2020 KAWAS AKI NINJA 650
R I D E R E V I E W
P82
But, for so long now, there was
always a price to pay when it came
to these wallet-friendly and practical
bikes. And it had nothing do to with
greenbacks but instead—pizazz.
To keep MSRP attractive, middle-
weights often fall short when it
comes to having an aggressive, eye-
catching and racy look, which has
always been reserved for the premi-
um (and pricier) "super" sportbikes.
And middleweight sport motorcycles
usually lack panache when it comes
to engine performance and anything
not absolutely necessary to perform
well enough for whatever task the
bike is asked of it by its rider. In
other words, these bikes usually
come off the showroom floor pretty
bare-boned. At one time, you were
lucky if ABS was even offered as
an option. Things are changing,
though. The new Kawasaki Ninja
650 is proof of that.
However, the Ninja 650 has
always been a decent looker and
performer, more so after getting a
significant refresh in 2017. But Ka-
wasaki figured it was time for a dis-
tinctive visual update and blinged it
up with some fancy electronics.
From the Ninja's saddle, it's
impossible not to notice the
cockpit's new display.
Kawasaki fitted the
Ninja with a nice large
4.3-inch all-digital TFT
(thin-film-transistor technol-
ogy) color dash, a first for Japa-
nese middleweights. This gives
the Ninja that high-tech, high-
grade feel which you don't of-
ten find on a budget-minded
middleweight sportbike. And
the screen's background
Hard to believe this
bike sells for well under
$10,000! The Kawasaki
Racing Team coloring
and updated styling
give the Ninja 650 a
$20,000 look.
