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A ride on Naza’s latest N5
Naza's N5 bike goes the extra mile with its NFiver community in order to bring the bike's users together, something not often seen in vehicle communities, where bikers would need to initiate it on their own. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Melissa Duis, June 1, 2015.With catch phrases like “Let’s Ride Together” and “Own These Streets” Naza brings in its latest N5 bike which it hopes will appeal to the lionhearted youth, as well as the small but growing population of female bikers.
The bike brings together a DOHC 4 – Valve Single Cylinder, 249cc displacement, ample horsepower of 28.4 @ 8500RPM; and a maximum torque of 26.1NM @ 7000 RPM puts enough power in the hands of a newbie rider without being too overwhelming to handle.
Upon first setting my sight on it I found the frame of the N5 interesting: it was simple, yet alluring.
Coincidentally, the first few things Naza’s main marketing man Steven Ho mentioned was the bike’s tank design when asked about why it might appeal to female riders, at least from an aesthetical sense.
“The tank has a nice enough design yet isn’t too fancy with excess curves. Makes for simple accessorising and customisation,” said Ho, who is also Naza's associate vice president 2 for marketing.
The N5, despite looking lithe, is a powerful and ruggedly stable machine. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Melissa Duis, June 1, 2015.With enough persuasion from some of the Naza folks, I did finally mount the N5.
As a rider that’s still only accustomed to the lower cc bikes – I have yet to advance another rung in the ladder of succession in the motorcycle world – my first few seconds on the N5 filled me in on a machine that was surprisingly “torquey” for its lithe and wiry build.
A more upright seating position compared to my own bike proved to be comfortable enough and I must stress that the bike is only deceptively docile looking.
Longer than it is broad, the N5 boasts a narrower seat and broader handlebars which remind one of a waif, slim wasted and broad shouldered pubescent lad.
But, once seated the rider would be treated to a powerful and ruggedly stable machine.
When I finally took to the back roads with the N5 I had the edifying experience of dropping the bike when making a short turn on a slope – blame the lack of experience I had – but I delighted in the fact that the bike was easily manageable as I picked it up without any disagreement from the bike’s weight.
Weighing only 145kg the N5 weighs quite significantly more than me but not so much as to render me powerless in lifting it on the occasion that I do need to heave it from a fall.
Naza has definitely put much thought into not just the creation of the N5 motorcycle, but also a community around it. The NFiver community is geared towards bringing together all N5 users, especially the ladies.
In this sense, Naza has gone out on a limb to unite its patrons in a world where it is the bikers who normally take the initiative to converge once the purchase is made.
The ever customer conscious Naza has even struck a joint effort with the Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM) by providing AAM Bikers Assist to all their customers. The 24/7 bikers assist covers all of Peninsular Malaysia which includes On-site minor repair services and free towing among others. These services will be available very soon.
Naza targets to sell 1,500 units of the N5, which is priced at a very reasonable RM15,000, in 2015. – June 1, 2015.
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