1st Generation Ninja 300 - 2012-present

In 2012 Kawasaki announced the Ninja 300. They didn't stop making the Ninja 250, but the Ninja 250 is no longer sold in North America, making the Ninja 300 it's replacement. In some other markets the Ninja 250 and Ninja 300 are both available.

The Kawasaki Ninja 300 is pretty much a new design from the ground up, though it's still a basic parallel twin (this time with a displacement of 296cc) with a longer stroke and lower compression than the Ninja 250. Also added was fuel injection which had not been available on the Ninja 250s sold in North America, and an ABS brake option, again not previously available. The Ninja 300 also has a slipper clutch.

Dyno tested, the Ninja 300 makes round 34-35 bhp compared to the 25-26 bhp of the 4th generation Ninja 250 so it has significantly more power. It's also got more torque, around 18 lb.ft vs the 14 lg.ft of the 250. Top speed of the Ninja 300 is around 106 mph, with a 0-60 time in the 6 second range and a 1/4 mile time of around 14.5 seconds. Surprisingly fuel economy seems to be better with the Ninja 300 than the 250, with numbers around around 60 mpg being reported.

Of course the price increased, with the Ninja 300 selling (in 2013) for $4799 without ABS and $5499 with ABS (if you want a green one without ABS, it will cost you $4999).

Pretty much every review of the Ninja 300 is positive. Apart from the price it seems in just about every way to be a better and more capable bike than the 4th generation Ninja 250 was. Adding ABS and a slipper clutch make it a little safer, especially for inexperienced riders, but it's still a good bike for learning on. The extra power over the 250 is real and very useful, but it doesn't have the excess power and hair trigger acceleration that can get the novice rider into trouble very quickly on larger displacement sports bikes.