Kawasaki's new single-cylinder Ninja 250SL

This is exciting news for all green-blooded Kwaker aficionados in India who have been waiting for a pocket friendly Ninja. Kawasaki has officially revealed a brand new single-cylinder 250cc Ninja which has already set the cyber space on fire.

Christened as Kawasaki Ninja RR Mono and in some markets as the Ninja 250SL, this nimble, light and affordable quarter-litre bike could be what people in emerging markets like India have been waiting for. This single-cylinder model offers a little less power but more torque than the parallel-Twin Ninja 250R, and at the same time weighs about 20kg less. This could mean that the new bike has a surprisingly good power-to-weight ratio and would be a nimble handling machine.

Interestingly, the 250SL has an all-new steel trellis frame, different than the current Ninja 250 and 300, with focus on handling and maneuverability. Equipped with a single headlight, the overall design of the new Ninja does hint at elder sibling - the ZX-6R. To save cost, the 250SL borrows plenty of parts from the Ninja 300 basket, which includes the exhaust and alloy wheels.

The new single-cylinder engine is a liquid-cooled fuel-injected 249cc mill, which according to Kawasaki can churn out 27.6PS at 9700rpm and 23 Nm at 8200 revs, compared to the twin-cylinder’s 33PS at 11000 rpm and 22Nm at 10000 rpm. The 250SL has a claimed weight of 150kg (the optional ABS adds a meager 2kg) compared to the Ninja 250 which weighs about 172kg.

A pair of 37mm telescopic fork and rear monoshock with five-setting preload adjustable and a Uni-trak linkage, comprises the suspension setup. Braking is taken care with two-piston calipers biting 263mm front disc and 193mm rear disc. Its thinner tyres, with a 100/80-17 up front and a 130/70-17 at the rear, the 250Sl boasts of saving 500 grams of unsprung weight.

The current Ninja 300 is the most expensive bike sold in the Indian 250-300cc segment, where Honda CBR 250R, Suzuki Inazuma 250 and even the KTM 390 undercutting the Kawasaki. When the new Ninja 250SL comes to our shore it would be priced very aggressively so that it gets a fair chance to fight competition. Now that we’ve seen what it looks like, we can’t wait to hear the price.