Actually tested the Ninja 300 on Thursday, but forgot to do a write up:
Great little bike! I owned the carburated 250cc version (07) and everything about this one feels better. Clutch is effortless and very forgiving. Engine is noticeably stronger than the old 250. Bike still feels incredibly light and nimble.
It does still require very frequent shifting, which is a great way to learn to ride and can sometimes be more fun than a big-motor bike with high gearing.
It does look very good in person and at 5' 10" I felt very comfortable on it .. not really cramped at all.
Would highly recommend this as a starter bike.
R1:
This is the first bike I've ridden since I've gotten the FZ1, which made the FZ1 feel slow
Good GOD the power!! Highest speed during demo was ~65.. I never got out of 2nd gear! Truth be told.. I didn't need to get out of first!! At 65 I think it was spinning around 6.5k rpm and redline is 14k, so technically I was below the sweet spot!
I was 2nd in line (first behind the guide) and we were asked to not slingshot.. just get a feel for acceleration from stops.. the guide would get to speed briskly. Well, brisk as he may have been, I never went past 1/4 throttle (if that) and that was enough to start gaining on him.
BUT.. (and this is highly subjective).. why would anyone want to ride something like this on the street? It's a torture rack! The throttle is incredibly sensitive and completely unforgiving. I had the bike in "standard" mode and it was very hard to be smooth going from off to on and vice versa.
Steering too is incredibly precise and takes minimal effort to change the direction. If you're one with this bike, I can see it slicing the corners like a fine scalpel. If you're not, I can see it getting you into all sorts of trouble.
To me, a machine like this is built for a purpose: it's a race bike.. and the race track is where it belongs.
FJR:
This is once again very subjective, but.. best bike I've ever ridden, period.
Motor is buttery smooth. Least vibration at the handlebar and pegs of any bike I've ever piloted.
Electronics are superb (adjustable screen, multi-stage heated grips, cruise control).
Transmission too is silky smooth and gearing feels absolutely perfect (1st gear feels taller than FZ6, but shorter than FZ1).
The less than perfect aspects:
If I have to nitpick, there is one *issue* with it. When I come to a stop, I like to extend my left leg forward and out to plant it when the bike is fully stopped. On this bike, my normal motion puts my knee into a sharp edge of the fairing on the left side. This is something I would get used to in about 2 rides, but ideally I'd like that edge to not be there.
The clutch, while not really an issue, is a tad on the heavy side. Might be an issue in heavy stop-n-go traffic.
Having said that..
Within few miles of riding this bike I could tell I would easily be able to do 1k miles in the saddle in one day and not flinch. It really made me smile.. just an absolute pleasure to ride.
While it's heavy on paper and it certainly feels heavy coming off the side stand, once it's moving the weight just disappears.. it's light and nimble and requires less steering input than FZ1 for quick direction changes.
I very much hope to own one in the future.
Voyager:
Decided it would be a good idea to know what a big heavy cruiser feels like (at one point I thought I would consider something like this for looong 2-up travels).
Now.. I'm not a cruiser guy, so if you are, I hope you won't be too offended when you read this :spank:
It's going to be difficult to review this bike, as I think I fell asleep roughly 4 minutes into the demo and did not wake up until we were back in the parking area.. but I'll try:
This bike is surprisingly easy to maneuver at slow speeds. The low center of gravity and relaxed rake make steering effortless.
The seat is barcalounger-cushy.
The windscreen is very tall and provides so much wind protection that I was able to flip my visor all the way up at 78mph and feel no wind on my face whatsoever. (they took us on the highway for cruiser demo.. makes sense).
The acceleration.. I went wide open throttle from 3k rpm (remember this is a cruiser.. so 3k is the "sweet spot").. massive increase in noise and vibration.. NO change in speed :rof:
Adequate sure, but far from exhilarating.
Rear brake is very grabby and suspension dives and wobbles as you search for the perfect balance between using front and rear brake.
The heat emanating up the legs as you wait at a traffic light is intense. It wasn't particularly hot out.. ~75 degrees during test ride.
