San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
KAWASAKI A RIGHT FIT
Kawasaki a good choice for commuting; nimble and fun to ride
WHEELS
2021 Ninja 650 a good bike for beginning riders to grow into.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries can be informally credited with developing the sport bike genre for the streets. They may not have produced the first sporty-crouchy-racey street bike but, after the release of the GPZ900R in 1984, Kawasaki ad folks shrewdly recognized what they had and eagerly trademarked the term Kawasaki Ninja. With the popularity of the GPZ, “ninja bike” quickly became the catch-all term for machines that fit the ubiquitous fairing silhouette.
The 2021 Ninja 650 ABS carries on the tradition in the Kawasaki Ninja sportbike line, perched nicely in the cat birds’ seat above the Ninja 400 ABS twin and below the Ninja 1000 ABS.
The suspension is budget friendly with 41mm nonadjustable front legs and a cam-ring preload rear shock — it’s basic stuff to keep the price down but it’s adequate, provided expectations are kept appropriate. Rough pavement occasionally allowed the bike to step out when pushed hard in chattery stuff but it’s anticipated and easily controllable.
Brakes are wave-edged 300mm front rotors with two-piston calipers and a single 220mm rear. Good for the price point, they only show their budget sourcing if used repeatedly in anger. ABS is a $400 upsell but always worth the extra dosh. Rubber is Dunlop Sportmax Roadsport 2, an upgrade over previous years and has good road feel.
Overall, the bike sits a bit small for me at 6 foot but the bar and peg reach is comfy, not too low. The new upper cowl and windscreen have been redesigned to divert more air above the cockpit, I’m tall so my helmet was in the slipstream but buffeting was minimal. The pilot seat was good for an extended asphalt foray. Passenger accommodations have been made more comfortable with a wider and larger pillion perch but riding two-up will be intimate.
The clutch is an assistslipper type. Assist-slipper technology uses internal ramps that both lighten clutch pull (assist) and prevent rear-wheel hop on non rev-matching downshifts (slipper). I find them genuinely nice and quickly addictive. However, they’ve made my older personal bikes feel primitive. I’m a habitual rev-matcher so the slipper function is not a real necessity for me, but assist would be nice. My ’04 Ducati clutch can provide a bit of arm-pump in lengthy urban stop and go.
The two-cylinder, fuelinjected, six-speed is up to the mid-sized task. Dual overhead cams make it torquey enough for the highway and a grin in the canyons if the revs are kept in the fun zone. Fuel onboard volume is four gallons. Riding enthusiastically, I still clocked nearly 60 mpg. It’s good for an easy 200-mile range before searching for 87 octane.
The all-steel trellis frame bike is nimble, light weight and keeps the confidence level high in the twisties. Maintain the performance and handling within bounds and enjoy the carve. Top end performance is not blindingly fast but three-digit speeds are achievable. Freeway performance makes it a good commuter, I never felt rushed or revvy on the highway. Merging from onramps into traffic was fun and there’s plenty of power for maintaining safe distancing.
Instrumentation is a tech upgrade. It’s a modern thin-film-transistor display. TFT is a refined upgrade of the standard LCD display that makes the display more visible in sunlight and less prone to glare. TFT is personally appreciated since many LCD displays are semi-useless in some daylight conditions, like dappled sun and shade.
Kawasaki’s “Rideology the App” allows the motorcycle to connect to a smartphone or device via Bluetooth. Information particular to the vehicle can then be displayed on a phone or device as long as the motorcycle is in range. All display settings, such as background colors, display units, clock, date, etc. on the bike’s onboard instrumentation can be chosen, displayed, reconfigured, or changed remotely. I did not experiment with the app but Youtube has many examples for riders who enjoy such things.
The fairing and windshield get a modern update, borrowing style cues from the fiery, top-of-the-line, supercharged H2, Kawasaki’s current King of the Hill hyper bike. The design upgrades and upscale tech like “Rideology” and the TFT display give the 650 a sporty and aggressive appeal.
Paint on the 650 comes in metallic graphite grey/ metallic spark black, metallic spark black/imperial red, or metallic spark black/pearl nightshade teal. Twelvemonth limited warranty can be extended with Kawasaki Protection Plus. A small assortment of accessories is available including a 30-liter top case.
Overall, the Ninja 650 provides a good mid-sized value. Beginners can grow into it, riders with accumulated seat time won’t be bored, and anyone simply wanting solid, smiley transportation will enjoy every minute aboard.
In 1986, Kawasaki’s GPZ900R got a product bump when Tom Cruise as Maverick in “Top Gun,” drag-raced an F14 Tomcat on the runway of MCAS Miramar. In 2020, Cruise is at it once more in the new release of “Top Gun Maverick.” This time, he shows off the $30K supercharged hyper-sport Ninja H2 at Miramar against an F18. Fun stuff.
The price point stays the same this year on the Ninja 650 ABS so all the improvements come in at an MSRP of $7,799. Tax, license, fees, and extras put it out the door locally at $8,714.
Price point, power, rideability, they all work on the 2021 Ninja 650 ABS. Nice bike, nice price. It’s a bargain.