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Kawasaki gives its sports twin a makeover

New Ninja 650

Written by Ben Purvis , Date 12:07 PM

Kawasaki’s Ninja 650 has been given a new chassis and sportier looks for 2017.8-my17ninja650static3

With the traditional 600cc supersports market shrinking away, all-rounders like the Ninja 650 – with lower prices and performance than their supersports brethren – remain popular. So the firm has extended the appeal of the Ninja 650 with more radical styling and an H2-style trellis frame.

Hidden inside is the familiar Kawasaki 650cc parallel twin engine, making 69PS (68hp) in its new Euro4 emissions guise. That’s actually a fraction less than the current model, but the firm claims that its urge in the low and mid ranges is improved. In line with the emissions improvements under Euro4, the economy is also better by some 6.8% compared to the old model.

6-my17ninja650static1The power drop might not be noticeable, but the frame change will be. It saves an astounding 19kg compared to the old bike. That’s thanks to the new chassis and the aluminium gull-arm swingarm.

New instruments include a shift light and a rev counter needle that glows red as it approaches the red line. There’s also a digital gear indicator and an air temperature read-out.

Of course, the A2 licence market is also vital for the Ninja 650, so a restricted 35kW (47hp) version will also be offered.

In terms of appearance, the bike gains a longer, sleeker nose and stubbier screen than the existing version. The belly-mounted exhaust remains, but the bike’s tail is slimmer and sits higher for a sportier silhouette. The bars, while still fairly wide, are dropped slightly to emphasise the bike’s sporting pretensions.

The suspension and brakes remain simple and fairly low-spec, suggesting that the Ninja’s price won’t rise significantly compared to the existing 7-my17ninja650static2model.

Three colour options have been revealed. As well as the inevitable green, there’s an all-black version and an attractive red option.

 

 

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