Editor
Administrator
Posts: 914
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posted August 31, 2005 04:01 PM
 Edited By: Editor on 31 Aug 2005 18:56
Kawasaki's Ninja 650R breaks new ground with broad appeal and innovative design
 Unique look and feel grew from specific design team objectives seeking to blend attractiveness with power.
Look at Kawasaki's all new NINJA® 650R sportbike and the first impression is one of pure design appreciation. Look a little longer and many of the innovative engine and chassis elements begin to come into play. But the entire package doesn't truly project its intended engineering outcome until the motorcycle is viewed with a rider seemingly melded into its unique posture. Because the 650R was meant to have broad rider appeal, Kawasaki's development team began its task with the ridernot the motorcycle.
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Focusing on all kinds of riders, and all kinds of riding, Kawasaki carefully studied the interface between human and machine. Riding positions were studied to discover which instilled the most confidence. Narrowing the distance between foot pegs and striving for a lower seat height and low effort controls all played into the design efforts. Ultimately, this exceptionally well-proportioned NINJA 650R represents a genre of motorcycling new to Kawasakione that finds itself at home with both novices and experienced riders, and one that will be seen equally in daily midtown commuting situations as well as week-end highway getaways.
A combination of versatility, performance and style, this motorcycle knows no boundaries in terms of rider appeal. It will be a first-time purchase for some, a second or third motorcycle for others, and for all, it will be fun. Powered by a compact two cylinder engine mounted in a sleek, lightweight chassis, this extremely maneuverable model will earn its rank as one of the most rider friendly units in today's marketplace.
The very compact liquid-cooled, DOHC, 8-valve 649cc Parallel Twin with fuel injection delivers a smooth responsiveness that is tuned for rider-friendly power characteristicsespecially in the low and medium rpm ranges that will inspire confidence in new motorcyclists. Its excellent mid-range characteristics will make the 650R a natural for medium speed commuting environments. And slipping in and out of traffic will be a cinch for this new entry, as its lightweight trellis frame and laydown shock also contribute to its overall compactness.
While the powerplant on this new NINJA is compact, it is anything but minimal in its output. Just gauge the 650R's roll-on response when making a highway pass and any concerns in that area quickly subside. The engineers called on their vast experience building NINJA supersport machines to develop a motorcycle possessing performance characteristics that will be a match for anything currently available in the middleweight arena, including those with larger displacement.
Some of the engine's characteristics:
- Triangular layout of the crankshaft and transmission shafts make the engine very short, front-to-back
- The transmission's input shaft, output shaft, and change drum are contained in a cassette-style package that both works for the 650R's compact layout, and facilitates transmission maintenance
- Engine height is reduced through the use of a semi-dry sump design
- This new Kawasaki has a plated, linerless aluminum cylinder which is lightweight; its narrow cylinder pitch reduces engine width
- Under-engine muffler improves mass centralization and lowers the 650R center of gravity
Some of the chassis design elements:
- Compact engine design allows use of a slim, minimalist frame, which results in a design that is narrow at the knees and feet
- Light and nimble handling characteristics are one of the benefits of the extremely short wheelbase of this motorcycle
- A long swingarm is used, so both rear suspension and handling are improved
- Engineers used 3-D analysis to achieve the ideal stiffness balance for the frame, which contributes greatly to its handling characteristics
- Frame construction is of high-tensile steel, rivaling the lightness of aluminum frames
- The layout of the offset single-shock rear suspension allows the battery to be located next to the shock rather than beneath itmaking for a slim design and lower seat height
Bringing the motorcycle to a stop is handled by triple petal disc brakes that look as good as they perform. And the attractive six-spoke supersport-style wheels give the 650R a "light" look while reducing unsprung weight.
This new entry sports a very aggressive headlight design, an aerodynamic windscreen and full fairing, and front turn signals integrated into the faring. The flowing bodywork includes a slim tail cowl with flush-surface tail lamp lens giving the new NINJA 650R a slim, agile appearance from the rear.
Also contributing to the slim design appearance is a two-tone seat and a sculpted fuel tank.
Instrumentation abounds with this multi-purpose motorcycle. A compact step-motor speedometer features an LCD display with digital readouts for odometer, twin tripmeter, and clock as well as an LED water temperature warning lamp.
Few will look at or ride Kawasaki's NINJA 650R and fail to come away impressed. Both from a design and a performance benchmark, the team responsible for this new motorcycle has accomplished their stated goalcreating a new category for Kawasaki where every rider, new, old, male, female, experienced or novicecan find a reason to park this one in the garage.
Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (KMC) markets and sells at wholesale Kawasaki motorcycles, ATVs, personal watercraft and utility vehicles through a network of more than 1,500 independent retailers, with an additional 8,400 retailers specializing in power products and general purpose engines. KMC and its affiliates employ nearly 2,400 people in the United States, with more than 350 of them located at the Irvine, California headquarters.
Kawasaki's tagline, "Let the good times roll.", is recognized worldwide and the brand is aggressively carrying its heritage of leading-edge power, performance and exhilaration into the 21st century. Information about Kawasaki's complete line of recreational products and Kawasaki affiliates can be found on the Internet at www.kawasaki.com.
