While Yamaha continues to remain sleepy about the YZF-R25’s Indian foray, Kawasaki has gone ahead and strengthened its 250-300cc brigade by launching its super-hot and most affordable bike in India, the Z250. The little naked’s looks are inspired by the much more expensive inline-four Z1000 and Z800 hooligans from Kawasaki. It’s obvious that the fit and finish would be second to none and let’s take a look briefly into the ‘heart’ of the matter, the engine, and the surrounding bits.
The 249cc parallel twin motor is liquid-cooled and breathes through eight valves operated by dual overhead camshafts. Fuel injection is taken care of by two 28 mm Keihin throttle bodies to produce a maximum power output of 32 PS at 11,000 rpm. A six-speed transmission will keep the rear 140/70-17 tyre busy while a 300 mm petal disc at the front and a 220 mm petal disc at the rear have been employed for anchoring duties. Funnily, the website mentions that the bike has “dual” discs at the front!
Shock absorbing responsibilities have been entrusted to conventional 37 mm forks up front and a gas-charged monoshock at the rear. A kerb weight of 168 kgs does not make this a light motorcycle for the segment (but it is light for 2 cylinders) but a seat height of 785 mm means that even shorter riders won’t have a problem in handling this bike in rush hour traffic.
The bike is 2,010 mm long and has a wheelbase of 1,400 mm. These measurements would mean nothing to you if we don’t bring in a comparison. So, it’s eight mm longer than the KTM Duke 390 and the wheelbase is whopping 60mm longer than the KTM too!
The chink in the armour for small Kawsakis in India has always been the price, and this one is no exception – at INR 2.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) this gorgeous twin-cylinder motorcycle, despite being the cheapest Kawasaki in India, will still remain a lot more expensive than the mad KTMs. Just for reference, the first Ninja 250R when launched in 2009 in India cost Rs 2.69 Lakhs!
We are sharing a price and spec comparo shortly..
Related: Are These First Ever Spy Pics of 4-Cylinder Ninja 250 – ZX2R…?
