Finally, the 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 650R will be launched in India on the 9th of August

Its been almost a year long wait for motorcycle enthusiasts ready to lap up the most popular sports tourer option in India in the high end sportsbike segment. Oh yes, we’re talking about the 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 650R, which has been some time in the coming, to the Indian motorcycle market. The 2012 Ninja 650R, which comes with a host of changes has even given way to the 2013 version internationally, even India is yet to see the 2012 version. That said, the 2013 model doesn’t add anything much to the motorcycle except the ABS safety option and a wider choice of paint jobs.

2012 Kawasaki Ninja 650R Sports Touring Motorcycle

Finally, we have a date on which Bajaj Auto will launch the 2012 Ninja 650R in the Indian market. Come the 9th of August, the 2012 Ninja 650R will finally arrive into India, at a higher price tag than the previous model. Expect to shell out a premium of INR 50,000 for the new model, to make for an ex-showroom price a little over INR 5 lakhs. While we hear that Kawasaki might offer the anti-lock braking system(ABS) as an option even on the 2012 version of the Ninja 650R as the 2013 model of the motorcycle is pretty much unchanged from the previous version except for the addition of ABS, we still are yet to get confirmation about this crucial addition.

If indeed ABS is added to the 2012 Ninja 650R as an optional extra, expect the price of the motorcycle to go up by about another INR 30,000 as the international model with the ABS option is about $500 pricier than the non-ABS model. The 2012 Ninja 650R gets a new engine map to boost low end and mid range power delivery, for better rideability across the rev range. The 650cc parallel twin, four stroke engine though, retains the 72 Bhp-66 Nm power and torque output. The motorcycle comes with a stiffer suspension that makes handling more sharper.

2012 Kawasaki Ninja 650R Sports Touring Motorcycle

The revised styling on the 2012 model makes the motorcycle look much sharper than the previous version, which looked quite commuter-ish, to say the least. Talking of which, the 2012 Ninja 650R is a commuter motorcycles in many parts of the developed world due to its relaxed riding position and friendly power delivery. In India, this motorcycle competes with the likes of the Hyosung Gt650R, the GT650N and the Ducati Monster 796, in terms of price positioing. The 2012 Kawasaki Ninja will be assembled in India at India Kawasaki Motor’s Chakan plant, from CKD kits imported from Thailand.