Kawasaki Ninja 300 ABS

In the last five years, the Kawasaki Ninja 300 might have seen negligible changes in terms of design. However, such is the charm of overall styling that despite its age, it doesn’t feel much dated in appearance.

The dual angular headlamps at the front do give the Ninja 300 a mean and striking front fascia, however, we would love to see LED units here since the trend of LEDs is on right now. The transparent visor above the headlamps is not big enough, however, its short and pointy design does add in the aggression at the front. The trapezoidal turn indicators mounted integrated within the front fairing brings in some uniqueness to the Ninja 300.

Moving sideways, the large fairing gives the Ninja 300 a purposeful and big bike stance. The fuel tank is big and curvy with roomy knee recesses, which makes it accommodating for all kinds of rider heights. The lifted up tailpiece is wide in appearance and ends up in a small LED tail lamp, with a short fender attached to it at the rear. The Ninja 300 does come with split seats, and while the pillion seat is big and wide, it’s height as well as less practical grab rails reduce its overall comfort.

The one aspect which needs to be changed in the Ninja 300 has to be the part digital instrument console. While the analogue tachometer and the LCD screen showcasing digital speedometer, odometer, trip meters, and fuel gauge are quite informative, the overall layout feels aged in today’s age. The Ninja 300 is also equipped with clip-on handlebars and fairing mounted rear view mirrors, two pre-requisites for supersport motorcycles. Apart from the aforementioned things, there is no other cosmetic feature to make the Ninja 300 a motorcycle from today’s day and age.

Like all the other Ninjas on sale in the country right now, the Ninja 300 too is designed around a well-engineered chassis, making it a sweet handler. The 37 mm telescopic forks at the front and Bottom-Link Uni-Trak with gas-charged shock and 5-way adjustable preload settings are tuned on a stiffer side, which makes the Ninja 300 quite an agile tool around corners as well as on straights. The motorcycle is equipped with a 296 mm petal disc at the front and a 220 mm petal disc at the rear.

The Kawasaki Ninja 300 is fitted with a four-stroke, liquid-cooled, parallel twin, 296 cc engine, which is there on the Ninja 300 since day one of its inceptions. In the current guise, the engine produces 39 PS of maximum power output and 27 Nm of peak torque output. Coupled to a 6-speed gearbox, the engine impresses with its power delivery and refinement till redline, as it throttles all the way to the redline effortlessly. However, near the redline, the vibrations begin to creep in, though they do not feel to bothersome.

Being an entry-level motorcycle, the Kawasaki Ninja 300 is not heavily equipped with high-end electronic riding aids. However, the presence of dual channel ABS as well as slip and assist clutch makes the Ninja 300 a safe motorcycle to handle.

The Kawasaki Ninja 300 might not be a flashy and ultra-modern as some of its rivals from the European mates. However, when it comes to overall mechanical packaging, the Ninja 300 makes a strong case for itself. The big bike stance is surely impressive and keeps the Ninja 300 in league with some of the middleweight motorcycles in terms of appearance. However, we do wish it comes with a few more new-age features to make it feel lesser dated than what it is.