Kawasaki Ninja 300 ABS Review
Kawasaki was the first manufacturer to launch a 250cc twin cylinder motorcycle in India and it was an instant hit. Soon thereafter the Ninja 250 got replaced by the more modern, powerful and refined Ninja 300. It only made the already steeply priced Ninja even more inaccessible in terms of pricing. Along came the KTMs and Ninja 300 buyers became the laughing stock of town for paying that high a premium for lesser performance, lesser equipment and most importantly, no ABS. And then came the final nail in the Ninja's coffin: The Yamaha R3. Whatever little bragging rights the Ninja enjoyed for being a refined twin were lost too. To regain market share and more importantly, respect, the Ninja needed to do two seemingly impossible things together. Provide ABS AND reduce the price. Kawasaki had one last trick up its sleeve and they pulled off a master stroke. In mid 2018, they launched the Ninja 300 ABS at a price point almost 20% lower than the outgoing model. So have Kawasaki cut corners in quality in their pursuit of lower costs just like their European and Indian counterparts have so successfully been doing all this while? Well for a company that comes from the land that gave us Kaizen, TQM, JIT and the works, that's impossible. They have managed to lower the prices by locally sourcing the body panels, ABS sourced from Endurance Technologies and tyres sourced from MRF. None of which has led to any drop in quality. Full marks to Kawasaki for pulling this off so well.
So let's get started with the design. It's unmistakably Kawasaki and it's unmistakably Ninja. It's beautiful how Kawasaki has designed this as a scaled down ZX-10R and yet giving it a character of its own. Despite being a fully faired sports bike, the saddle of the Ninja 300 is a very comfortable place to be in. You sit into rather than onto it and everything falls in place all at once. There's no "getting used to" the position. There is a forward lean but it stops just before the point at which it would be uncomfortable. Same goes for the rear set on the pegs. The rider's knees tuck in well in the tank recesses and there is enough room to move around on the seat from one corner to the next or duck down on a long straight. Simply put, you can tour all day on this saddle or use it for your daily office commutes and track days alike. It won't feel out of place doing any of it.
They say inner beauty is more important than external looks. And inner beauty is where this Ninja makes you fall head over heels for it. The 300cc parallel twin has a DOHC set up that produces peak power at 11k RPM. That's where most singles in this category redline! There is good grunt low down in the rev range which makes it a handy tool in every day traffic. That is followed by a long flat spot in the mid range from 4k to about 7.5k RPM, beyond which the motor wakes up, screams and races to its insane 13.5k RPM with the eagerness of a Labrador puppy approaching you when you return from a long day at work. The reference to the Lab here is deliberate. It's to highlight just how friendly this motor feels. It doesn't bite, scare or surprise you. It just eggs you on to play with it some more, rewarding you handsomely each time you choose to do so.
The motor is extremely tractable as well. You can potter around town in 6th gear with speeds as low as 40-45 kph, without breaking a sweat. The six speed gearbox is slick and efficient. Thanks to the slip and assist functions, the clutch pull is extremely light and hard downshifts don't end up locking the rear wheel. The brakes lack the outright initial bite but provide good progression. A special mention about the world's smallest ABS unit developed by Pune based Endurance Technologies. It's the most non intrusive ABS system I've come across, cutting in only when your tyres are on the extreme verge of losing grip. Now that inspires a lot of confidence in a rider to push this bike to its limits.
Moving on to riding dynamics. Despite being a diamond frame, this chassis feels at home with quick directional changes. The bike is quick to tip into corners and stays planted throughout. You don't feel the 170 odd kgs of the motorcycle while riding it. That's partly due to the low seat height which lowers the overall center of gravity. The suspension setup is on the firmer side and that also aids in keeping the motorcycle planted through corners. There is no CBR 250 or Yamaha R3 type wallow through a bumpy corner. That said, it isn't uncomfortable for everyday use either. Bumps and potholes are gobbled up with reasonable maturity and very little of the road filters through to your spine, wrists and neck.
All in all, I've returned mighty impressed by the capabilities of this baby Ninja. It's really very hard to find faults with this bike. Whether you want to do track days or office commutes or tour across the country, you will have very little to complain about. Yes, it lacks modern day gizmos like LED lights and all digital instrumentation with an endless list of rider information, some of which is actually useful but it packs in the essential hardware in the form of a non intrusive ABS system and a slipper clutch which works silently in the background. And when you throw in the beautiful pricing that Kawasaki has managed to launch it at, this truly is the go to motorcycle in this segment. Hats off to Kawasaki for doing what they've done here!
