So the last place I wanted to start a thread is on this section:(
Cliff notes at the bottom

I am here because I made several bad decisions and got caught up in the rain. was coming up to a light and tried to slow down and stop behind a cargo van, Locked the back tire at about 20mph(maybe:confused:), as I was drifting right the back side slid right as well. Eye witness said at one point my bike was almost upright perpendicular to the road, headlights illuminating the right side of the van :eek:(not sure I believe that completely but that's what I was told). the bike tipped over to the right, foot got stuck under the bike, left foot still on top(left side) of the bike and I have the grip of death on the right handle bar as I am sliding on my ass in almost a sitting position looking back at the road in disbelieve. finally came to a stop, took a breath and quickly looked around and behind me, looked back at the bike, notice my foot was caught under, felt my adrenaline still rushing. Tried picking up the bike from the sitting position, was not gonna happen. A few seconds later a stranger helped. Stood up and felt pain on my right quad. Almost immediately a cop on foot shows up (apparently he was on a unmarked pickup at the light), he helps me push the bike to the sidewalk. Asked me if I was injured and all the normal cop questions.

Thankfully I made ONE right decision and that was to wear all my gear. Not a single scratch on my body, just a bruised right inner thigh and ego. busted the right butt seam on my riding pants and had a few very tiny scuff marks on the back of my jacket.

Lesson learn, will not ride in the rain again.

Now the real reson I am posting this. Damage to the bike was minimal as far as I can see. The right rear set sheer off, very light scratches on the right fairing, and I mean very light, paint is it there. I tried stating the bike after the accident while waiting for the tow truck. First time it didn't start, second time started fine, I warmed it up for a few mins and didn't notice anything wrong. The next day my frame sliders came in and I installed them, ran the bike again with fairings off and didn't notice anything. At this point I am thinking the only thing I need is a new rear set. Today I ran the bike again and wanted to test it around the block. Before even leaving I notice there was a weird smell, shut it off, took fairings off and notice the oil sight glass cracked, I think it was from the break ever hitting the glass when the rear set sheer off. Got dark quick and while running the bike again notice that the two exhaust pipes coming out of the engine were glowing red hot.

What do you guys think I have here? I am guessing the it might be because the cracked is not letting the engine seal, but not an expert so.

Cliff notes:
rode in the rain, dropped the bike on the right side. was riding with ATG, I am fine only one bruise on right thigh. Practically no damage other than the right rear set sheered off and a cracked oil sight glass. Now bike has a weird smell, like hot or burning. The two exhaust pipes coming out of the engine were glowing red hot.
Cliff notes

Need help figuring out what might be wrong.

have you checked the coolant?

have you checked the coolant?

coolant is good, the bike was parked for 3 days. Found no leaks other than from the sight glass. The glass is cracked but did not actually come off, Oil level is also good. I estimate the oil that leaked to be a miniscule amount as I would have found some drips on the ground from been parked.

glad your ok. :thumbup:
not a fan of rain riding either.

You can ride just fine in the rain. People safely ride in the rain all the time. You just have to account for the wetter surface and make sure to be extraaaaa smooth on all your inputs.

That being said, I dont like to ride in the rain. However, there have been a couple of times where Ive been caught with no choice, and I noticed that its not the nightmare that some people make it out to be.

Glad youre OK though, but dont necessarily swear off the rain - you need to be able to ride in it to get used to it. There may come times when you'll have no choice but to and you want to know what youre doing.

Are your tires stock? If so, get rid of those and buy Pirelli Sport Demons. Some people will swear up and down that the stock tires are just fine but I found them to be crap, especially compared to the Sport Demons.

Ride Safe.

I'm afraid I'm not too mechanically inclined so i can't help you there. As far as the rear sets go there is a group buy going on right now for some you may want to check out.

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=81466

It's $210 for any color or 2 color combo plus shipping. It's about to take off so you'd have to hop on quick if it's not too late.

Glad you're okay and hope you solve your issues and get riding again soon :thumbup:

I would say don't swear off the rain as well. I've only really ridden in rain about three tor four times and one of those I chose to do for the experience. The ride included highway and city riding and it was actually a pretty long ride at 45mins to my buddies house and back home. The rain does suck and is extra dangerous. I hated the freeway cuz visibility went way down and there was water and mist everywhere from the cages, you really have to increase following distance and slow down in the rain. Then the water on the visor obscures some of your vision and the only thing pushing the water to the side is the wind.

