So - when we laid our eyes on the newly arrived 650cc variant lurking in the basement of KMSA’s head office we were quick to beg the first ride. Sadly it was that new that it hadn’t even been started yet and still needed to be run in by their technical staff and given its first oil change. As soon as it was ready they gave us a call to fetch it and we wandered around on it for about a week, having to fight our millennial photographer for saddle time. Kawasaki does build gorgeous bikes and the 650 Ninja, with its green and black livery with red and white high lights here and there is no exception. The modern day industry standard or fashion is to have a very strong family resemblance from the smallest, most entry level offering all the way through to the flagship in the range and with both the 400cc and 650cc that is very evident. Top of the pops are the twin LED headlights, each featuring low and high beam as well as a position lamp, offer increased brightness, really emphasising the 650 Ninja’s lineage to its bigger sibling the ZX10 range and even a little bit to the H2 range. The Ninja 650’s sharper new styling gives it a sportier appearance and even stronger Ninja family looks. Its sleek and sporty design inspires a sense of pride, heritage and even confidence in riders. And, the pillions haven’t been forgotten either with improved rider as well as passenger comfort. The rear seat with 4 thicker urethane pads, (approximately 5 mm thicker at the centre, 10 mm thicker at the sides) and sides that extend more widely offers increased passenger comfort. And the bike is exceptionally comfortable from the shortest rider to 2m lumps like me. The 650 is a very narrow bike, but also quite long for its class. The foot pegs are set far enough below and backwards of the seat to create an easy, comfortable angle on the riders knees and hips for long days in the saddle. The reach over the tank to the handle bars is equally as comfortable, encouraging a sporty riding style without putting undue pressure on your wrists, shoulders or lower back. After kicking Stefan out of the saddle I managed to get in about 300kays worth of riding, from back road touring, to urban commuting and around a 100 kays of booming down the freeway, in decent comfort all the way, yeah… after that amount of saddle time my jocks started cutting into my arse cheeks, but that is the case with absolutely any seat, chair and etc if you spend extended periods of time in it. What I did appreciate was the lower back support offered by the bump stop against the front of the pillion seat. The all new digital TFT colour instrumentation, a Kawasaki first in the 650cc class, gives the cockpit a high-tech, high grade appearance. The new meter also offers additional features unavailable on the previous models. A Bluetooth chip built into the instrument panel enables riders to connect to their motorcycle wirelessly. Using the smartphone application “RIDEOLOGY THE APP,” a number of instrument functions can be accessed, contributing to an enhanced motorcycling experience. Vehicle information such as the odometer, fuel gauge, maintenance schedule, etc can be viewed on the smartphone. Riding logs which varies by model, but may include GPS route, gear position, rpm, and other information can be viewed on the smartphone. When connected, telephone notices are displayed on the instrument panel. Riders can also make changes to their motorcycle’s instrument display settings such as preferred units, clock and date setting and etc via their phone. And on certain models, it is even possible to check and adjust vehicle settings such as Rider Mode, electronic rider support features, and payload settings all using the smartphone. 22 <strong>RIDEFAST</strong> MAGAZINE <strong>DECEMBER</strong> <strong>2021</strong>
<strong>RIDEFAST</strong> MAGAZINE <strong>DECEMBER</strong> <strong>2021</strong> 23