There have been too many Ninja 250 owners do their own valve adjustments and then end up having to buy a new engine as a result. The problem is that they are overtorquing their rocker arm locknuts.

Here is a photo of a new rocker arm and a worn out rocker arm:



The larger nut on the end is the locknut. To adjust the valves, you have to loosen that and then use a screwdriver to turn the smaller screw inside the nut in and out. Then, to keep the adjustment screw from moving, the locknut is tightened back down.

It is when this locknut is tightened is where some people overtorque it and end up destroying the entire engine.

At first glance, someone might conclude that the worst thing that could happen is that you'd need to buy a new nut or perhaps, at worst, a new rocker arm. But in reality, its more like lighting the fuse to...

Well.... its been awhile! (I passed my MST a few weeks ago and have been glued to my bike since... Well since it rained yesterday ) I put just over 1000km on Sassy in just over a week. Its a blast and I love it for the most part.
K this is the only place Ill ever admit this... I think my boyfriend was right... I wanted the waterproof ****! F**king rain... jacket-not water proof, gloves- not water proof, F**king rain! not to mention my boots-not water proof! I drive 300km (round trip) for my job... Learning about the weather APP on my iphone is somewhat useful, ESP when its showing me a possibility of rain. I need to invest in better gear. Or .... 'waterproof' gear... So to top off the effin wet and cold ride home I feel a cold coming on!

Finished up the front end project on my little 250 today and I'm pretty satisfied with the end result. The biggest problem was mounting the blinkers to an inconspicuous area that would keep them as close as possible to the headlight assembly. So the bike now looks like an alien and I'm fine with that lol, I just couldn't stand the whole 1980s square headlight and front end boxy setup.

I've looked through this forum a couple times for wiring diagrams for my 2005 ex250 and found this to be a very reliable place for information and as I've read through the posts I'm seeing some friendly people I can learn from and also share my knowledge of Kawi's with.

I hurt my baby today, I thought the kickstand was still down as she wouldn't start or prime the injectors, so I went to get the petrol can.. She kept on going till I realised the kickstand hadn't gone all the way down, I managed to lay her on my leg so no damage other than the indicator and a slightly bent shifter, so all good.

Turned out the kill switch is falty, flipped it off and on and it worked, I had originally stopped to walk three miles to get petrol in a £10 jerry can, daylight robery! No I wasn't chancing it, the fuel warning light didn't come on, and I have no gauge.

Problem after problem, I am very fed up and angry, it's put me in a downward spiral.

I'm in the most perculiar mood, if I were a woman I would probably say "hormones playing up" but alas, i'll just sit here listening to Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere in the dark, i've got Enya - Caribean Blue lined up next, I think I may start laughing or crying.. Hmmm, I do hope...