[Bazza]

Play with me a minute while I ramble.

Is the H2 ostensibly a Halo Marketing ploy? Ok its more than a ploy but at least hear me out.

Kawasaki has had sheer dominance of the small sportbike market for YEARS. Honda just got legitimate skin in the game recently with their 250/300, Yamaha is now in this segment as well. Yes I know they all play in small sportbikes in the SE Asian Markets, but I'm talking the majors, Europe/US/Oz.

Anecdotally, every rider I know who started life on a Ninjette ended up upgrading to another Kawasaki when time came. The Ninjette was breeding clients for life. You could argue that this client stream was coming under threat.

So my thought was that the H2 serves as a Massive Halo for the enitre brand, by association the rookie gets wood just thinking that his Ninjette wears the same stickers as the BIG Ninja...

I'm not saying its the prime motivator for building the H2 (thats a massively long con if so) but I am saying its certainly an excellent side effect...

 

[willem mertens]

what is halo marketing ?

 

[NinJAHfu]

By halo marketing I think he means a type of marketing that uses a Halo product, something that says about a brand “This is what we’re all about.”, using it to the brands marketing advantage to benefit the brand as a whole and not just the H2.

 

[Juggernaut]

Its the dreamy product that all the other products take inspiration from. Its the product where they didn't have to worry about budget or other limitations. Its the machine that Kawasaki wanted to build. People associate it with other Kawasaki products and also see it as a product which they can aspire to own in the future.

 

[McCarthy]

It sure is... a PR stunt in the first place.

But don't get me started on the 250 Ninja. That's not even a sport bike by any means. It's a freaking standard bike with fairings to make it look like a sport bike.

Single sided front brake rotor, raised handlebars, not even real clip-ons, extremely heavy for its small engine, bad geometry, rear sets way to low, no adjustable suspension. They manufactured the same crap for almost 25 years. This 'bike' starts to corrode even if sitting in a garage on many parts.

Yep, I really hate this stupid - wannebe sport bike - moped.

I'd rather get a WR250F and turn it supermoto than being seen on a 250 / 300 Ninja / CBR.

You have to be pretty stupid to ride a ninjette and feel like owning the small brother of a H2; or any other real sport bike for that matter. Almost like walking around with a $170 fake Rolex.

 

[Bazza]

It sure is... a PR stunt in the first place.

But don't get me started on the 250 Ninja. That's not even a sport bike by any means. It's a freaking standard bike with fairings to make it look like a sport bike.

Single sided front brake rotor, raised handlebars, not even real clip-ons, extremely heavy for its small engine, bad geometry, rear sets way to low, no adjustable suspension. They manufactured the same crap for almost 25 years. This 'bike' starts to corrode even if sitting in a garage on many parts.

Yep, I really hate this stupid - wannebe sport bike - moped.

I'd rather get a WR250F and turn it supermoto than being seen on a 250 / 300 Ninja / CBR.

You have to be pretty stupid to ride a ninjette and feel like owning the small brother of a H2; or any other real sport bike for that matter. Almost like walking around with a $170 fake Rolex.

And yet people do it, value of the image over value of the object, but that's a messy conversation...

supposedly thats the new Ninjette, look how it apes the H2. The lamps shaped like intakes, even the lower lip of the lamps is identical to the lower lip of the H2's intakes...

 

[Clover]

It sure is... a PR stunt in the first place.

But don't get me started on the 250 Ninja. That's not even a sport bike by any means. It's a freaking standard bike with fairings to make it look like a sport bike.

Single sided front brake rotor, raised handlebars, not even real clip-ons, extremely heavy for its small engine, bad geometry, rear sets way to low, no adjustable suspension. They manufactured the same crap for almost 25 years. This 'bike' starts to corrode even if sitting in a garage on many parts.

Yep, I really hate this stupid - wannebe sport bike - moped.

I'd rather get a WR250F and turn it supermoto than being seen on a 250 / 300 Ninja / CBR.

You have to be pretty stupid to ride a ninjette and feel like owning the small brother of a H2; or any other real sport bike for that matter. Almost like walking around with a $170 fake Rolex.

Did you own a 250 Ninja or are you just saying this from stuff you have read or friends??

 

[Bluesun]

My very first bike was a Ninja 250 -- I outgrew it very fast, but it was a great bike to start on, I think. It's about as kid-gloves of a motorcycle as you can get. It probably didn't handle the best, but I wasn't trying to throw it through twisties, I was just trying to learn to not die.

 

[NinJAHfu]

My very first bike was a Ninja 250 -- I outgrew it very fast, but it was a great bike to start on, I think. It's about as kid-gloves of a motorcycle as you can get. It probably didn't handle the best, but I wasn't trying to throw it through twisties, I was just trying to learn to not die.

Good choice on a first bike. How long did it take you to outgrow it? Did you keep it stock or did modifications to it over the time frame you owned it.

 

[Bluesun]

Good choice on a first bike. How long did it take you to outgrow it? Did you keep it stock or did modifications to it over the time frame you owned it.

I bought it as a salvage during the winter, then rebuilt it leading up to spring. I rode it all that summer, then late that fall I bought an old CBR600F2 ('92). I still remember how incredibly fast that thing seemed. I didn't mod the Ninja at all -- left it stock, and ended up selling it for a good price. I was 17/18 at the time, and I can think of plenty of instances where starting on a 600 would have been a bad idea compared to the 250. Whenever I see people make "first bike" posts with liter bikes or even new 600's, I cringe thinking back to when I started riding. I can't imagine riding my K5 with even a year or two of experience.

 

[Bazza]

And yet people do it, value of the image over value of the object, but that's a messy conversation...

supposedly thats the new Ninjette, look how it apes the H2. The lamps shaped like intakes, even the lower lip of the lamps is identical to the lower lip of the H2's intakes...

To build on this, its about selling new bikes. Kawasaki's largest competition int he entry level market (ostensibly) is themselves. Their new Ninjettes compete with everysingle used 250 on craigs/kijiji. If they can ape style, and impart that feeling into their new 300's big win.

Just look how Yamaha uses Rossi/Lorenzo and the M1 to sell small displacement sport bikes, essentially the same playbook...