Kawasaki Ninja 250

Overview

Kawasaki Ninja 250 is an all-new quarter-litre motorcycle based on the same frame as Ninja 400. More than just sharing the frame, both bikes look identical in terms of design and simply change engines when being manufactured by Kawasaki. Ninja 250 is using 249cc, twin cylinder fuel injected engine producing 39 HP at 12,500 rpm and 23.5 Nm at 10,000 rpm. The engine comes mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox. The bike weighs almost 6 kg lighter than Ninja 400 and claims almost identical horsepower value to bigger Ninja 300. The torque value is quite low in the same comparison.

As Ninja 400 was recently launched with INR 4.69 lakh worth price tag, it seems difficult for Kawasaki to place Ninja 250 at its expected price tag of INR 3.25 lakh. As Yamaha R3 and Benelli 302R have priced at INR 3.48 lakh, it won’t be possible for a smaller displacement bike to overtake these two in terms of sales in a country like India. Ninja 400 will also witness reduction in price when both bikes will enter local production. Ninja 250 comes with 41mm front forks, gas charged rear mono-shock, 110/70 front tyre, 150/60 rear tyre and standard ABS.

If equating the cost of ABS, which is mandatory for 125cc and above bikes now, Ninja 250 will not prove worthy before local production at any cost. Buyers still prefer going for non-ABS equipped Ninja 300 in place of recently launched Ninja 400 due to INR 1.09 lakh worth price difference. Ninja 250 measures 1990 mm in length, 710 mm in width and 1120 mm in height. The wheelbase measures 1370 mm while ground clearance is also quite decent at 140mm. Carrying 14-litre fuel tank helps the bike claim around 300 km riding range before looking for a petrol pump.