Comments on: 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 650: MD First Ride (Bike Reports) (News)

By: zuki

zuki — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:28:53 +0000

The only thing I want to comment on in your comment is what century do you think you are living in? The 21st or the 20th? I certainly don’t agree that your ’58 Triumph is 19th century engineering, unless maybe you converted it to run on steam.

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By: Reinhart

Reinhart — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 03:41:10 +0000

The trend in motorcycling seems to be add a little weight, take away a little horsepower. It won’t be long before powered skateboards will be passing us up!

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By: Hawkeye

Hawkeye — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:28:06 +0000

I own a 2006 Ninja 650R with Micron header pipes, and exhaust, and Power COmmander and custom fuel mapping for more horsepower and torque in the 4500 to 6000 rpm range. I rode the 2012 model, and its tuned very much like my bike, so it’s more enjoyable for everyday street use, and it has so many other features that make it better. THe new seat is excellent, the bars and pegs are rubber mounted, the instruments are better, the adjustable shield, and the frame does feel stiffer. THe 2012 is significantly different and better than earlier models, and the bike will exceed the riding capabilities of 85% of all the motorcycle riders on the planet, regardless of what they think about their skills.

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By: ziggy

ziggy — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:32:41 +0000

Try as I might, I cannot see any real substantive changes in this bike from previous model years, or for that matter, any iterative refinements that would significantly improve the riding experience. Fortunately for MD staff it WAS raining so as to cut short Kawasaki’s colossal waste of MD eds and staff man hours.