The most happening motorcycle segment in India will soon be the 250cc segment. The quarter liter bikes which will be at the forefront of this action will be the Kawasaki Ninja 250R and the soon to be launched Honda CBR250R. The Kawasaki Ninja has more power thanks to its twin cylinder engine but the CBR250R enjoys a major price advantage of over a lakh. However overall which is the bike to pick? Well Motorcycle USA recently put both the bikes in a comparison test to find out and their results are no surprise. Does the Kawasaki Ninja 250R retain the best 250cc motorcycle in the world tag or the Honda CBR250R takes over?
Dyno result of the Honda CBR250R
Max. Power Output – 26 Ps @ 8500 rpm
Max. Torque – 22.9 Nm @ 7000 Rpm
Dyno result of the Kawasaki Ninja 250R
Max. Power Output – 33 Ps @ 11,000 Rpm
Max. Torque – 22 Nm @ 8200 Rpm
Honda CBR250R vs Kawasaki Ninja 250R
- The Ninja in the U.S. is a carb version and thus cost the same in the U.S.
- The Honda weighs 7 kgs less than the Kawasaki at 162 kgs.
- The CBR250R’s clutch is lighter but the Ninja’s clutch has better feel.
- The CBR250R is very easy to ride and the low end torque makes it a breeze in the city.
- The Ninja 250R does not feel out of breath on the highway, the CBR 250R does.
- The Ninja has a higher red line due to which overtaking at high speeds is easier than the Honda.
- ABS on the CBR250R does not work that great, both bikes have similar braking performance.
- The CBR has a more comfortable seat than the Ninja.
- The CBR delivers slightly better fuel efficiency compared to the Ninja.
- Contrary to popular beliefs, the Kawasaki engine feels smoother than the Honda.
- The Kwacker feels more planted and has slightly better build quality too.
- The CBR turns more heads than the Ninja.
- The Kawasaki Ninja 250R is overall a better bike than the Honda CBR250R.
Read the complete comparison test here.
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes Ninjas are quite forward
Ninja Carb version should be brought to india
We must also think that ninja is priced 1.8 lac more than cbr 250 R, since ninja is a parallel twin cylinder engine type and cbr is a single cyl. engine model. CBR 250 R is designed to the asian road conditions with its great low end torque, Where as ninja is meant to ride comfortably in highways. In Indian conditions, CBR 250 R is the perfect match. Also it is focused on Asian countries.
Even with its single cylindered mill CBR shows the power delivery equal to the ninja with half the ninja’s price.
Only defect in CBR is that it performs low at speeds above 180KMPH. ( better dream speed in India ).
I completely agree to Anand..
I think The ninja is the better than the honda cbr
Sisir, yes the Ninja 250R is better but think about it, for the price of a Ninja you can buy a Honda CBR250R and a RE Classic 500 :p
Ninja’s price is also better than the CBR dude.. I will prefer to buy a CBR and keep a Yamaha R15 for variety in that price.
Dear All ,
No dobut Ninja is better than CBR 250 but As per India Standard , Most of the Indians caf Afforad CBR250 instead of Ninja ,
So CBR is the best ……….
sure,cbr 250 is 100%better than ninja.because in terms of performance ninja touches 0 to 100 with in 8.2 seconds. but a cbr 250 touches it with in 6.3 seconds but in top speed ninja beats cbr ninja got a top speed of 172 kmph i ride it.but as per magazine report it touches 160 kmph only.and there is only a very few service network for kawasaki but honda got a descent service network.cbr got better millage also than ninja.and at last the price you all know the ex showroom price of ninja is 300000 approx and cbr only 1.4 and 1.7 for abs version so honda is better in every way.
Guys, I have taken ride on both the babies and from my personal experience I would say that Ninja is better when it comes to speed and power, no doubts about it. While I was really surprised by the fact that CBR was able to reach the torque performance of Ninja even though it was a single cylinder which is quite amazing. Though for youngsters like us there is no doubt we would prefer Ninja because of the thrill of speed, but the question is how often are we going to make use of it. Mostly it is going to rot in the city traffic, if you are a Delhite or a Bangalorean. And after few years you would start thinking that you wasted double the money to harness a power threshold which you have hardly crossed at times. And mind the fact that still 60% of these youngsters are still college going and from the Indian middle class who prefers value for money than sheer pleasure. So guys think about that before you do any criticism. Moreover I would say that Honda made a nice Marketing move by pricing it within a lakh and a half.
I owned the Ninja for 2 months and just did a testdrive on the CBR 250 R.
Althought the Ninja is a more ‘serious’ bike qua speed, bhp and size the CBR 250 R is much more fun to drive on the little backroads. Honda should give it a little bit more power and it should loose some weight.
HEY GUYS, JUST WAIT FOR YAMAHA R 25 (250CC) SPORTS BIKE TO ARRIVE IN INDIA. EVERY ONE WILL FORGET THE CBR’S & NINJA’S FOR SURE ! YAMAHA R 25 WILL F*** THE SHIT OUT OF ALL ITS COMPETITORS ! YAMAHA IS THE BEST SPORTS BIKE MAKER IN THE UNIVERSE ! YES YAMAHA !!!!!!