Last sunday I got caught in a thunder storm on the interstate 45 mins from home! :eek: That was even worse, I was soaked and was dodging huge puddles of water on the interstate that the cages were rolling thru. Low visibility...slowed everything waaaaaaaaaaaay down. And this was the end to a very stressful ride/day, so I just wanted to get back alive :lol:

Point is rain riding is a good skill to possess. Glad you're ok tho, and I wouldn't blame you if the thought of riding in the rain spooked you for a while. ;)

Yeah rain experience is good, I had my own fall at about 5-10mph(waaay too much damage for that speed, but eh, fairings suck when it comes to impact) near an intersection in the rain:/ Revisting the site of the crash later that day I found oil slick near the intersection that I attempted to stop over. Rain riding is quite doable it just requires a lot of caution. Don't let one bad experience let you stop rain riding, I definitely haven't let it :D

P.S. Those painted lines on the street get very slippery too...lol

Got the right rear set, still need oil sight glass. Nine is refreshing not overheati, but I think the exhaust has a weird pop sound after reving. The pipe did get some rash but no exhaust leaks, Do you guys know what would cause that?

Got the right rear set, still need oil sight glass. Nine is refreshing not overheati, but I think the exhaust has a weird pop sound after reving. The pipe did get some rash but no exhaust leaks, Do you guys know what would cause that?

Did you ever got to fix the oil sight glass? I was wondering if anyone know how because this exact situation just happened to me today :(

Did you ever got to fix the oil sight glass? I was wondering if anyone know how because this exact situation just happened to me today :(

Here is a link with a quick walkthrough http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_do_I_replace_the_sight_glass%3F

and for your benefit, the part number is #52005-1009 or here is a place you can buy a replacement for ~$14 http://www.ereplacementparts.com/gaugeoil-level-p-1181919.html

and for future reference, if you ever need a part number, I always use this link http://www.cornwallkawasaki.co.uk/shop/shop.php?cmd=listcomponents&id=Kawasaki%20Motorcycles&model=2010%20NINJA-250R%20KAF but keep in mind this is for the UK model. The only real difference is they have fuel injection, otherwise most parts are exactly the same. I only use it because I converted mine to fuel injection so it actually works out great for me. Enjoy.

I had a suzuki that would make the header glow red hot during a warm-up idle, but that was an air-cooled bike. I haven't heard of a ninja doing that ever. Was that ever solved?
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Didnt read all the replies.
I am glad you are uninjured! Gear really saves :)


Lesson learn, will not ride in the rain again.



I truly think that is a wrong lesson to learn from your incident. You can drive safely in the rain. People do it all the time. In the wet you still have about 85% traction than in dry. No big deal.

Maybe the lesson should be to allow extra following distance when in the rain, slow down when in the rain, and the best thing you can do is wait for a nice rainy day, go in the parking lot, and practice braking :)

Good luck!

I truly think that is a wrong lesson to learn from your incident. You can drive safely in the rain. People do it all the time. In the wet you still have about 85% traction than in dry. No big deal.

I think the rain makes the roads much worse after a long dry period. It brings up all the muck in the road and makes a slippery film. Some knowledgeable police drivers and riders told me that.

Very true. First rain after weeks (or months) of none, and the roads are as slick as they will ever be.

I think the rain makes the roads much worse after a long dry period. It brings up all the muck in the road and makes a slippery film. Some knowledgeable police drivers and riders told me that.

thats true. First 30 minutes are the worst. After it rained for a good hour or so, it its not to bad :)
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I run with the sliders and Pirelli demons and you won't look back. Rain or shine. Not sure what the glow would be.
Main thing your alright, the bike comes secondary. Lucky it sounds light damage only.
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Here is a link with a quick walkthrough http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_do_I_replace_the_sight_glass%3F

and for your benefit, the part number is #52005-1009 or here is a place you can buy a replacement for ~$14 http://www.ereplacementparts.com/gaugeoil-level-p-1181919.html

and for future reference, if you ever need a part number, I always use this link http://www.cornwallkawasaki.co.uk/shop/shop.php?cmd=listcomponents&id=Kawasaki%20Motorcycles&model=2010%20NINJA-250R%20KAF but keep in mind this is for the UK model. The only real difference is they have fuel injection, otherwise most parts are exactly the same. I only use it because I converted mine to fuel injection so it actually works out great for me. Enjoy.

Thank you so much! I was wondering how long does it take for you to receive your parts, on average?

I converted mine to fuel injection

Did you use a kit or do a swap-over of oem parts from the uk model?

Thank you so much! I was wondering how long does it take for you to receive your parts, on average?

Honestly, I've never ordered from them, I was just posting it to show how easy it it to get. They also have one here http://www.powersportsplus.com/parts/detail/kawasaki/KP-52005-1009.html?gclid=CN_z1ofq5K4CFasERQodZ3wxWQ for less than nine bucks, and with them you should get it by the end of the week.

Did you use a kit or do a swap-over of oem parts from the uk model?
I did a mix of both. I used the ecotrons kit with an OEM throttle body and OEM throttle cables, its all in my walkthrough. http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=96973&highlight=efi

Now that I think about it, I should have linked you here http://www.ronayers.com/Fiche/TypeID/26/Type/Motorcycle/MakeID/3/Make/Kawasaki/YearID/51/Year/2010/ModelID/8490/Model/Ninja_250R_(EX250-JAFA) for part numbers because it is for the american model. I use this sometimes but I just like the layout of the other site better.