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Got my Ninja! I picked up a black 2007 a couple of weeks ago, first bike, and I've been having a blast. One question: The tires on this guy are pretty drat thin, not to mention a little squared-off, and I'm going to get a new pair in the next few weeks. I was mainly considering a pair of Sport Demons, with the stock sizes referenced on 250.org. Good call, bad call? Suggestions? I should note that I'm going to need to ride about a 1/4 mile on a gravel road pretty frequently. It's not a public road, it's just that one of my main destinations has a gravel driveway. So if there's a tire that's particularly terrible for that (not that they all aren't bad), please point it out.
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Sep 3, 2009 19:23
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Gravel really isn't a problem period. sport tires work well on it.
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Sep 3, 2009 22:39
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Is there a buyer's guide for the ninja 250? As someone reasonably acquainted with cars I feel completely lost with motorcycles. I barely have my permit, signing up for the MSF soon, and I think the ninja might be the bike for me. While checking up on how prices are in my area I got to wondering what to look for in the bikes I end up looking at (in a couple months or whenever I end up doing this). Is there a guide like this somewhere?
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Sep 17, 2009 04:30
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bladesamurai posted:Is there a buyer's guide for the ninja 250? As someone reasonably acquainted with cars I feel completely lost with motorcycles. I barely have my permit, signing up for the MSF soon, and I think the ninja might be the bike for me. While checking up on how prices are in my area I got to wondering what to look for in the bikes I end up looking at (in a couple months or whenever I end up doing this). Is there a guide like this somewhere? http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html It's not specific to the ninja, but most of the stuff on there is applicable.
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Sep 17, 2009 08:52
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sectoidman posted:http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html That's exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. Thanks!
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Sep 17, 2009 15:15
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So I had my ninja 250 for about 2 weeks before I lowsided on some sand/gravel in a turn and broke it. I replaced some parts on the side, (brake lever, light etc.) but the front wheel is not aligned. I have to hold the handle bars to the left to go straight. I'm not sure what part exactly is bent or out of place yet, so this might be a premature question, but how much is that going to cost in parts? Any idea? I would like to do all the work myself, so hopefully it'll just be parts.
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Sep 18, 2009 23:12
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You could just need to loose everything up, pump the suspension through it's travel a few times, and everything could be straight, or stuff could be bent. It's impossible to say without actually measuring the bike. Could be bent handlebars, bent forks, tweaked triples...there's a bunch of things that need to be checked.
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Sep 19, 2009 00:54
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Thanks Z3n, it was just a matter of loosening everything to straighten it out. Simple fix. Time to go on a ride. 
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Sep 19, 2009 19:34
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I was looking at a 500, but man.. those 250's sure seem like a good deal. Also, 61mpg  I need to find a 2009 that's barely used.
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Sep 19, 2009 20:44
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My '90 250 got 70 mpg  Forget newer bikes.
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Sep 22, 2009 21:50
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CSi-NA-EJ7 posted:My '90 250 got 70 mpg You know, I've only ever gotten 70 mpg once or twice with either of my ninjas (both pre-2008), and the average is usually about 64 mpg. So what I'm wondering is, is Kawasaki being more conservative with their fuel-mileage estimates for the new one, or has the new engine dropped the mileage by that much? Also, I wonder if it would be possible to swap the old engine/instrument panel into the new chassis. I'd take a temperature gauge over a fuel gauge any day.
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Sep 23, 2009 01:38
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CSi-NA-EJ7 posted:My '90 250 got 70 mpg sectoidman posted:You know, I've only ever gotten 70 mpg once or twice with either of my ninjas (both pre-2008), and the average is usually about 64 mpg. The best I've done on my '09 was 49mpg. Do you guys ride like little old ladies or something? I guess never really being under 8k RPM, and normally zipping along at 10k RPM, isn't helping me...
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Sep 23, 2009 03:20
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frozenphil posted:The best I've done on my '09 was 49mpg. Do you guys ride like little old ladies or something? I guess never really being under 8k RPM, and normally zipping along at 10k RPM, isn't helping me... It's like, you're the only one that really gets me man.
