Hey, everyone! For the last couple months, I've been completely cleaning, rebuilding, and improving and modifying my 2008 Ninja 250 to get it into top shape for the track.
I'll go over everything that's been done, and what I plan to do. Just wanted a few opinions and suggestions from some who regularly ride at the track or race (since that's where I'm aiming).
First off, bought it in pretty sad shape. Barely rideable as the chain may never have been replaced, and the sprockets definitely hadn't. There was more as I tore it down to the frame that truly scared me as the previous owner had used it for daily commuting. The brake pads on the front were almost down to just the plates, but the back had not only been completely depleted but the plate was also worn into between the rotor and the pistons. As such, the rear rotor had ruts worn into it and was heavily worn past the service limit. The carburetor was extremely dirty and as such it ran very rough. With over 16,000 miles on it, it probably hadn't seen a lick of maintenance in its life sadly. Needless to say, I picked it up quite cheap.
That being said, I set to work, tore it down to the frame, cleaned, repaired, replaced, and rebuilt quite a bit of it. Now it's in great shape and running very well, and I've improved the performance quite a bit as well. This is where you come in, as I'd like to move forward with improving it. I've done some research, but I'd like to get some suggestions as well to consider.
What's been done 
:
New OEM front and rear sprocket
New RK 520 Chain
New front and rear aftermarket rotors
New front and rear EBC sintered brake pads
Coolant flushed and replaced with Engine Ice
Oil flushed and replaced with Castrol Racing 4T Full Synthetic
New K&N Oil Filter
Brake fluid flushed and replaced
Carburetors cleaned and rebuilt
Re-jetted with new OEM equivalent 38 slow jets
Re-jetted with new OEM equivalent 112 main jets
Tuned for new jetting and air intake
Air box delete, replaced with Highflow Air Pods
Replaced stock handlebars with clip-ons and 1-inch front lowering
Rear suspension set to max preload height
Frame Sliders and Swingarm Sliders
All bearings cleaned and regreased
Entire bike degreased and cleaned
What's yet to be done 
:
New tires, most likely to be:
Front: Bridgestone BT-090 Battlax High-Performance Front Tire - 110/70R-17
Rear: Bridgestone BT-090 Battlax High-Performance Rear Tire - 140/70R-17
Aftermarket foldable levers
Mirror removal and installation of bar mount single mirror
Weight reduction, including removing passenger pegs, lighter exhaust, and any other unnecessary parts that I can find.
Possible changing of stock gearing, however, I like the middle ground between higher top speed and higher torque.
Things that aren't happening yet 
:
Track bodywork
(Unfortunetely, can't afford it at this time)
This is something that I really wanted to do, as it'd save weight by removing the light, and a few other things. It'd also be nice to save the stock plastics.
Engine cover protectors (again, can't afford at this time)
Lighter aftermarket wheels
Keeping in mind this bike is mostly being setup for the track, but still keeping it in condition for the street as well, here are some of the things I'm unsure about.
What I'm mostly undecided over though is the exhaust. I don't have a high budget for this bike at the moment, and it's not going to change soon. As such, after looking at the exhausts available and what I'm going for at the moment, The most I'd want to do is this exaust
here on Amazon for about $150. However, the other option I've been considering is just dropping the stock exhaust for weight reduction, and just getting this
exhaust for mostly aesthetics and only spending $50. Since that'd basically be going straight piped, it worries me a bit, for both performance and loudness reasons. My question is, is the $150 exhaust worth the extra $100, is it going to be that much better at this time? I know it's still very cheap, but I'm not at a point to spend $300-$600 on a two brothers or yoshi right now, and still be able to do track days.
As for other things I'm not sure about yet, since I'll be on about three different tracks ranging from little to no straights, to mostly straights I'm liking the stock gearing since it's seems to be a good compromise between acceleration and top speed. Any suggestions that you've found work for both, are apreciated. I have considered getting a second rear sprocket to swith between depending on the track, but again, I'm trying to save money while making the best performance that I can (yes, I know performance costs lol, but bear with me).
Last but not least, I researched tires pretty extensively, and I came up with the Bridgstone Battleaxe BT-090 as a good road/track tire. Staying stock size on the front, but I think I'm going to go with the slightly wider 140/70R 17 rear. I'm usually a pretty hardcore Michelin man, but I couldn't find a good road/track tire in the 250 size. I normally ride a 2006 Ninja 636 on the track, and a 2006 Ninja 650 on the street, and I run Michelin Pilot Power 2CT's on both and have been extremely happy with them. What do you run that you've had good experience with?
I know that this is an extensive post, if you've stuck through this I highly appreciate that, as I've been wanting to get some advice, but don't many 250 people on the track.
Thanks again, looking forward to your suggestions!
