KTM Duke 350 - 350cc, approx. 43 hp, 34 Nm, 335 lbs. wet, being manufactured in India this year, supposedly being exported (to the US?) next year. May not have to wait quite so long. Great numbers, but it is a thumper, based on the Duke 125 frame and 350 EXC engine. Pricing unknown, but with mfg in India, hopefully reasonable. I keep telling myself that patience is a virtue, but the EX300R is very tempting NOW.
I largely agree with you. I had a 400 Ninja last year ( Canadian market bike ) . More power, higher top speed but nowhere near the soul if the 250. Funny how that works.
http://www.ultimatemotorcycling.com/2013_Kawasaki_Ninja_300_SE_ABS_First_Ride_Review http://www.cycleworld.com/2012/09/19/2013-kawasaki-ninja-300-first-ride/ http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/N...tember/sep1012-kawasaki-ninja-300-first-ride/ Sounds like the engine is a home run. Suspension still budget but improved too.
Slap a 50HP/lbft single (low revving) in that little Ninja and call it good...., preferably with a 6 speed box with good ratios and fuel injection, and make it 350# or less and THAT, my friends, would be a winner!
Cagiva had a MiTo 500 show bike out a few years ago where they did just that! Shame it never hit the showrooms... A 125 chassis with a 500 4-stroke single! Woot!
The first ninja 300 has posted at fuelly.com- 267 miles best 57 average 55 US mpg. http://www.fuelly.com/motorcycle/kawasaki/ninja 300
Wow that seems really low? My carb'd 250 will get 65 in mixed riding, and closer to 70 if it's all highway/biway cruising. Even with 50 extra CC, you'd think the EFI would yield better results...
New bike, I would think the guy was taking it somewhat easy. Shouldn't be hard to make it go under 50mpg US. I get 65 on my cbr250, seems to get better if I stay off the highway.
Not every bike converted to FI ended up getting better MPG, the Huskys in 450/510 come to mind. Maybe it needs a good tune? Who knows how it is set to beat the EPA sniffers? Maybe it has a more accurate odo?
Been getting ~65mpg on my CBR250R, and I basically crack the throttle to the stop every single time I accelerate.
I like riding small flickable bikes. I don't get why people are ok with accepting 380lbs as an acceptable weight for a 250/300 cc class small twin? Anyone remember the venerable Yami FZR 400? 50hp and 347lbs....that bike was a blast!!!! With todays technology and alloys and the high tech designs in trannys why cant they get a small cc twin down to 300lbs ish? I mean look at supermoto 450cc bikes? Yes they are singles usually, but at 250-270lbs soaking wet it sure seems possible to save 30-70lbs off of a small twin. These little 250/300 twins should really be 300lbs MAX. My reasoning is along the lines of the ridiculous weight of the CBR250R. It weighs 357lbs according to the Honda USA website. It uses the Honda CRF250X motor in it. A fully fueled CRF25X with lights and battery weighs 253lbs....where is 104lbs neccesary to turn it into a sport bike? I can see 40lbs in ABS components and cast wheels and body work....blah blah blah, but come on, 104 lbs? Ridiculous especially for a single.
If you want a light weight street single, the upcoming KTM Duke 350 will weigh approximately 335 lbs. wet with a good battry, alternator, and 17" supermoto wheels. If you want a light weight / high spec small street bike, you have to pay for it - a 300 lb. Ninja 300R or CBR250R would cost $10k or more for the light weight components. In comparison to dirt bikes, the frame, wheels, suspension, alternator, steel tank, bigger triple clamps, much different frame and swing arm (large cross-section aluminum vs. steel), much larger batteries, handle bars, mirrors, rear subframes, seats all contribute to the difference in weight between Enduro (super light racing dirt bikes) and non-racing street bikes. The VERY light Daytona 675R weighs 415 lbs. wet. A 600cc supersport track bike weighs about 370 lbs and costs $20k plus. Also, we need to be very careful comparing published weights of older motorcycles with our new standards. The first year of the FZR-400 in Japan (1986) called the FZR-400 1WG had a claimed dry weight of 157 kg (345 lbs). This was when those weights didn't include battery or alternator, or engine oil, fork oil, etc. etc. The 1989 version of the FZR-400 for the US market had a published dry weight of 172.8 kg (380 lbs.) which included the battery and the alternator. With a 4.8 gallong fuel tank, full, the bike weighed 410 lbs. wet with all other fluids. The FZR-400 had an aluminum delta-box frame and had what we would now call super-sport level components. The new Ninja 300R doesn't. If it did, it would weigh less, and cost what a 600 cc supersport costs, whick is $10k - and no one (except maybe me) would buy it (see our thread on "Nobody will buy High spec 250-400cc sportbikes." http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=648218
I'm glad somebody mentioned this. Most of today's weight specs are "curb weight" and the whole super retarded dry/wet weight thing is finally going away. Last I heard, curb weight is all fluids/ready to ride with a half tank of fuel. It is a much more realistic way to measure this detail. Also, those old lightweight bikes had shitty suspension and shitty brakes. No thanks.
And that ain't the CRF250X engine either, it's a shared engine with the CRF250L. Totally different than a CRF-X. I'd be all in on a true SS 250-400 but I'll take the super light feel of a Ninja 250 anyway. I just spent a few miles on one in twisties (2012) and it is super toss-able. Light crank? Low rotating mass? Skinny tires? Whatever it adds up and it works. Even the shitty little front brake works alright. Better shock/forks would be welcome and a few aluminum components wouldn't break the bank but this is all you can get stock sooo. And I have a EXC530 that gets sumoto wheels swapped on. It climbs north of 280lbs with 17s and is basically stripped to bare minimum head/tail lights and switchgear. No mirrors, no nonsense. Even the "light"/exotic DS bikes aren't all that light.
Current 90 day average on my KLX686 is 64.25 mpg, with a high tank of 67.7 mpg. Needle selection on the FCR41 is very important for economy at low throttle settings vs power at WFO.
its AWESOME!! my scooter lovin', scooter ridin' ass is in for one 300cc, 379 pounds, agile, nimble, not too small, not too big. i'd say its perfect and cheap!
^well the abs version is $5500 but the base is $4800. i wouldn't expect to walk OTD under $6,000 all in, but that is still fairly reasonable imo. say $6250. i think thats pretty decent for a bike like this. i mean ok its not exactly "cheap" but it is a somewhat inexpensive way into a brand new bike that can do as much as this one lots of bigger cc bikes out there but most will run at least $2500 more if bought new. and many a good deal above that. so for this freeway capable, somewhat highway capable, and great around town bike? well, $4800 sounds a little cheap, at least.
That "shitty little front brake" will do stoppies, stock. How much more braking power do you think you can use? :huh
