India Kawasaki Motors have taken the wraps off their three new models for the Indian market – the all-new Ninja 650, it’s naked sibling the Z650 and the Z900. The three models were showcased at last year’s Intermot show and Kawasaki have finally brought them to India in a short span of time.
Starting off with the Ninja 650, gone is the sports-tourer that we have come to love and what we now get is a sportier ZX-esque riding styled Ninja 650. The 649cc parallel twin cylinder has been tuned to meet the new emission norms with a key focus to deliver more low-to-mid range torque. The short under-engine exhaust remains and helps in mass centralisation of the bike. The bike also receives an assist and slipper clutch assembly with rear-wheel hop mitigation. The chassis continues to be a steel trellis frame but with minimised bends contributing to a saving of 18 kilos from the earlier model.
The naked version of the Ninja 650 now ditches the “ER” badge and now adopt the “Z” moniker as Kawasaki also bring in the Z650. The street friendly Z series, manages to maintain the elements of the Ninja 650 like the smooth torque curve and easy rideability feature. The shedding of the fairing will help in the agility of the Z650, making it a worthy option for a city bike.
The Z series doesn’t just stop there as we now also get the new Z900 in India. The 948cc inline four cylinder engine powers the new motorcycle. The edgy design and the quick revving characteristics are still very much present on this bike as well. The Z900 gets the rear seat cowl, engine sliders and many other such accessories as standard while only the Akrapovic exhaust is absent on the standard bike for India.
The three models were joined on stage by the BS IV compliant Ninja 300 as well as the Versys 650 which gets an edgy green colour theme.
Here are the prices for all of the five models. All ex-showroom, Delhi:
Ninja 300: Rs. 3.64 lakh
Versys 650: Rs. 6.60 lakh
Ninja 650: Rs. 5.65 lakh
Z650: Rs. 5.19 lakh
Z900: Rs. 9.0 lakh (with accessories)