Successor to the Ninja 250 and introduced in Canada in 2008, the new 2013 Kawasaki Ninja 300 is counting on its cc boost to challenge its closest rival, the CBR250R.


This little Ninja is aiming to play with the big boys, featuring a sleek modern frame with dual headlights, a floating windscreen in the style of the ZX-10R, and a tapered seat cowl jutting out the back. It's also hard to miss the integrated turn signal lights, and the exhaust with a clean-cut silencer which gives it a static look -- almost unheard of in a bike of its class.

The 2013 Kawasaki Ninja 300's technical specs are yet to be confirmed, but here are the major points: The new engine, still a liquid-cooled, twin cylinder, now runs at 296 cc. The Ninja's guts are worthy of a medium-size bike, with dual-throttle valve injection, “ride-by-wire” control and a slipper clutch, a device that reduces the risk of blocking the back wheel when decelerating.

According to Kawasaki's engineers, this little green bombshell now boasts an improved cooling system, reduced vibration and more power, surpassing its competition with 39 HP at 11,000 rpm. Certainly, the new Ninja 300 will remain fond of high speeds, and that's how we like it.

Photo: Kawasaki

Handling-wise, there are lots of new developments on the 2013 Kawasaki Ninja 300, including a more rigid frame, upgraded suspension to tame the surplus of power, a wider back wheel (140 mm) and an ABS braking system. The entirely redesigned dashboard includes an analog-style tachometer, a digital speedometer, a fuel gauge, a dual-trip meter, as well as an Economical Riding Indicator.

Even if the price is yet to be announced, we can readily predict that it won’t be higher than that of the CBR250R ABS. And, to add to the suspense, Kawasaki International is saying that the Ninja 300 is just the first of many new models for 2013. Let's speculate that Canada might get a new Z800 (to surpass the Z750 in Europe) and an entirely revamped ZX-6R, hopefully equipped with the quasi-intelligent KIBS ABS and the ZX-10R superbike's S-KTRC driver assist system.