After two-and-a-half plus years and 31,000 trouble-free and fun-filled kilometres, I’ve made the difficult decision to trade in my Ninja 250R. In its place, my new mount will be a new, and also blue, ER-6N fresh from the dealership floor.

As I mentioned, it was a bit of a dilemma to pursue this route but I had to go with my head.

I feel I’m at the stage where the Ninjette has taught me pretty much all she can and I’ll further my motorcycling skills on a larger bike. It just was not comfortable pushing the 250R any further into the corners.

Also, I was facing a rather large bill at my next service as my tires would need to be replaced along with the brake pads, both sprockets and the chain – not to mention the usual valve check, oil change and other items that could arise.

These factors, plus my limited amount of parking space, and the good deal I managed to negotiate on the new ride, convinced me it was time to let someone else enjoy my bike.

Over the 31,000km, I’ve done light touring, day trips, weekend and evening cruises and the 250R has never let me done – rain or shine, by the ocean, ascending mountains, in town, on the highway or along scenic country roads.

I cannot recommend the 250R enough for someone just starting out in the sport of motorcycling or looking for something to cruise back roads.

In the late 1980s, when I was a teenager, I used to dream about a owning a Kawasaki Ninja 250 and spent many an hour wasting time at Ottawa’s Goodtime Centre staring at the models on the showroom floor. About twenty years later, this aspiration came true in Victoria, British Columbia.

I want to thank everyone at Ninjette.org for the knowledge I’ve gained from you but most of all for the camaraderie from being part of a community dedicate to one heck of a motorcycle. This is a great forum and its members are top class.

For those who are interested, the dealer has given me $2,700 for the Ninjette and that works out to just around $3,000 off the purchase of the ER6N, taking into account the tax I’ll not have to pay due to the trade-in value. I’m happy with this amount as I think I made a pretty good deal on the new bike and I don’t have to worry about the hassle of selling it privately.

Thank you again and keep the rubber side down.

Ben

Nice, Ben! Your ninjette was clearly well-loved, and I have no doubt your new Kawi will be as well. :thumbup:

BTW - we need pics!

Congatulations on the new bike.

Another one leaves the fold. :(

I cannot recommend the 250R enough for someone just starting out in the sport of motorcycling or looking for something to cruise back roads.


I misread it on accident and thought that you hate the Ninja 250R lol.

Sweet upgrade. Congrats & enjoy. I love my 250R. I did stand in the dealership the other day and lust, temporarily, over a 2011 ZX10 in green. What a mean ass looking machine.

Why did you pick the ER-6n over the 650R? Just curious what you like better. Also, what is the Versys and how does it compare?

Why did you pick the ER-6n over the 650R? Just curious what you like better. Also, what is the Versys and how does it compare?

Imo the er6n looks badass and the 650r is pretty ugly. :D

I can't wait to see the pics :thumbup:

A few reasons.

One is price. This is a leftover 2009 model. The dealer only has the 650r in the 2011 model year. It's cheaper by at least $1,500.

Two is the fact it does not look like a sportbike. I'm not a rider who travels much on highways/freeways and I really don't have need for a full-fairing bike. Also, the police around here seem to have a hate-on for sportsbikes and to most people, the 650r looks like a sportbike. The ER6n has the same power as the 650r; therefore, I'm not missing out. Both bikes go to 0-100km in about four seconds and the 1/4 mile in something just over 12 seconds. This is faster than 99.9% of all non-motorcycles that I will encounter on the road. Fast enough for me.

Three is the fact it's easier to add some personal touches such as flyscreen, engine guards, and side racks for soft luggage, dual headlights a la Triumph Street Triple.

I'm planning on taking a trip to the north next year (Yukon, Northwest Territories and perhaps Alaska) and will need to make the bike more worthy for dirt roads. It's simple to do on the ER-6n and Twisted Throttle has what I need in stock - and for cheap (and on sale). There’s also a number of logging roads around here that will be doable on the bike with these modifications. For around $750 I’ll eventually have something that will be a cross between a dual sport and a road bike – and I can quickly switch back-and-forth when needed. I find most dual sports too tall for me, uncomfortable and they’re terrible on the pavement.

