At Rs 12.80 lakh, the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R is India's most affordable litre-class superbike!
Kawasaki has dropped prices of its flagship superbike, the Ninja ZX-10R by a whopping 6 lakh rupees, and the bike is now priced at Rs 12.80 lakh ex-showroom New Delhi. The Ninja ZX-10R is the newest motorcycle to be assembled locally by the Japanese manufacturer at its plant at Chakan near Pune, which has helped it price the motorcycle significantly lower. The more exotic and higher specced Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR also costs significantly lower at Rs 16.10 lakh ex-showroom New Delhi now (down by Rs 5.80 lakh), which is in fact lower than the standard versions of every other litre-class superbike on sale in India.
A 30 percent price-drop, at least for the time being, should help the Kawasaki generate some serious interest from superbike buyers
The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR is on offer only in black, while the Ninja ZX-10R is available in a KRT (Kawasaki Racing Team) livery. The ZX-10RR gets a host of trick bits over the standard ZX-10R, including a DLC (diamond like coating) treatment on its valve tappets and the engine on the RR can also take in higher-lift cams. The RR also gets an updated cooling system and reinforced crankcase along with more track-focused gear ratios to help it lap racetracks quicker. Other goodies include a bi-directional quickshifter, lighter, forged Marchesini wheels and Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP tyres. That said, the engine powering the ZX-10R and ZX-10RR is the same, 998cc, liquid-cooled, inline four cylinder engine producing 200PS at 13,000rpm and 113.5Nm at 11,500rpm.
The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R is thus the most affordable litre-class superbike in the country, though the catch here is that the aforementioned prices are valid only for the month of July 2018. The manufacturer has clearly stated in a press release issued to the media that prices will see an upward revision post July. Despite the revision we expect the ZX-10R to still cost lesser than other litre-class superbikes. Effectively, the Ninja ZX-10R is now priced lower than the Ducati 959 Panigale, which is positioned as a super-middleweight sportsbike and is priced at Rs 14.53 lakh ex-showroom New Delhi.
At Rs 16.10 lakh ex-showroom, the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR still costs lesser than the standard versions of every litre-class superbike in the country, and that's despite being the higher specced version of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R
The Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade is the next most affordable litre-class superbike after the ZX-10R, retailing at Rs 16.79 lakh ex-showroom, followed by the BMW S 1000 RR at Rs 17.90 lakh. Then comes the Yamaha YZF-R1 priced at Rs 18.16 lakh ex-showroom, followed by the Suzuki GSX-R1000 that costs Rs 19.80 lakh ex-showroom. The Ducati Panigale V4 retails at Rs 20.53 lakh ex-showroom and the Aprilia RSV4 at Rs 20.99 lakh ex-showroom in comparison. All prices here are for the standard versions of each superbike, and their more exotic equivalents of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR are priced even higher.
A raft of launches over the past few years in other middleweight and full-sized segments like sport nakeds and adventure tourers have had the litre-class superbike segment witness a dip in sales and interest levels overall as compared to say a decade ago. This is also due to litre-class superbikes' cumbersomeness to ride outside of racetracks. But with manufacturers focusing increasingly on local assembly operations to price superbikes lower, the segment might just see renewed interest, particularly from experienced buyers.
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