This year, the Ninja 250R joins a hallowed group of motorcycles that embody the very best of Indian biking
It is only fitting that the most enviable and hotly contested crown in the Indian motorcycling arena went to the most hyped and eagerly awaited bike in Indian history, the Kawasaki Ninja 250R. Even before its launch, this smallest member of the Ninja family had ignited the imagination of generations of bikers who were deprived of sportiness and forced to contend with the maddeningly slow rise of Indian ‘performance bikes’. First shown at the 2008 Auto Expo in New Delhi, the Ninja took its own sweet time reaching showroom floors but when it finally came, it blew away the minds of every enthusiast who hopped on for a first ride.

Powered by a liquid-cooled, parallel twin displacing 249cc, the Ninja was far ahead of everything the Indian enthusiast had ever seen – with the exception of the CBU imports. The max power of 33PS and 22Nm of turning force were enough to propel this nimble sportsbike to a top speed of 152km/h given the right roads. Petal discs at the front and the rear, in true Kawasaki fashion, not only look the part but also do an excellent job of hauling down the machine from triple speeds in a jiffy. Even at a standstill, the bike draws attention with its aggressive looks and family derived signature green paintjob. What makes the Ninja’s case even more worthwhile is that we are getting the full bells and whistles European (or Thai) version as opposed to the restricted US version.

The 2010 IMOTY jury comprised of India’s top journalists from various automotive magazines across the country. This year, the list included Aspi Bhathena and Bunny Punia of BIKE India, Bijoy Y Kumar of Business Standard Motoring, Girish Karkera and Debabrata Sarkar of Top Gear India, Vikrant Singh of Auto Bild and Shubhabrata Marmar and Bertrand D’souza of Overdrive.