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Sep 23, 2009 15:55
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frozenphil posted:The best I've done on my '09 was 49mpg. Do you guys ride like little old ladies or something? I guess never really being under 8k RPM, and normally zipping along at 10k RPM, isn't helping me... For me, being under 6k RPM on my 2007 means I might as well be on a 50cc scooter. Not really the point of having a motorcycle, IMO. Now above 6k, things improve dramatically.
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Sep 23, 2009 18:44
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There's an '04 250R for sale in my area, and I was planning on taking a look at it. One question though: what are my options for removing the fairing and going for more of a 'street fighter'/naked look? I saw the second post of the thread, and it's a naked '04 EX250. But I'm just curious considering the mirrors and turn signals are on the fairing for the one I'll be looking at. E: And of course I find info on my question in the posted 250 wiki 
its all nice on rice fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Sep 24, 2009 |
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Sep 24, 2009 04:14
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I dunno, I ride fairly conservatively when I'm commuting, which means I'm usually hovering right around 6k RPM on city streets and 8k RPM on the highways. I'll open it up wide if I need to pass someone or make an evasive maneuver (or if the mood strikes me at an on-ramp), but most of my spirited riding happens on the weekends.
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Sep 24, 2009 07:21
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Today I test-rode a Ninja 250. I have a EX500. The 250 was SO quiet compared to the EX500. Is this normal? Also, do 250's tend to have some problems shifting down to 1st from a stop?
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Sep 25, 2009 21:17
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the walkin dude posted:Today I test-rode a Ninja 250. I have a EX500. The 250 was SO quiet compared to the EX500. Is this normal? Sounds like the EX500 had an exhaust on it. Stock 250s are pretty quiet though. All bikes have problems shifting down to first when at really low speed, it's just the design of the transmission. You should be shifted to first before you come to a stop.
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Sep 25, 2009 22:17
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haha, my ninja 500 has the stock exhaust. now I'm thanking my balls that I got the 500. the 250 was frighteningly small to me, like riding a subdued midget. I'm 6'4''.
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Sep 25, 2009 22:43
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dude... it's a ninja. did you think it was just a name?
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Sep 25, 2009 23:11
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Silently, we sneak up behind you an- Who am I kidding. 
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Sep 26, 2009 01:00
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I've been noticing more and more the lameness of the stock suspension on my ninjette, so I've been investigating cheap upgrade options and wanted CA's input. Option 1 would be to find an old ZX600/Concours shock and use it as a drop-in replacement for the old rear shock, while also putting in stiffer fork springs and cartridge emulators from racetech for the front forks. Option 2 would be to spring for an aftermarket shock, which would leave me with no money to mess with the front suspension but would probably give me better performance from the rear. I'm anticipating 'get a better bike' being suggested as an option, but I'll say up-front that I cannot afford one.
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Sep 26, 2009 02:13
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TheCosmicMuffet posted:dude... it's a ninja. put in an electric motor and we could take over the world.
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Sep 26, 2009 03:37
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sectoidman posted:I'm anticipating 'get a better bike' being suggested as an option, but I'll say up-front that I cannot afford one. The Ninja250.org wiki brought up an interesting point when I was thinking about swapping in some suspension parts. quote:And now a word from Craig, a longtime racer and founder of Pacific Track Time. He's on the track 2-3 times a month from February through October: Any complaints I have with the suspension could almost certainly be resolved by better riding on my part.
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Sep 26, 2009 03:54
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kylej posted:Any complaints I have with the suspension could almost certainly be resolved by better riding on my part. This is true for a lot of bikes, with both speed and handling unfortunately. I was humbled a few years back when a family friend who has been riding for almost 30 years took my bike out for a spin. I thought it was feeling a little slow and maybe something was wrong. When he took off he rowed through the gears like some sort of cyborg and was a speck in the distance before I could even say "holy poo poo". I realized then that the only reason the bike felt slow was because I was slow.
