10R and flagship ZX-14R. . other popular kawasakis are ER-6n,GTR-1400,ER-6f,Z1000 and VN17000,all of them been recently updated.