Bought a new bike on Saturday
Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 8:16 pm
Well , I got tired of waiting for the NC700X to arrive here so I went out and bought a 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 650. I wanted to ride in a charity motorcycle ride with Rolling Thunder cycle group for a fundraising ride for my hospital on June 24. So, I bought myself a nice, shiny, new lime green metallic (new color this year) 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 650. I picked it up last Saturday as soon as the dealer opened their doors. Geez what a nice bike for about the same price as the Honda NC700X. The advantages for me are the shorter seat height, 4.2 gal traditionally located gas tank, and the dual front and single rear disc brakes. The totally redesigned engine has way more low and mid-range torque than last year's model. No more high revving to pull away from a standing start. Oh and after the first 600 miles service check, the service interval is every 7,500 miles, with a valve adjustment check every 15,000 miles; not the every 2,500 miles like the PCX.
I still have my PCX and will us it for local trips around town. All in all, a great addition to my PCX 125, which I plan on keeping. This will be my highway/longer distance bike and my PCX will remain to be my daily work commuter. I have about 2,048 miles on the PCX 125 now. The gas I saved in the last year helped to pay for the Ninja. So now I have the best of both worlds.
I got tired of eating the PCX's wind deflector while trying to coax more speed out of it on the rural roads outside of town around here. I've never hit above 62 mph on it (GPS measured, downhill with no wind) and slowed down to around 42-45 mph, even after a 60 mph running start on the steeper hills around here. It's definitely not a safe situation holding up traffic on a two lane road as you gradually lose speed. And speaking of wind deflectors, the Ninja has a 3 position manually adjustable screen that elevates from 30 to 60 degrees.
Total carrying capacity is 441 lbs. for the Ninja and with the 460 lbs. curb weight on the bike, it's much more stable feeling at higher speeds and helps from being pushed around, on the road, by the wind and large trucks. My wife can ride two up with me since it has a 441 lb. carrying capacity.
I had to travel 41 miles away to even get it since hardly an dealers have them here. Wow, this sucker halls major butt! 55 mph is exactly 4,000 rpm in 6th gear on the Ninja 650, with an 11,000 rpm red line. My top speed for the PCX is a big non-issue now, since it's officially relegated to in-town travel only. The Ninja is averaging 50 mpg so far, with 168 miles clocked on the odo, with a bit less than 850 more miles to go on the factory break-in schedule. I expect the mileage to improve as it loosens up. It has already crept up a bit. It fits me like a glove being just the perfect size for me and the acceleration is stunning. It's a total redesign for 2012 and doesn't even resemble last year's the 650R. And it has a "CLOCK", (yes, a clock), in the digital instrument display, two trip odometers, instant fuel economy, average fuel economy and estimated range with a gallon for reserve. There's even an ECO icon that displays when driving and shifting for optimum fuel economy.
The lime green metallic paint is really turning heads and getting lot of complements. Can you tell that I'm really impressed?
Oh, I almost forgot. I saw another PCX, a white one, on the road for the first time ever, in over a year since I bought mine, as I was driving home from the dealer on my brand new Ninja. Go figure...
I still have my PCX and will us it for local trips around town. All in all, a great addition to my PCX 125, which I plan on keeping. This will be my highway/longer distance bike and my PCX will remain to be my daily work commuter. I have about 2,048 miles on the PCX 125 now. The gas I saved in the last year helped to pay for the Ninja. So now I have the best of both worlds.
I got tired of eating the PCX's wind deflector while trying to coax more speed out of it on the rural roads outside of town around here. I've never hit above 62 mph on it (GPS measured, downhill with no wind) and slowed down to around 42-45 mph, even after a 60 mph running start on the steeper hills around here. It's definitely not a safe situation holding up traffic on a two lane road as you gradually lose speed. And speaking of wind deflectors, the Ninja has a 3 position manually adjustable screen that elevates from 30 to 60 degrees.
Total carrying capacity is 441 lbs. for the Ninja and with the 460 lbs. curb weight on the bike, it's much more stable feeling at higher speeds and helps from being pushed around, on the road, by the wind and large trucks. My wife can ride two up with me since it has a 441 lb. carrying capacity.
I had to travel 41 miles away to even get it since hardly an dealers have them here. Wow, this sucker halls major butt! 55 mph is exactly 4,000 rpm in 6th gear on the Ninja 650, with an 11,000 rpm red line. My top speed for the PCX is a big non-issue now, since it's officially relegated to in-town travel only. The Ninja is averaging 50 mpg so far, with 168 miles clocked on the odo, with a bit less than 850 more miles to go on the factory break-in schedule. I expect the mileage to improve as it loosens up. It has already crept up a bit. It fits me like a glove being just the perfect size for me and the acceleration is stunning. It's a total redesign for 2012 and doesn't even resemble last year's the 650R. And it has a "CLOCK", (yes, a clock), in the digital instrument display, two trip odometers, instant fuel economy, average fuel economy and estimated range with a gallon for reserve. There's even an ECO icon that displays when driving and shifting for optimum fuel economy.
The lime green metallic paint is really turning heads and getting lot of complements. Can you tell that I'm really impressed?
Oh, I almost forgot. I saw another PCX, a white one, on the road for the first time ever, in over a year since I bought mine, as I was driving home from the dealer on my brand new Ninja. Go figure...
