Topic: Tried a friend's Ninja 250

[Ecosse]

I have been curious about these for a while so when a friend got one, and offered to let me try it, I literally jumped on the opportunity.

I have to say I liked it a bunch. It's probably not the first choice for a highway tourer but it's got enough grunt for the B roads. Once you get the revs up to around 7k it wakes up nicely, and pulls well from there.

It took me a little while to get use to the power band, and certainly lacks the obvious overall torque of my 550 and another friend's VF500, but I could see my self owning one. First thing to address though is the seat; it was about 2 inches too forward in the back and pushed me too snugly to the tank. That could be fixed easily with a trip to the seat guy. Other than that the ergonomics were fine for me. I'm about 5'10/11" and about 200 lbs.

[GoatBaSS]

What year? Deets. Older New??

[Ecosse]

What year? Deets. Older New??

sorry, 2001. like the picture.

[ColinMc]

Best things you can do to these bikes and you will love it (other than on the highway...ever lol)
-Fork springs and cartridge emulators (front springs are wayyyy too soft for ANYONE)
-Rear shock from a ZX6 I think it is? I don't remember but it bolts right in and you can get them on ebay dirt cheap
-NEW rubber, the stock tires on these things are terrible...Pirelli Sport Demons or something comparably sticky and you are set
-Oh and the seat lol...I learned to live with mine though and was hanging off of it most of the time anyways 

If you can't tell I loved mine...it was a 2001 and I just got rid of it last year. I used it as a daily commuter and super fun back roads bike. Cheap insurance, cheap parts, cheap fun. I might actually get another one...they are always worth a decent amount on the used market. But keep an eye out for jet kits installed incorrectly, pod filters (you think the honda is hard to jet with those...ugh!), Anything but a stock exhaust...a lot louder and barely any more power. I used to pass friends on their GSXR600's and R6's on fun back roads rides no problem...and I was getting over 60mpg and paying 7 dollars more a month to add it on my policy...7!!!!! Plus I had huge soft bags on it for commuting hehe.

[Ecosse]

just forwarded your tips to my friend, colin. 

[Retro Rocket]

I rode one and hated it. I had my 750 ninja in the shop and was going away for the weekend so they lent me one of those. First up, when on the open road, trucks going the other way were blowing me all over the road and every time i went to pass someone it took forever, totally gutless compared to the 750. It was light and flickable but any cross wind or truck had me hanging for dear life, the bloody thing nearly ended up in a guard rail at 60 mph because when overtaking a flat nosed Kenworth the air that thing was pushing threw me across the road and i was only just able to catch it and stave off disaster.....Not enough weight or power for the road IMO..  Probably better suited to around town.

Mick

[bill440cars]

  Bil, if that's what "floats your boat", go for it!   I had never tried anything in the Ninja line and the only Kawasaki I had ever ridden was a Z1 shortly after they came out and it was AWESOME, and now, I have the GPZ that I plan to hang onto!

[Green550F]

Not much point comparing a Ninga 250 to a 750... Like saying I prefer my F150 to a Festiva anyday. They are completely different in every aspect. Both do a great job doing what they were meant to do.

Personally I love those little 250s for commuting! Best handling bike I ever rode in town! I bet they'd be a blast on a go cart track!

[ColinMc]

ninja250.org is an excellent resource and has all the shock compatibility info, tire recommendations and a decent forum too.

I never had a problem with wind gusts...i'm a light tall guy too. But then again I didn't do a ton of highway riding with it. The other problem is at 75 mph in 6th gear it's revving along like a two stroke and even a downshift and you can't get out of your own way sometimes it seems...there are some serious distance riders on the forum there though lol.

Even if he doesn't do the emulators, at the least get a set of (I always say linear but won't start that argument again) springs. Yes i'm also going to recommend Sonic Springs for the springs again like I seem to do in every suspension related post, they send EXCELLENT instructions JUST for the 250 ninja on how to set the preload with a spacer, what fork oil weight to use based on your weight etc....They know the 250 Ninja's VERY well.

This was mine before and after, bought it 3 years ago from my boss at the MSF course, put a new clutch in it, oil change, made her nekkid  , and did all the above mentioned upgrades...rode the tires off of it for a couple years and then sold it to a friend. It was green when I got it and fairly dented up, painted it a black with a slight metallic effect. Like the bags? They worked great!
Before paint and fairing removal:

After with the removal bags off to show off the paint lol

[mrblasty]

The guy that bought my '76 CJ360T was getting it for his son to replace his Ninja 250.  He had lost control in a corner sliding on a cheese burger someone had pitched in the road.  It bent the forks but the rest of the bike was in good shape.  I think he said they paid around $3000.00 for it new, sounds like a good price.  I was talking to a Chinese guy this past summer that was planning on putting dual purpose tires on his because of all the gravel roads up here.  Sounds like this little bike has quite the following.

[kirkn]

Several of 'em in the parking lot at my office.

My co-worker owned one 'till he moved to a 600.  He loved it.  He still talks about it.

I've been thinking of one myself, cause I'm really digging the huge mpg they seem to get.  My buddy got 65 mpg without even really trying.  Not bad for a bike that pulled him up over the ton (so he sez...)

Kirk

[Ecosse]

yeah, i understand the dealerships can't keep 'em on the floor. they're often sold out in many places. too bad honda doesn't take one of their small cc bikes from the home market to sell here.

the 'rebel' doesn't count folks.

[tortelvis]

Why not go for a 500 Ninja?

[gene03079]

I just added a 07 Ninja 250.  I agree not the same power as a 550-4 but a blast to ride.

This is the first water cooled bike I have owned. I still need to make sure it has antifreeze in it before it gets much colder here.

I bought this one on the cheap. Great shape and 2900 miles. I have been riding it around town and the power from the little beast is fun. I am going to use it as a track bike next year at Loudon. Should be a nice size for practicing keeping my corner speed up.

[Retro Rocket]

Not much point comparing a Ninja 250 to a 750

It wasn't meant to be a comparison, it was my experience with the 250. These little bikes are badly affected by crosswinds because of all the fairing and can be quite a struggle to keep in  a straight line in these circumstances.

Mick

[Ecosse]

colin,

looks like the engine is a stressed member; have any naked pictures of your bike?

[ColinMc]

Lol, yeah it's a few posts up in black. With bar end mirrors and whatnot...radiator is a little exposed and I had to neaten up some of the wiring and stuff...but it came out pretty good. I was planning on filling the fairing mounting holes in the tank and stuff but never got around to it. Decided to sell it instead. Should have kept it though heh.

[Alan F.]

have any naked pictures of your bike?

 

[Ecosse]

Lol, yeah it's a few posts up in black. With bar end mirrors and whatnot...radiator is a little exposed and I had to neaten up some of the wiring and stuff...but it came out pretty good. I was planning on filling the fairing mounting holes in the tank and stuff but never got around to it. Decided to sell it instead. Should have kept it though heh.

i was curious about what it looked like under the tail section. thought one of these with 60's style full faring bodywork, or quarter faring and bumstop seat might be cool.

alan, that's not naked that's skeletal. you ghoul... Halloween isn't here yet!

[ColinMc]

AHHH ok I see what you mean, yeah I was actually planning on doing that also if I had kept the bike...the undertail section is your typical sportbike looking triangular section...don't have any pics of it without the tail piece. You couldn't just slap a cafe style seat unit on it that's for sure...without seriously modifying the rear subframe...which holds the battery, coolant reservoir and electronic stuff...

[Ecosse]

cool looking ninja