On the bright side, there was a Harley-riding couple in their early two hundreds next to me at a traffic light who seemed to be admirably eying my chrome Kenworth of a motorcycle! :cheer:
Great little bike! I owned the carburated 250cc version (07) and everything about this one feels better. Clutch is effortless and very forgiving. Engine is noticeably stronger than the old 250. Bike still feels incredibly light and nimble.
It does still require very frequent shifting, which is a great way to learn to ride and can sometimes be more fun than a big-motor bike with high gearing.
It does look very good in person and at 5' 10" I felt very comfortable on it .. not really cramped at all.
Would highly recommend this as a starter bike.
R1:
This is the first bike I've ridden since I've gotten the FZ1, which made the FZ1 feel slow
Good GOD the power!! Highest speed during demo was ~65.. I never got out of 2nd gear! Truth be told.. I didn't need to get out of first!! At 65 I think it was spinning around 6.5k rpm and redline is 14k, so technically I was below the sweet spot!
I was 2nd in line (first behind the guide) and we were asked to not slingshot.. just get a feel for acceleration from stops.. the guide would get to speed briskly. Well, brisk as he may have been, I never went past 1/4 throttle (if that) and that was enough to start gaining on him.
BUT.. (and this is highly subjective).. why would anyone want to ride something like this on the street? It's a torture rack! The throttle is incredibly sensitive and completely unforgiving. I had the bike in "standard" mode and it was very hard to be smooth going from off to on and vice versa.
Steering too is incredibly precise and takes minimal effort to change the direction. If you're one with this bike, I can see it slicing the corners like a fine scalpel. If you're not, I can see it getting you into all sorts of trouble.
To me, a machine like this is built for a purpose: it's a race bike.. and the race track is where it belongs.
FJR:
This is once again very subjective, but.. best bike I've ever ridden, period.
Motor is buttery smooth. Least vibration at the handlebar and pegs of any bike I've ever piloted.
Electronics are superb (adjustable screen, multi-stage heated grips, cruise control).
Transmission too is silky smooth and gearing feels absolutely perfect (1st gear feels taller than FZ6, but shorter than FZ1).
The less than perfect aspects:
If I have to nitpick, there is one *issue* with it. When I come to a stop, I like to extend my left leg forward and out to plant it when the bike is fully stopped. On this bike, my normal motion puts my knee into a sharp edge of the fairing on the left side. This is something I would get used to in about 2 rides, but ideally I'd like that edge to not be there.
The clutch, while not really an issue, is a tad on the heavy side. Might be an issue in heavy stop-n-go traffic.
Having said that..
Within few miles of riding this bike I could tell I would easily be able to do 1k miles in the saddle in one day and not flinch. It really made me smile.. just an absolute pleasure to ride.
While it's heavy on paper and it certainly feels heavy coming off the side stand, once it's moving the weight just disappears.. it's light and nimble and requires less steering input than FZ1 for quick direction changes.
I very much hope to own one in the future.
Voyager:
Decided it would be a good idea to know what a big heavy cruiser feels like (at one point I thought I would consider something like this for looong 2-up travels).
Now.. I'm not a cruiser guy, so if you are, I hope you won't be too offended when you read this :spank:
It's going to be difficult to review this bike, as I think I fell asleep roughly 4 minutes into the demo and did not wake up until we were back in the parking area.. but I'll try:
This bike is surprisingly easy to maneuver at slow speeds. The low center of gravity and relaxed rake make steering effortless.
The seat is barcalounger-cushy.
The windscreen is very tall and provides so much wind protection that I was able to flip my visor all the way up at 78mph and feel no wind on my face whatsoever. (they took us on the highway for cruiser demo.. makes sense).
The acceleration.. I went wide open throttle from 3k rpm (remember this is a cruiser.. so 3k is the "sweet spot").. massive increase in noise and vibration.. NO change in speed :rof:
Adequate sure, but far from exhilarating.
Rear brake is very grabby and suspension dives and wobbles as you search for the perfect balance between using front and rear brake.
The heat emanating up the legs as you wait at a traffic light is intense. It wasn't particularly hot out.. ~75 degrees during test ride.
On the bright side, there was a Harley-riding couple in their early two hundreds next to me at a traffic light who seemed to be admirably eying my chrome Kenworth of a motorcycle! :cheer:
Last edited:
