2025 Kawasaki Ninja 500 vs the 2015 KTM RC390

The Kawasaki is quite the conservative motorcycle.
The one above is the basic no frills version, however, for a few more dollars, you can get the KRT version (Kawasaki Racing Team!) with a go faster paint job (black with green graphics), LED indicators, and a full colour display, rather than Black & White. Note how nothings been added to make it actually go faster than the basic model..

It’s a basic, no frills product thats well thought out., and there’s very little to complain about as a result.

Pro’s

It’s comfortable
It’s just as fast as the old KTM.
It starts reliably and runs well, even when cold
The clock keeps time
It’s nicer to ride in the rain, even if the tyres don’t seem to stick as well.

Cons

a lack of character, it doesn’t inspire you like a European bike tends to.

KTM’s image is decidedly edgy and all about that racing image..

This RC390 was the first of a new class of smaller sports bikes first introduced in 2014. Yamaha, Honda, etc soon got around to bringing out their own versions, but to me, they missed the raw energy and single-mindedness that typically comes with a European bike.

On paper, the RC390 has better front forks, and tyres, compared to the Kawasaki, which should translate into better handling, but somehow it doesn’t.

In the end, the Kawasaki just goes around corners easier and faster than the KTM. The KTM feels faster, but the speedo doesn’t lie.

Pro’s

It has better mid range torque
It sounds better

Cons

It strains your wrists around town, because of the head down, bum up riding position.
If your stuck in traffic, the radiator fan blows hot air at you.
A ‘low fuel’ alarm screams at you, even though there’s heaps of gas left.
It’s stable in corners, but I never felt comfortable pushing it that hard.
It never ran well when cold and would cut out at every intersection until warmed up. restarting it was generally a mission, rather like waking up your dad when he’s drunk.
Hot starts were OK, except when it was in a tempermental mood (often)
The clock is a waste of time.

That conservative vs edgy image is illustrated nicely by comparing the manuals provided with each bike..

A plain black & white manual in a plastic bag

In conclusion, the Kawasaki’s just better all round, and easier to live with. KTM still make the RC390 as I write this, but given their financial woes, and their well known glitchyness, I can’t imagine a newer one been much different or better.

Humor XX I

Private School Girl Concerned Social Media Ban Will Reduce Awareness Of Wanaka Holiday

A petition to exit the W.H.O (world health organisation)

In the aftermath of the covid scamdemic, attention has been drawn to those unaccountable and unelected groups that led us into making everyone’s lives into a living hell for no good reason, with all their unnessessary lockdowns, mandates, etc for a disease that only affected the elderly who already had one foot in the grave.

One of these groups is the W.H.O. that New Zealand is signed up with.

During that ‘pandemic’, NZ simply followed their recommendations, and it is now apparent that our Government were heavily influenced by the W.H.O during the scamdemic.
(ref 107, 108 -white paper)

Of note during the covid years was that if a person died ‘with covid’ it was listed as a covid death as per the W.H.O’s instructions.
This is how a man who was shot and died at the scene of his gunshot wounds was listed as a covid death…

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300451032/new-lynn-homicide-man-senselessly-shot-dead-outside-motel-had-covid19

Interestingly, the W.H.O only has full control over about 25% of their own funding as the majority comes from private investors with ‘strings attached’ -they decide where their ‘donations’ are spent. (as an example, a Tobacco company could theoratically donate funds to promote smoking as a medical enhancement).
(ref 17 -white paper)

Pharmaceutal companies also contribute to the W.H.O. (33.3 million in 2020) in what is arguably a conflict of interest.
(ref 33 -white paper)

Another curiosity is that they update their rules with minimal consultation. It’s tacitly accepted you agree with them, unless your government actively says ‘No’

Of real concern is the sexual abuse of over 100 women during an Ebola outbreak in Congo by W.H.O employees, who are accountable to no one as they have diplomatic immunity.
(ref 83 – 89 -white paper)

Several petitions have been started to force the issue into public view and get some debate on this issue.

The website is here https://www.whoknows.co.nz/

The white paper I have used as a reference https://www.whoknows.co.nz/resources

I think its time that New Zealand stood on it’s own feet and made its own decisions about it’s own health, rather than pass the buck to a faceless, flawed organisation with it’s own agenda’s which aren’t nessessarily in NZ’s best interest.

In 2019, NZ was faced with a possible pandemic, We could of simply used our own pandemic plan.

influenza-pandemic-plan-framework-action-2nd-edn-aug17 Download

A minor hiccup

It’s been a year since we have moved out into the country from a city. It’s been mostly positive and peaceful. We have spent long hours reburbishing the house and land, which is hard work but also very rewarding. there’s a great sense of accomplishment that comes with it.

We had planned a party with friends to celebrate a year of living in the countryside in our new house, but then we had a gatecrasher turn up a few days beforehand in a the form of a tornado.

We were at home at the time. It was nightime with just a bit of rain and wind outside. Suddenly the wind started howling and the rain was hammering down like I’ve never heard before.

Then there’s several big flashes outside when tree branches hit the powerlines outside, which put us in the dark along with the neighbours.

It was all over in about within 2 minutes.

I checked out our chickens who were just fine as if nothing had happened. In contrast, it was a neighbour who was going feral screaming at anyone within hearing range. That in itself was a precursor to what would happen the next day.

I spent half the night helping to clear the road and all sorts of other stuff with neighbours

The next day had contractors running around cleaning up the mess. The feral neighbour had lost their own powerlines on there own property which are there responsibility.

Unfortunately, it was one of our trees that took them out, so they decided that it was our fault and kept hassling us to admit liability. I simply told them this was an insurance issue.

It turns out they had organised contractors to repair their powerlines, these guys had demanded that they be paid on the day. The neighbour admitted at one point that they didn’t have any money to pay them.

It came to a head, when they sent their contractors over to us, with initial demands that we pay half the bill in their name, and that they wont leave until paid

Apparently, it was too hard for these contractors to put the bill in our name, so a standoff ensued while my wife checked with our insurance company to check weather we should actually pay it.

After they overheard my wife’s conversation with our agent explaining that half the bill would need to be in our name with the correct amount, they miraciously produced the correct paperwork!

I cant say my wife was impressed. Technically, she could of just trespassed them off our property, and had their vehicle towed, since we never employed them and they had no paperwork signed by us. My wife had to handle this alone, because I rushed off to get a new waterpump before the shops closed for the weekend.

It was all over by the time I got back, and I put the new waterpump in as the sun was setting down.

The next day, everything was back to that typical country serenity and we had that party as we had planned.

As for the neighbours, they are basically wiggling around a lot, and we have people that would like to talk to them.