Kawasaki Ninja 250SL

The Kawasaki Ninja 250SL is designed to be an entry-level performance sports bike with a chunky fully faired design. It has quite a lot of cues taken from the bigger siblings, like the similar tail section and fairing.

However, that is where the similarities end. Up front, it has a single headlamp unit instead of the dual. This offers great illumination and is adjustable too. The rider’s seat is extremely contoured and the pillion has a split unit, which is a little small to be offering a lot of comfort.

The rider can have a comfortable ride as well as a lean-over sporty ergonomics as the foot pegs are not very rear set but the clip-on handlebars are quite low. The wheels are styled with amazing looking alloy design.

The Kawasaki Ninja 250SL has the same riding dynamics as the other motorcycles in the range. Which means, it has the same high revving engine with linear and outright power delivery to the wheel.

It is suspended over a very fine setup having telescopic front forks and Uni-Trak at the rear. The bike isn’t the heaviest in the segment and weighs just 151 kilograms, making it one of the lightest models in the range. This makes its very flickable in busy traffic and also handles well around corners where you can lean without much discomfort or insecurity. It also has a very low seat height of just 780 mm, which is 5 mm lower than the naked counterpart, making it apt for short riders as well.

The Ninja 250SL follows the same path as shown by its bigger siblings. As for an example, it has a tremendously powerful performance on its throttle from its engine. It is driven by the same motor that does the duties under the hood of the Z250SL, the naked street version.

This is a 249cc single cylinder engine which has the four-valve airflow setup. This setup is quite capable of making a maximum power of 28 horses at 9,700 rpm along with a peak torque of 22.6 Nm at 8,200 rpm. The produced power is sent down to the wheel via a 6-speed gearbox, which is very smooth on the shifts and does not get clunky at all.

The Ninja 250SL does possess an amazing braking performance where the stopping power is wonderful. The disc brakes at both the wheels have a good bite even at high speeds. However, if you fear an accident while braking at high speeds, the ABS helps you keep the wheels planted on the turf firmly.

The diamond frame, undoubtedly, adds to the handling bits where the rider does not have to fear about mishandling and can control the bike with absolute ease. The tyres on the 17-inch wheels are quite grippy and hold on to the ground with a minimum skidding even when you apply the brakes real hard.

The Kawasaki Ninja 250SL does have all the good qualities to make it one of the most amazing motorcycles in the lightweight sports segment. It is extremely powerful for its engine and is closely in line with the other big Ninja siblings, mainly for its outright power and performance.

Competing against the KTM RC200, it is much more powerful and affordable at the same time, making it highly preferable for the motorcycle enthusiasts who are in search of an entry-level sports bike.