Kawasaki 650R

[red2kcbr]

My daughter bought the new Kawi 650R, and I got to spend a little time riding it. Pretty nice bike. Handles very well, just added one click of pre-load. That's the only suspension adjustment available. Wide superbike handlebars, excellent distance between steering lock right to left. Feels light and nimble, came with Bridgestone BT014s I think. She took it away from me, so I can't look to confirm. Engine is very torquey, makes about 64 HP at the wheel, if I remember the article. This bike is a blast to ride. Good for seat-height-challenged people. The red anodized frame looks trick, as does the side-mount shock and underbelly exhaust. Both the silver and the black versions look nice; she chose the silver.

There was an annoying bodywork vibration, but Kawasaki has a damping kit that took care of that. Overall, a sweet ride at a nice price. Good for short people, or perhaps less-experienced riders looking for their second bike, or even a first bike.

Wheelies and stoppies are not a problem. Could use a little more initial bite in the front brake maybe, but still has enough feel to brake hard with confidence. Six-speed tranny is smooth and didn't clunk. Neutral is a little hard to find, but I've seen worse. We were still taking it easy on it, but I saw 110 mph real quick. Hell, I'd ride this bike to work every day if it were mine. This thing is fun. It'll probably be good for 130 mph top speed. With a list price of $6300, and selling like hotcakes, we felt good about a $6K price. I'd probably have picked the SV650 instead, but the seat height put it out of her reach.

If you have a rookie rider or someone without a lot of inseam, this is one to check out.

 

[madmike2]

Yeah, here in Sacramento and the foothills we are seeing more and more of the 650R's. It seems like Kawi hit the market just right. And I agree, it'd make a great commuter bike, at least that's what I keep telling myself. :lol:

 

[Blueliner]

Yep, it is a nice bike. I've ridden Tina's a few times and abused a demo a bit. The little twin makes good stop light to stop light power. Overall, I have to agree that it is a capable and fun machine.

 

[In10city]

I really want to test one of these out. I keep thinking it would be a great bike for my wife to learn on the weekend and even better for my weekday commute. My ZZR is chewing up rear tires and fossil fuel like it's limitless. I try to keep the commute miles off the FJR becuase we keep putting a grand on it every weekend.

 

[radman]

Parallel twin powered mediums were my ride of choice for years and years. I still wrench on a couple of XS650's that I built and sold to new owners. A sweet torque curve, narrow dimensions, and light weight combine to make for the Perfect Bike.

 

[Tim05fjr]

Just picked one up with my girfriend on saturday.

We were out riding all morning. She just completed the MSF course last weekend and has been practicing on my Buell XB9s. She took to riding like a fish to water.

I've been telling her about the Ninja 650 for months now. Telling her it would be a great first bike for her. So we stopped by a Kawi dealer in a small town we were riding through. She sat on one and that was all it took. Ended up cutting a deal with a dealer closer to my house that I bought my FJR from.

She started out the day riding my Buell and by 4:00 in the afternoon was tooling around on her new black Ninja.

The bike is a total hoot to ride. Light and agile with plenty of power. All for under 7 grand out the door.

I'm going to put a slip on muffler for her because her only complaint is it doesn't sound tough enough. She got spoiled riding the Buell with the race kit muffler.

Tim

 

[650cent]

I hope kawasaki comes out with a dual-sport with that motor to replace the KLR. I would be all over that!

Bill

 

[tripletango]

I hope kawasaki comes out with a dual-sport with that motor to replace the KLR. I would be all over that!Bill

Nice bike but the original idea in it's new form is a good bet.

Bonnie is a babe.

The Guzzi breva 750 is a good bet for the birds too!

 

[red2kcbr]

Update: My son and I took the bike to south Texas three weeks ago to deliver it to my daughter. I started out riding, then ran into a hell of a rain and hail storm in Canton. Loaded it into the pickup. Made it fine, no hail damage to bike or truck. Got the bike unloaded, no problem. Parked it on a bit of a slope, and it promptly rolled off the kick stand and did $250 damage. Bent the handle bar, busted the side stand in-gear switch, and boogered up the bar end. And scratched the pretty silver paint a bit.

So I went back to south Texas last weekend, with a handle bar, a side stand switch, some Color-Rite paint, and a bar end.

Put it all back together, and it's just about like new. Unless you know where to look for the re-paint. Then I went riding (had to test it out) from Kerrville to Boerne to Bandera, and back to Kerrville.

Damn, what a fun little bike! I don't know how many miles I did that day, but I noticed the seat pushes you a bit forward. Not extremely comfortable. Likely candidate for a replacement. And a pipe would be nice. Otherwise, big fun. Handles well for inexpensive suspension components. Power is decent, especially if you spin it up a little.

Highway 16 from Bandera back to Kerrville is a blast! Next time I head south, I'll take the FJR and crank that road again.

 

[Blueliner]

The side stand is utter garbage on those things. I am going to modify Tina's one fo these days so it is more sure footed. Until then she is being real careful.

 

[evil_henchman]

Oops I thought we were talking about a different bike. Post removed :dribble: