My buddy ducati Dave is suffering through some medical issues and is on the equivalent of a chemo therapy treatment. He doesn't have the strength to ride his bikes. He asked me to start em and run the 996 through the gears since it hasn't moved in months.
It's been some time since I've first rode a bike like this and I know I tease and make fun of the 250. Here's my perspective after revisiting riding a an old superbike with 10 months of the ninja 250.
Warning this probably will be long. But I guarantee it'll be interesting.
This bike has been geared down significantly. While stunters like it for easy wheelies, it makes this bike much more fun and easier to ride. Before I got off the clutch the bike was doing just over 30 mph in 1st. Now I can sorta lug the thing in 2nd at 35 mph. Getting around the gas station and the neighborhood was a drama free affair. I don't know if its because of the recently installed slipper clutch or it being an older transmission design but I gave up trying to get the bike in neutral at stops. It had to be rolling for it to go in and it has gp shift so I was just getting frustrated with it.
That's what's funny about the bike. It was instant speed adjustment. On the ninjette around town I get to 4th around 35 mph cruising. This bike. I'm putt putting the motor at that speed in 2nd. Don't worry about getting a bigger bike and revving it out like the 250. As I pulled out onto the main road with a 45 mph speed limit, it was a 1st 2nd, hold onto second till about 5k rpms then roll off as the speedo needle swings passed 55. I think I just threw it into 3rd and that was all it took to realize that after 3k rpms the ninja 250 power wasnt on the same page as the Duc. After 5k rpms the throttle inputs can start teleporting you ahead.
The eronomics are down right extreme. It has aftermarket rearsets and coupled with the short very low set clip ons make you feel like you're straddling a missile. This bike has a much more aggressive position than any modern supersport. It made me feel like real racer... and a tad ridiculous. I'm a midget so it wasnt uncomfortable but the bars are set too low. With my arms straight and locked the gas tank and my chest was about five inches apart. Like I said its extreme. The bike is older so its heavy at 460ish lbs. It carries its weight well and didn't feel cumbersome when moving it around at stoplights and the gas station.
Recall how I said the Duc simply operates at a higher performance realm. That's the best way to briefly describe what it's like trying to have fun with it. As I pulled out of the gas station and headed towards marsh creek road I started revving it out. It's fast. Not crazy fast. It felt like the r6 I rode just with a powerband starting at 6k and not letting off until slamming into the brutal rev limit at 10.5k. O and it oozed torque. It didnt take long before I was hurling down the road at 110-115 mph and thinking I better test the brakes before holding this thing wide open much longer. Brakes were great, but not as powerful as I was expecting. More on that later. On this stretch on my ninja 250 I cruise at spirited paces around 75-80 mph. The Duc wasnt even breaking a sweat at those speeds. It wasnt the power alone. It was the whole package that makes it so comfy going way too fast on a 45 mph two lane road. Remember that.
Marsh creek is a fast road. Lots of visible sweeping turns connected by longer straights. I crest over the hill with the throttle stabbed. The front floats partially over the top and settles without a shimmy as I blast towards the corner at 8k rpms. I let off the throttle to go to the brakes and I touch the brakes realizing I've already scrubbed off too much speed. Getting off the gas on this bike is like throwing out an anchor. Seriously it was surprising how important throttle inputs became. Rolling off and on and following Keith codes rules are friggin paramount on this bike. If you chopped the throttle mid corner cranked over, you would run wide for a bit or just plain old over load the front tire and die.
Corner speed? No I roll on the throttle and the bike is actually fighting to stand up. That was a foriegn feeling. The ninja 250 doesn't stand up really under hard acceleration. The Duc squats a bit and ejects towards the outside. I click off a few 9k up shifts as the bike is well past 120 on the speedo. I jump on the brakes for the high speed right hand sweeper. On the 250 I hang off on this corner and can hit it at 70mph. This road is bumpy so while I could go faster its a little sketchy getting bucked around. The Duc didn't exhibit any of the wallow and I actually felt like I was going a bit slow mid corner speed wise. I charged up the hill for the left right sweepers. Going through those made me feel pathetic. The high rearsets left what felt like 10ft of clearance between my knee and the ground. I was thinking too myself..."can I actually go that much faster?" The bike steers weird too. Don't plan on changing directions mid corner. O and that power steering technique all the riding books talk about? Yea you need that for this bike. It's extremely stable but getting the thing to move actually had me wrenching on the bars. I get all the videos off people crashing in sweepers on these bikes. The 250 can adjust line pretty easily. The 996 was all about commitment. I rocket down the hill keeping the bike on boil above 7k the rest of the ride. Yea fuel economy is horrible. Something like 27 mpg when riding her hard.
I got back to Dave's place glad to park the thing. Holy hell two termignonis roasting you to death sucks. He asked me what I thought and I mostly told him what I said here.
I thought about it some more and I must say it was a humbling experience. This is an old bike and I can say I came no where near its limits. It felt like learning how to ride again. The extra focus and things that I never worry about on the 250 became very visceral out there.
The performance gap of this bike compared to the 250 is MASSIVE. It says a lot when I jump on a bike I've ridden once before and comfortably swing it up to 130+ and brake hard into the corners. And when I say comfortable I mean it. If it was my bike I would've gone faster through the corners. And that's part of what is so scary and eye opening. If @
rojoracing53 had ridden this bike he would be going so damn fast it would be terrifying.
I would've been happier at a track trying to figure it out. When bringing it to a fun pace the bike feels like a handful and so much more capable than my skill set and experience. Feel free to judge me but technically speaking today is the fastest I've gone on two wheels. The 250 is fun because on marsh creek road I'm wide open, hard on the brakes, and barely breaking a sweat, and never 100 mph. It's easy to ride it at the upper limits. The 996 was this beast with limits that are so high. I bet the margin of error is super tiny at those speeds. And just think today's 600s are supposed to be even more capable than an older ducati.
No. I'm not going to preach that the ninja 250 is the end all be all bike. The ninja 250 gave me the ultimate learning base. A lot of people write off everything else except the latest and greatest. There something to be said about appreciating 15 year old technology.