Nimota CK9 - Riding the Lord of the Street

I bought my Nimota CK9 last week and now in the middle of testing the bike. The recommended selling price RM6400 OTR which includes insurance and road tax. The running in distance is recommended at 500km and according to the user's manual recomended engine oil is semi synthetic 15W/50. I have heard that riders also choose 10W40 with no issue

I can tell you now that my initial impression of this bike is rather good. I specifically love the riding position and also the low to mid range torque generated by the engine. The balance between weight and torque my riding style especially in town like Kuala Lumpur where you have to swerve accelerate decelerate most time. The ride is usually exciting due to the balance of power to weight ratio. I have read various reviews regarding this bike before deciding to purchase. I can tell you most of the reviews regarding Nimota CK9 is positive.

The only concern which I share with other CK9 users is the fact that it is generally difficult to place the bike into neutral. There were times that during the neutral position the indicator light would show neutral but im still on 1st! But with some practice you can get used to this. And also there is a workaround that I found out. At the moment the work around is under testing :P

Nimota CK9 an Introduction

This is a blog for fans of Nimota CK9 Motorbikes in Malaysia. Nimota CK9 is assembled in Johor Bahru and distributed throughout Malaysia by Motorcycle Bestbuy Sdn Bhd. Nimota CK9 is a what you called a Midrange Street Bike. In Malaysia this particular model is known as Nimota CK9, but elsewhere, example in India its is known as Yamaha FZ16 / FZS . In Indonesia is known as Yamaha Byson. You might get a bit confused by the various names but these variations are just model names but at most the specifications remains intact.

The original Yamaha FZ16 / FZ-S model according to wikipedia was originally launched and start production in 2008. Since then it has been relaunched almost every year and very much popular in the south asian markets , the relaunches are just cosmetics. Yamaha's FZ family is a successful series and this particular model obviously carries similar DNA.

The Yamaha FZ16/ FZ-S did not make it to shore here in Malaysia because its sibling the FZ150 is.  On specification the FZ150 is much more superior then the FZ-S but I can honestly tell you coming from a rider that has tested both of these bikes the 'fun' factor is much on the FZ-S side.

I can see why Nimota has made much effort to buy the rights to manufacture and assemble this model under a different brand . You cant go wrong with the original Yamaha FZ-S design and also the parts is much available in local markets. In singapore the FZ16 has a cult status and the parts is easily available. The FZ16 is popular because it is easily modified and also the accessories is abundance too online.

 

Nimota CK9 nevertheless differs in certain aspects. The engine has similar specifications but is  using a variation of Honda's CG200 engine design. CK9's engine is manufactured by LIFAN. The LIFAN LF200 engine uses the Push Rod system rather then timing chain in the Yamaha's engine. In my opinion the Push Rod system is more robust and with much technical reading from various motorbike web forums has better overall mileage wear characteristics in the long run. The obvious drawback is that the push rod system sounds more rough (louder) nevertheless, I love the rough macho sounds of a 4 stroke beast..

A push Rod system is popular in the early 1980's example on Toyota KE-20 and in classic motorcycles in the likes of Norton and also early Honda range of mid-range bikes.

The Lifan LF200 retains similar performance characteristics of the original FZ-S engine. The low to mid range performance and also the close 5 gears ratio is also seen in the Lifan engine. It churns out 14hps @ 8500 rpm. More of the riding and engine performance in my 'Riding the Beast pages.