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Sep 26, 2009 04:36
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kylej posted:The Ninja250.org wiki brought up an interesting point when I was thinking about swapping in some suspension parts. This is a faulty argument. It assumes that any rider who reads that paragraph is equally skilled to the founder of PTT (and those guys are plenty loving fast, let me tell you), which is...bullshit. Learning to ride is great. I spend a lot of time on the track learning to be a better rider. But when it comes to the street, safety is goal one, and part of being safe on a motorcycle means that you don't run with your suspension all wrong. It is unsafe to have your bike's suspension bottoming out over bumps and under hard braking, and can lead to accidents. Does it? Probably not often. But why take the additional risk? Riding is dangerous enough as it is. Just because Rossi could ride a 250, stock suspension and all, past just about anyone, doesn't mean that it's a good idea for you to try it. Upgrade your front end. Spend all of your money on that. The back end can be managed with the throttle, but there is basically nothing that you can do about the front end bottoming out from a controls standpoint. I have seen many people end up on their heads because they took advice from a racer. "Oh sure, those tires/that suspension is good for 1:35s! You got plenty left!" That setup is good for that rider to a given speed. Assuming that you have the skills of a racer as a new rider is either arrogant or ignorant, and is a great way to get yourself in way over your head. On the racer's side, many of them know other riders who are a lot faster than them, and they don't really feel that fast. So their advice usually isn't given maliciously, just with a lack of understanding of the skills of the person that they're talking to. From line choice to turn in speed to ability to read feedback from a bike, you have to take the skill level of the rider into account when you listen to their feedback...the way one rider laps a track at 1:35 is very different from the way another rider on the same bike will... quote:I'm not saying the bike doesn't get squirrelly at times, When an experienced racer is calling a bike "squirrelly", that's a HUGE warning sign. Not to mention that that racer is going to be operating at a fraction of the speed he could usually handle and a peg going down or the front end pushing will be met with a "huh, probably shouldn't do that", whereas a newer rider could very easily do the wrong thing and end up crashing in that situation. Z3n fucked around with this message at 06:03 on Sep 26, 2009 |
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Sep 26, 2009 05:57
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Today I'm buying a NINJA! 250R!!! All bright green, with complementary green wheels. 2002, great shape from the looks of it. It was much better than the other Ninja 250 I test-rode earlier - the one I posted a few posts above this about. It was in shoddy shape and almost unrideable. The one I'm getting was actually fun to ride and was SO flickable that it shocked me. So I'm using it to teach my g/f how to ride, and in the spring, sell it.
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Sep 26, 2009 18:38
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http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/mcy/1393014910.html Boners. Hopefully it's not sold yet. I went and saw some piece of poo poo 05' ex250 today, the suspension felt weird, cracks, missing signals, oil light on, obviously not lubed and had been sitting outside for a while. Glad I didn't buy it! I could barely ride it, but I was able to wrestle it into a u-turn on the dudes street which was pretty amazing considering the thing just wanted to fall over. It's nice to be a giant on a relatively light bike. soy fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Sep 27, 2009 |
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Sep 27, 2009 03:37
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My new 2002 250R!!! Got for $1,300. 12,600 miles, recently had the clutch replaced with a better one. Looks to be in pretty good shape.   So excited. My favorite color! My Ninja 500R has a lil bro now!
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Sep 27, 2009 22:05
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I'm looking to get into biking, but my only riding experience is an old 100cc dirtbike some years back. I've been looking at getting a used and beat up Ninja to learn on cheap as well as taking any MSF courses, and maybe upgrading to something else later on if I find I enjoy it. Is this a good idea for starting out? I think I should note that where I live is pretty rural - mostly long stretches of highway from point A to point B (15-35miles) with Speed Limits of 70-75mph, I don't have any really short commutes. My only concern is a Ninja 250 wouldn't have the oomph to keep up with the traffic very well. Being my major concern, it's pretty minor - our traffic here is laughable and pretty god drat sparse and I just don't want to get passed by county school buses.
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Sep 30, 2009 08:06
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KelvereseAysen posted:I think I should note that where I live is pretty rural - mostly long stretches of highway from point A to point B (15-35miles) with Speed Limits of 70-75mph, I don't have any really short commutes. My only concern is a Ninja 250 wouldn't have the oomph to keep up with the traffic very well. Being my major concern, it's pretty minor - our traffic here is laughable and pretty god drat sparse and I just don't want to get passed by county school buses. The 250 does ~100mph, so unless your county's school bus drivers are utter raving lunatics, you won't get passed by them. 70-75mph should be no problem at all.