I looked at the Versys, but it was a bit too tall and was at least $2,250 more than the ER-6n. Nice bike though.

Four, and finally, is the appearance department. I love to see a MOTORbike's engine. The belly-pan is a nice touch and the side indicators pods are unique. At the end of the day, a motorbike is an emotional attachment and that’s what drew me to the ER-6n.

Here’s a crappy iPhone photo I took at the dealership. More to come.

http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad228/cbjjames/ER6N/ER6N_SGPower_Resized_SatJuly302011.jpg

Okay thanks. But I think the 650R is a great looking bike to whoever said it isn't. Also, I think it looks a lot like a super-sport which is what a lot of people go after. You can definitively see the resemblance of it and the ZX-6R.

Congrats on the upgrade! :D

But I think the 650R is a great looking bike to whoever said it isn't. Also, I think it looks a lot like a super-sport which is what a lot of people go after. You can definitively see the resemblance of it and the ZX-6R.

:whathesaid:

Either way, great/nice bike :).

Imo the er6n looks badass and the 650r is pretty ugly. :D

I can't wait to see the pics :thumbup:

Okay thanks. But I think the 650R is a great looking bike to whoever said it isn't. Also, I think it looks a lot like a super-sport which is what a lot of people go after. You can definitively see the resemblance of it and the ZX-6R.

:whathesaid:

I want to rephrase my statement a little bit. I was referring more to the 08- 650r's as being less than appealing on my eyes. The 09+ looks a lot better but still isn't my cup of tea.

I want to rephrase my statement a little bit. I was referring more to the 08- 650r's as being less than appealing on my eyes. The 09+ looks a lot better but still isn't my cup of tea.

Who likes tea lol

Congrats on the new bike! That one is also on my next bike list (along with the Ninja 500, Ninja 650, Versys, GS500, Katana 600), as a few people here on campus have bought that one and seem to like it very well.
Tony

Congrats on the new bike ! I second the request for pics :)
Out of curiosity, why did you pick the ER6n over, for example, the Street Triple ?

I haven't ridden one yet but the ER6n has a great reputation, I hope you'll enjoy it as much as you did the 250r :)

Cheers !
Vegedurden

Congrats on the new bike ! I second the request for pics :)
Out of curiosity, why did you pick the ER6n over, for example, the Street Triple ?


Price. I'd love to own a Street Triple but it would have cost around $5,000 more than the ER-6n.

I've put about 200km on the bike over the past couple of days and I'm actually enjoying breaking it in. 4,000 rpms is just over 80km/h (50mph) so you can actually ride on some fun roads.

First impressions:
- You can tell there's some power available but the clutch action is easy to control.
- Handling is spot on. The bike is really easy to steer and is very stable.
- The saddle is far more comfortable than the 250r.
- Brakes are not bad. I've tried some practice emergency stops and they work well but there is bit of vagueness feel. Maybe this will improve over time.
- You can tell the bike is a little taller than the Ninjette but this is not a problem with me. I can just about flat foot both legs.
- I haven't travelled at speed yet to comment about the lack of fairing and windshield but I will be ordering a Puig flysceen on the weekend.
- Fuel injection kicks in quickly and acceleration it's smooth on the throttle.

Over all, I'm quite happy and firmly believe the bike is a great step-up from the Ninjette.

Here are some pictures.

http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad228/cbjjames/ER6N/ER6N_Resized2.jpg

http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad228/cbjjames/ER6N/ER6N_Resized3.jpg

http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad228/cbjjames/ER6N/ER6N_Resized1.jpg

http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad228/cbjjames/ER6N/ER6N_Resized4.jpg

Nice bike :)

Nice, gratz

pretty cool bike :]

Nice. I really like what they've done with the exhaust.
Keep us posted on your impressions as your experience with it matures.

I think it's a fairly natural upgrade from the 250r, and a lot of people will be interested ;)

Cheers !
Vegedurden