How light can a pre-gen be with keeping full body work and all parts needed for street use?

I know the stock exhaust, centerstand and grab rail are the big things to reduce weight but how much lighter is aftermarket bodywork?

If it's for street use, as in city riding, take the fairings off, you won't loose much in aerodynamics at city speed and you'll reduce more weight than fiberglass fairings giving better power to weight - drag and it's cheaper.

LOTS of threads on here about making a bike lighter, LOTS, try researching them first.

Got mine down to 310 with a full tank... she's butt ugly though

Nice job, SDx!

On our pregen, we removed almost all the plastic and its supporting metal, a bunch of frame tabs, a couple of inches of subframe, and the seat latch hardware, and we used aftermarket lighting, instruments, handlebar and mirrors. All the stuff we removed weighed more than 30 lbs. The new stuff weighed about 6 lbs.

Stuff we would do if we had the money and didn't need to carry a passenger or ride in rain: Aftermarket exhaust, airbox delete, lithium battery, lighter tires, passenger peg and bracket removal, frame bob, removal of both fenders.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3745/10521436636_40a421143f_b.jpg
Check it out at:
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=117501,
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=117957, and
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=120841

Nice job, SDx!

On our pregen, we removed almost all the plastic and its supporting metal, a bunch of frame tabs, a couple of inches of subframe, and the seat latch hardware, and we used aftermarket lighting, instruments, handlebar and mirrors. All the stuff we removed weighed more than 30 lbs. The new stuff weighed about 6 lbs.

Stuff we would do if we had the money and didn't need to carry a passenger or ride in rain: Aftermarket exhaust, airbox delete, lithium battery, lighter tires, passenger peg and bracket removal, frame bob, removal of both fenders.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3745/10521436636_40a421143f_b.jpg
Check it out at:
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=117501,
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=117957, and
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=120841

Yeah I've been following those threads for a while... I'm interested in your handlebar conversion... you still using stock cables and controls?

Yes, all the stock pieces, except the new brake line. The Renthal bar is a few inches wider than the stock setup, so we had to reroute some of the control wiring behind the fork tubes, and cut the fairing stay tab off the steering head to avoid interference with the clutch cable. The clutch cable still runs forward of the top triple clamp.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2834/10521621193_00d2d176e3_b.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5508/10521628693_62d38f466a_b.jpg

If you used a narrower bar (like a Ninja 650 or Z1000 bar), you wouldn't have such issues.

Clip-ons are a lot easier.

clipons aren't really an option for the type of roads I ride on, too bumpy and too much debris... I know you mentioned it in one of your threads, but whats the OD on the bars and any hints on drilling the holes?

TY,

Steve

They're standard 7/8" bars.

I drilled mine on the throttle side (which took a long time, because I don't have a drill press), but it isn't necessary. If you grind down the lugs in the switch housings and put a piece of double-sided foam tape on the bar where the housing is located, the controls will be very secure. The hole-and-lug system works well at the factory, but it isn't strictly necessary to secure the controls. Most other brands don't use lugs and holes.

If you really want holes, you can use bars from other Kawasaki models, like the Ninja 650 or Versys, which have them (and threaded bar-end lugs for weights or mirrors). The Ninja 650 bars are also narrower than the Renthal bars, so you may not have to reroute any wires.

Actually I was inquiring about aligning the holes in the triple tree

Oh. I made a cardboard jig for that. It's very soft aluminum, and easy to drill. You have to be sure to space the holes so as to leave enough room for the nuts underneath.

bumpy + debris = clipons aren't an option? Explain please because I don't follow.

My MTB bars + seat drop is much more aggressive than my ninjette, and I take that on trails that are full of bumpy + rocks + drop-offs + obstacles.




For drilling holes in the triple to mount upright bars, do some math, mark your centers, and do it on a drill press or mill. It will be a much better hole and will be much easier than doing it by hand. :2cents:

It would be great if someone could make 7/8" bar mounts that bolted to the stock riser area. Wouldn't have to cover the fork tubes, so it wouldn't require too much aluminum. Maybe Bigballsofpaint could rig up something, as he offered in
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=148097&highlight=cad

Oh. I made a cardboard jig for that. It's very soft aluminum, and easy to drill. You have to be sure to space the holes so as to leave enough room for the nuts underneath.

excellent idea!!!!!

bumpy + debris = clipons aren't an option? Explain please because I don't follow.

My MTB bars + seat drop is much more aggressive than my ninjette, and I take that on trails that are full of bumpy + rocks + drop-offs + obstacles.



Let me rephrase that... I find clipons... uncomfortable.

Ah, that makes more sense.

Out of curiosity what is the 250s weight without fuel stock?

Out of curiosity what is the 250s weight without fuel stock?

304 lbs

Thats what I saw listed as dry weight. Manufacturers can cheat that by doing all sorts of things. Removing the battery, absolutely no fluids(oil coolant etc) and ever tires are sometimes included in that because they are a consumable. Anyone have an actual self tested one with their own pregen? Even a race bike would give a better idea.

Actually, that doesn't seem out of line. It's spec'd at 304 dry/355 wet.

It holds 4.8 gallons full, plus oil. A gallon of gas is about 8 lbs, so that's 38 lbs in just gas. Add two quarts of oil, coolant, and brake fluid, I could see that being about the correct dry weight without trickery.

Did cycle world or sportrider ever do a test on the pregen that we could refer too?