Upon its launch, the BS6 compliant Kawasaki Ninja 300 will compete against TVS Apache RR 310 and the upcoming KTM RC 390
A couple of days ago, Kawasaki had teased two upcoming bikes from its lineup on its social media handle out of which one was suspected to be the 2021 Ninja 300. Today, the Japanese superbike manufacturer confirmed it by officially revealing the updated entry-level Ninja on its India website.
However, going by a couple of images released by Team Green, it seems the updates strictly cosmetic in nature and too very subtle. Though this was expected. But as Ninja 300 has been carrying the same design language for many years, a change would have given the motorcycle a fresh design.
Cosmetic Update
The cosmetic update is in the form of a new paint scheme that comprises shades of lime green, black, and white with hints of red accents here and there. Its overall design is intact which continues to feature a twin-pod headlight cluster, split-style seats, a muscular fuel tank, front blinkers integrated into the fairing and a chrome heat shield on the muffler. The white engine cowl with red highlights truly accentuates its sporty appeal.
Specs
Another crucial update is in its engine department which is the BS6 complaint now. It will derive its power from the same 296cc liquid-cooled four-stroke parallel-twin engine and will be mated to a six-speed gearbox.
In its BS4 guise, this motor churned out 38.4 bhp at 11,000 rpm and a peak torque of 27 Nm at 10,000 rpm. Although exact specs are still in dark, we expect the output figures to remain more or less similar in the BS6 iteration.
Other mechanical configurations are also expected to remain the same. This includes a tube diamond steel frame which is suspended on telescopic forks at front and a preload-adjustable mono-shock at rear. Anchorage duties are handled by a single disc brake on each wheel while the safety net is imparted by dual-channel ABS.
BS6 Ninja Price & Versys X300
The BS6 updated Ninja 300 is slated to hit showrooms very soon while further details are expected to surface in the near future. The last retail price of the BS4 compliant Ninja 300 was Rs 2.98 lakh (ex-showroom). We can expect a premium of around Rs 10,000-15,000 on the updated faired sports bike.
The other bike in the making, as teased earlier, is suspected to be the Japanese bikemaker’s entry-level adventure tourer Versys X300. If and when launched in India, it will rival the likes of other entry-level adventure motorcycles such as KTM 250 Adventure, Royal Enfield Himalayan and BMW G310 GS. With adventure tourers slowly gathering momentum in India, it will be sensible for Kawasaki to cash in and reap some benefits.
