The demise of the Kawasaki Ninja 250 came about in 2012 when the company decided to up the capacity and bring in the Ninja 300. With the arrival of the Euro IV emission norms, the 300 was not adhering to the stated rules and hence Kawasaki decided to up the ante and bring in a bigger Ninja 400. This left a void lower down the order and thus Kawasaki has returned back to the Ninja 250 to continue prevailing in the quarter-litre segment.
The new Ninja 250 takes styling cues from is virtually identical to the Ninja 400, similarities drawn on the front fairing design, sharp nose, rear tail lights and headlight designs. It gets LED lights which are becoming common in the entry level sport bike segment.
An all-new 249cc parallel twin liquid-cooled DOHC mill churns out 38.4bhp at a whopping 12,500rpm! Maximum torque of 23.5Nm is also produced higher along in the rev range, to be precise at 10,000rpm. It is mated to a six-speed transmission. That is a rise of nearly 7bhp and 2.5Nm of torque compared to the previous Ninja 250.
The kerb weight of the new bike is 167kg. To put things into perspective it is 1kg less than the Ninja 400, seven kilos lighter than the Ninja 300 and 3 kilos lighter than the old Ninja 250. It gets the conventional telescopic front suspension and rear monoshock.