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Sep 30, 2009 12:56
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KelvereseAysen posted:I'm looking to get into biking, but my only riding experience is an old 100cc dirtbike some years back. I've been looking at getting a used and beat up Ninja to learn on cheap as well as taking any MSF courses, and maybe upgrading to something else later on if I find I enjoy it. Is this a good idea for starting out? I commute 110 miles round trip, 2/3 of which is highway where the average traffic speed is 70mph. I've never once had a problem leaving traffic behind me on my '09 250R. Sure, you aren't going to go rocketing past anyone from a 70mph roll, but you can get around them fast enough for safety.
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Sep 30, 2009 15:49
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Yeah, you'll be absolutely fine. I drive on Atlanta area interstates all the time, and if you've ever commuted in Atlanta you know the traffic/drivers are absolutely loving insane. I get by fine on the 250, usually cruise around 80-85. You don't have the power on-tap to do tight passes like you would be able to on a 600, but it's fine. Your rear end does go numb though thanks to the high revs.
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Sep 30, 2009 18:25
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KozmoNaut posted:county's school bus drivers are utter raving lunatics They are. It's great. Thanks for the reassurance. Here's to hoping I can find one soon and join you guys on the road.
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Sep 30, 2009 20:22
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-Inu- posted:Yeah, you'll be absolutely fine. I drive on Atlanta area interstates all the time, and if you've ever commuted in Atlanta you know the traffic/drivers are absolutely loving insane. I get by fine on the 250, usually cruise around 80-85. You don't have the power on-tap to do tight passes like you would be able to on a 600, but it's fine. Your rear end does go numb though thanks to the high revs. I read on the ex250 wiki that you can mess with the gearing to change the revs at high speeds.
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Sep 30, 2009 21:31
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soy posted:I read on the ex250 wiki that you can mess with the gearing to change the revs at high speeds. Yeah, but it's the high revs at high speeds that do your arse in. Therefore, if you're wanting to change the revs, you're wanting to lower the revs at the same speed, which means lengthening the sprocket. Sorry, making the gearing longer. Unfortunately that has the downside of meaning even less accleration on tap, because you'll be lower in the powerband. Unless it lengthens it enough that you can change down, but I don't know of the specifics in this case. Normally the trade off is: less revs, higher mpg, less accleration. . . . Usually.
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Oct 1, 2009 11:12
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Yeah, basically you nerf your acceleration to make highway riding more enjoyable. If I was going to be on the freeway everyday I'd probably get a bigger bike though.
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Oct 1, 2009 17:55
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When I got my 250 last weekend, the PO showed me the fuel idle adjuster knob by the petcock, something I didn't have on my ex500 (as far as I know). He said to use it to adjust the idle. Now that I've been riding it sporadically, I have a few questions, as the PO didn't have the owner's manual with him. 1. What is my 250's idle level? 2,000rpm? 1,250 like my ex500? 2. I noticed that my Ninja, after warming it up, I'd adjust the idle knob so that it idles at 2k rpm in 1st gear. But when I speed off and stop at a streetlight and put it into neutral, it goes up to 3-4k rpm. What's up with this? The idle level also is acting funny... sometimes it'd warm up to 2-3k rpm, and when I go into 1st gear and roll off, it goes to 1k rpm, and a bit under... nearing to dying.... forcing me to roll the knob without instant response... then it'd go up to 3-5krpm, and I'd have to roll it back down... sometimes the turning knob brings a quick response, sometimes the idle level responses lethargically. I need to learn this weird-arse idle poo poo.  Help me?
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Oct 1, 2009 18:05
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the walkin dude posted:I need to learn this weird-arse idle poo poo. http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/What_is_the_engine_idle_speed%3F_How_do_I_adjust_it%3F
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Oct 1, 2009 18:09
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frozenphil posted:http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/What_is_the_engine_idle_speed%3F_How_do_I_adjust_it%3F Looked through that page... 1,300 rpm is the answer to my first question, but what about my funny fluctuating idle?
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Oct 1, 2009 18:14
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