Source: Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (KMC)
   
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trenace
Needs a job
Posts: 3056
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posted August 31, 2005 05:01 PM
Edited By: trenace on 31 Aug 2005 18:02
Ah, a little bit of a surprise here!
The recently-seen ER-6, for other markets, with sort of a GPz style full fairing to make a baby Ninja out of it. Good idea.
Interesting item from one of the British mags: this motor actually is derived from being half-a-Twelve, with same bore, same valve size, same valve angle, and probably more than that the same... however stroked and with milder cams and other changes to give more torque and less peak hp, which is why it has less than half the power of the Twelve.
Hopefully this will grab a lot of newer riders -- being a much better choice for them than supersports bikes -- and also be appealing to many women riders as well! From the British mags, reviewing the mostly naked version, it's no slug but is a respectable middleweight sporty "standard" bike rather like the SV650.
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ozzy
Needs a job
need guberment cheese
Posts: 3172
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posted August 31, 2005 05:27 PM
Edited By: ozzy on 31 Aug 2005 18:50
buell muffler, Dino did someone take your idea????
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ozzy
Needs a job
need guberment cheese
Posts: 3172
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posted August 31, 2005 05:50 PM
good idea to establish an entry level sport bike.
Hopefully it well sell well.
Be nice to know the msrp and the seat height.
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trenace
Needs a job
Posts: 3056
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posted August 31, 2005 05:50 PM
Integrates very nicely with this particular bike.
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kz2zx
Pro
Nobody in Particular
Posts: 1166
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posted August 31, 2005 06:09 PM
Is this LWSS legal?
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Just Joy
Needs a job
Posts: 3976
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posted September 01, 2005 08:01 AM
For a split second there I was thinking that the 650 was the replacement for the 636......then I read it was a twin.....gotta admitt, I'm kinda disappointed.....
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Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be.....
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outsiderzx12r
Zone Head
Street Racer
Posts: 841
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posted September 01, 2005 08:21 AM
Is this gonna replace the Ninja 500R (AKA EX500)?
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OutsiderZX12R
2000 ZX12R-A1
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trenace
Needs a job
Posts: 3056
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posted September 01, 2005 12:21 PM
Edited By: trenace on 1 Sep 2005 13:24
Kawasaki USA hasn't put the 2006 lineup on its website yet, and I hadn't seen an announcement saying the EX500 was being discontinued, so I don't know. Good question.
One would think that they are too close, and the new bike would crowd out the old. The only exception would be if the new bike is much more expensive than the 500's just-over-$5000 MSRP.
Has a MSRP been announced for the new 650?
That probably is the key to this: if the price is similar then the 500 could hardly survive, but if there's a large gap like $1200 or $1500 let's say, then conceivably both might be sold.
Man, the Brits and Europeans really got the short end of the stick in this deal. While their version (weird little bug quarter fairing, and some small angular side panels, not this full but trim fairing) is OK, this one really is a neat design. Good looking bike for its market position!
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tulach
Parking Attendant
Posts: 1
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posted September 22, 2005 09:52 AM
I have one on order. Im told the first one in Northern California. The MSRP of the bike is $6,299. I think this is a sure bargain. It will take on commute duty for me in the hill laden city of San Francisco. I am five foot four and was just about to plunk down money on a zx6r and have the shocks cut up so I could actually park the bike in front of my house on the 23 degree hill I live on. The seat height is just below 30 inches, with a bit of sag sitting on it I will be flat foot on this bike. Sliding off the seat of a zx6r in stock form gets me a few toes, on a hill I have to turn the bike sideways and practically jump off to stop. My friends find the dance as they call it to be quite funny. This bike should provide very well for us vertically challenged. My only major gripe about what i know so far about the bike is the rear tire size. The fact that it is a odd size for the type of bike will no doubt limit options. Well I have one other gripe too I guess. That low exhaust although cool looking will have to no doubt go as well. The fact that they installed something like a chevy truck muffler with a bullet on the end will surely make it dangerously quiet. My local harley dealer is already working on a chrome custom exhaust that flairs out to the side a bit harley style. I was told my delivery date is to be at the beginning of November.
It is really too bad Aprilia hasn't responded to my 2000 emails regarding a rs250 with their new off road 450 4stroke in it. I would have paid twice as much as I'm paying for this ninja for something like that.
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DB
Pro
Posts: 1932
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posted September 23, 2005 06:37 AM
quote:
Is this gonna replace the Ninja 500R (AKA EX500)?
Nope, not for 2006. In 2006 Kawasaki is selling the 250, 500 & 650.
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Dan
04 ZX10r (Track only)
08 Concours14
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pdb1964
Zone Head
Posts: 536
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posted September 27, 2005 09:06 PM
quote:
For a split second there I was thinking that the 650 was the replacement for the 636......then I read it was a twin.....gotta admitt, I'm kinda disappointed.....
I'm thinking that if Kawasaki was aiming for the enrty level market, that a torquier twin would be easier to drive.
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